Toby Hanson hit a two-run homer and had an RBI single to lead the Gophers baseball team to a 6-1 victory over North Dakota State on Tuesday night in Fargo. Minnesota (20-8), which had three games against Rutgers canceled last weekend by the Scarlet Knights' travel problems, extending its winning streak to 11.
With a well-rested staff, Gophers coach John Anderson used eight pitchers against the Bison (14-18). With the score 2-1, Tim Shannon, the visitors' sixth pitcher, got two strikeouts in the sixth inning to get out of a bases-loaded jam that he had inherited and then worked a 1-2-3 inning.
Hanson, who was 4-for-5, hit his homer in the seventh and Cole McDevitt had a two-run single in the ninth.
Minnesota, which leads the Big Ten Conference with a 6-0 record, returns to conference play with a three-game series at Indiana opening Friday.
U men's gymnasts advance to NCAAs
The Gophers men's gymnastics team, which finished third in the Big Ten meet, was selected Tuesday to participate in the NCAA meet for a 16th consecutive year.
The national championship will be held April 21-22 at Christl Arena in West Point, N.Y., and will feature the nation's top 12 teams.
Two pre-qualifying sessions for the championships — the Gophers are in the second, at 6 p.m. — will be on April 21.
Last season, Minnesota qualified for team finals for the first time in nine years and placed sixth overall.
