University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Illinois
Bats Explode in Series-Clincher at Illinois
5/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Box Score: Minnesota 14, Illinois 6 
After being held to just three runs in the first two games of the series, No. 19 Minnesota painted a season-high 14 runs on the scoreboard en route to a 14-6 decision that clinched the series at Illinois on Sunday. The Gophers (27-13, 11-3 Big Ten) secured 18 hits from 10 different players, including all nine spots in the lineup to guide them to their fifth consecutive conference series victory.
Three different players led the offense with three hits apiece. Alex Boxwell, Micah Coffey and Jordan Smith each tied or set season-highs with after tallying nine hits combined. Boxwell was just a double away from the cycle as he smacked a home run, triple and a single in four at-bats. Coffey also contributed with a home run and two doubles, while J. Smith scored three runs and notched three singles.
In total, Minnesota produced nine extra-base hits as the road team drilled five doubles, one triple and three home runs.
Toby Anderson earned the win on the mound and improved his record to 6-0. Anderson tossed 5.0 innings, allowed seven hits and surrendered just two runs to guide the Maroon and Gold.
The Gophers jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the top of the second. After back-to-back singles from Boxwell and J. Smith, Coffey hit a double into the left-center gap to put Minnesota on the board. Then, following an RBI groundout from Riley Smith, Dan Motl smashed a double over the center fielder's head for an RBI.
Connor Schaefbauer and Matt Fiedler produced consecutive run-scoring singles to cap the scoring at five runs on six hits.
In the third, Boxwell drew a leadoff walk to open the stanza. Coffey then stepped to the dish and hit a double that mirrored his run-producing hit in the second inning to bring home the speedy Boxwell and make it a 6-0 score line.
Illinois (21-19, 7-8) scraped across runs in the home half of the third and fourth to bring the deficit down to four at 6-2.
Once J. Smith laced a single and stole second in the top of the fifth, he advanced to third on a throwing error. Two batters later, R. Smith got the job done as he hit a sacrifice fly to left and scored J. Smith with ease.
In the sixth, Fiedler got on base by way of a walk. Austin Athmann then tattooed a no-doubt, two-run shot over the left field wall to make it 9-3. Once Toby Hanson reached by a single, Boxwell hit a triple into the gap that scored another.
The Illini equaled their counterpart's run production by plating three runs on three hits in the home half of the sixth.
Minnesota then put the game out of reach in the following two innings. R. Smith and Motl combined for back-to-back doubles to left field that scored the team's only run in the seventh.
In the eighth frame, Boxwell drilled a solo home run to right for his first roundtripper of the season. Two batters later, with a man on, Coffey laced a two-run shot off the scoreboard to cap the scoring and make it a 14-5 ballgame.
Illinois hit a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth, but it was not enough as the Gophers clinched their fifth-straight series to open Big Ten play in 2016.
Minnesota has one day off before returning to the diamond for a two-game series against Kansas, May 3-4. Game times are set for 6:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. at Siebert Field.
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