Gophers baseball team beats Michigan as Jordan Kozicky hits three-run homer

Jordan Kozicky hit a three-run homer in the fifth inning and Max Meyer pitched seven strong innings as the Gophers rallied to defeat Michigan 6-4 on Friday in a Big Ten baseball game in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Meyer gave up only three runs — two earned — on seven hits. He struck out five and walked three. Brett Schulze pitched the final two innings for Minnesota (13-14, 6-1) and got the save.

Easton Bertrand hit a solo homer for the conference-leading Gophers, who fell behind 2-0 in the first inning when Jesse Franklin of Michigan (20-8, 2-1) hit a two-run homer.

The No. 19 Gophers softball team beat host Illinois 5-0 on Amber Fiser's four-hitter. Hope Brandner hit a three-run homer in the first inning and Katelyn Kemmetmueller a solo shot in the fourth.

Minnesota (26-9, 7-0 Big Ten) has won seven games in a row; Illinois (23-10, 3-4) was shut out for the first time this season.

Gophers freshman running back Jason Williamson, 2018's Mr. Football in Minnesota, suffered a knee injury this week during spring practice, a program spokesman confirmed. The extent of the injury is unknown.

The three-star recruit from Owatonna, whose team won Class 5A state titles in 2017 and 2018, was an early enrollee in January.

Megan Ryan

• The Gophers women's gymnastics team finished second in the first session of the NCAA's Baton Rouge (La.) region with a score of 196.300 to advance to Saturday's four-team region final along with first-place Utah (196.800). Lexy Ramler of the Gophers was third in all-around (39.400) and tied for second on bars (9.900) with teammate Ivy Lu, and Ona Loper took first in vault (9.950) with a career-high score.

• Oklahoma's Maggie Nichols, a junior from Little Canada, took first on bars (9.975) and tied for first in vault (9.95) as the Sooners won the late session in the Athens Region with a score of 198.300 to advance to the region final.

• The Gophers men's tennis team defeated visiting Purdue 6-1.