As a result of the veterans they lost in free agency last spring, the Vikings will have two compensatory picks in this April's NFL draft.

The NFL announced on Friday the Vikings will be one of seven teams to receive at least two extra picks in this year's draft. The Vikings got a pair of sixth-round picks — Nos. 213 and 218 overall — as a result of losing free agents Adrian Peterson and Cordarrelle Patterson.

The two compensatory picks are the Vikings' first since 2012, when they were given two fourth-round selections they used on Rhett Ellison and Greg Childs. The picks are just the 18th and 19th compensatory choices the Vikings have received since the NFL began awarding extra picks to teams who lost players in free agency in 1994.

Cincinnati, Green Bay, Dallas and Oakland each received four extra picks, while Arizona and Houston got three each.

With the two extra picks, the Vikings now have seven selections in this year's draft. Their fourth-round pick will go to the Miami Dolphins (by way of the Philadelphia Eagles) to complete last year's Sam Bradford trade, and the Vikings owe their seventh-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks after trading for cornerback Tramaine Brock before the start of the season.

Ben Goessling

U softball wins twice

Freshman Alex Velazquez's pinch-hit double in the fourth inning drove in two runs as the No. 22 Gophers beat No. 23 Kentucky 2-1 in their first game of the Diamond Nine Citrus Classic in Orlando, Fla.

Later Minnesota routed South Alabama 13-3 as Danielle Parlich went 3-for-5 and had four RBI.

The double in the first game was Velazquez's first as a college player. Amber Fiser got the win, throwing a three-hitter.

MaKenna Partain had a solo homer in the first inning and Kendyl Lindaman a two-run shot in the seventh of the second game for Minnesota (7-4). Fiser pitched the first four innings of this game, too.

U baseball rolls

The Gophers baseball team routed Boston College 14-1 in the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla. Cole McDevitt hit a two-run homer for Minnesota (3-2) and Terrin Vavra was 3-for-4. Starter Reggie Meyer pitched five shutout innings for the Gophers, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out three to get the win.

Etc.

• Three Gophers qualified for Friday night's finals at the Big Ten Championships at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center. Connor McHugh placed third in the 100-yard breaststroke (51.58 seconds) while Nicholas Saulnier placed fifth in the 200 freestyle (1:34.99). McHugh's time was a program record and qualified him for the NCAA meet. Nick Yang was in the 3-meter diving finals.

• Gophers senior Karlie Place took second in the pole vault in the Big Ten Indoor Championships in Geneva, Ohio. Place, who transferred from Wisconsin-Milwaukee last fall, cleared 13 feet, 8½ inches.

• North Dakota State's Riley Johnson tossed the first solo no-hitter of the 2018 college baseball season, beating Central Connecticut State 2-0 in Punta Garda, Fla. Johnson, a sophomore righthander who played for Eastview High School, struck out eight and walked one.

• Augsburg wrestlers went 19-2 on the first day of the NCAA Division III Upper Midwest Regional at the Auggies' Si Melby Hall. Eight of Augsburg's 10 wrestlers advanced to the championship semifinals. Augsburg led Wisconsin-La Crosse 77.5 to 76 in the team race.

• The Gophers women's gymnastics team finished second in a four-team meet at Iowa State. The Cyclones had 195.575 points to Minnesota's 194.425, followed by Michigan State (191.775) and Wisconsin-Stout (185.550). Gophers freshman Lexy Ramler won the beam (9.900), tied for first on the vault (9.875) and was second in all-around (39.250).

• The Gophers women's tennis team lost 4-3 to Washington State in Pullman, Wash.