The Gophers hopes of a berth in the Big Ten baseball tournament at Target Field next weekend are gone.
Michigan State, after falling behind 4-0 after five innings, rallied to beat Minnesota 5-4 in the first game of a doubleheader at Siebert Field to end the Gophers' chances of finishing eighth in the conference. Nebraska will be the eighth and final seed in the tournament.
Matt Fiedler and Michael Handel had back-to-back homers in the third to put Minnesota ahead 2-0. Matt Stemper's RBI single and Matt Halloran's bases-loaded walk made it 4-0 in the fifth.
In the second game, the Gophers won 7-5 to get a split, scoring six runs on seven hits in the second inning.
Tony Skjefte and Dan Motl each hit homers for Minnesota (20-30, 8-15 Big Ten) in that outburst.
