Minnesota Scene: U baseball team wins on nine-run inning

Trailing 4-3, the Gophers scored a season-high nine runs in the eighth inning en route to a 14-4 victory over Purdue in Big Ten baseball in West Lafayette, Ind.

Minnesota had eight hits in the eighth, all but one of them singles. Dan Motl's two-run single put the Gophers ahead 6-4. Toby Hanson added a three-run homer later in the rally to make it 12-4.

Leadoff hitter Motl finished 3-for-5 with a double and scored a career-high four runs. Reliever Tyler Hanson got the victory, giving up no runs and only three hits in five innings.

The first-place Gophers (32-15, 14-5 Big Ten), who will try for their third conference sweep at noon Sunday, had 14 hits total.

The Boilermakers (7-41, 2-21) led 2-1 and 4-2 early, but their bullpen faltered badly in the late innings.

Gophers junior Luca Wieland won his second Big Ten decathlon title at the Big Ten track and field meet in Lincoln, Neb. He totaled 7,784 points for the 10 events, the second-highest score in program history. He won three events: discus, long jump and shot put.

Teammate Ryan Lockard placed second in the high jump (7-5), and Aaron Bartnik took third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (8:53.19).

Minnesota is first in the women's team standings with 56 points going into Sunday and third in the men's competition with 39.

St. John's won its second consecutive MIAC baseball tournament title, beating St. Mary's 11-4 on Saturday in Collegeville, Minn., in the championship game.

Cole Weaver went 3-for-5 with a homer and three runs scored for the Johnnies (28-12), and Gabe MacDonald hit a two-run homer and had three RBI. Ben Etzell earned the win, allowing four runs on nine hits with one walk and three strikeouts in 5⅓ innings.

Host St. Cloud State beat Concordia (St. Paul) 13-2 on Saturday in the winners' bracket final of the NSIC baseball tournament.

The Huskies (41-8) scored six runs in the third inning on six consecutive singles followed by a double.

The Golden Bears (29-14) played Minnesota Duluth on Saturday night in the losers' bracket final.

• Freshman pitcher Kierstin Anderson-Glass retired the first 15 batters and finished with a one-hit shutout as No. 12-ranked St. Thomas beat host Lake Forest, Ill., in the winners' bracket final of an NCAA Division III softball regional. Freshman Dana Connelly had a two-run single for the Tommies (40-6) in the first inning. In a regional in Decorah, Iowa, St. Catherine lost 6-4 to Luther, but the Wildcats (33-10) stayed alive with an 8-3 win over Simpson.

• The St. Paul Saints defeated the Forest Lake Brewers/Metro Minny All-Stars 9-2 in an exhibition game in Forest Lake. Tony Thomas and Angelo Songco hit solo homers for the Saints, and Robert Cole struck out 14 and allowed only two runs and seven hits in six innings.

• Minnesota State Mankato won its fifth consecutive NSIC men's track and field title in Sioux Falls while the women's team won its first title since 1983.

• In the MIAC track and field meet at St. John's, St. Thomas teams swept. The women won their 12th title in a row, the men their fifth.