Troy Larson tripled for the lone Gophers hit and scored on a sacrifice fly, and T.J. Oakes threw seven shutout innings as the Gophers beat Iowa 1-0 at Target Field on Friday to extend their Big Ten winning streak to four games.
The Gophers (15-16, 7-6 Big Ten) won despite having one baserunner the entire game against starter Jarred Hippen. Larson's triple to the right-field corner in the fourth inning was followed by a sac fly by Justin Gominsky.
Larson, the Gophers center fielder, helped preserve the victory by throwing out Chett Ziese at the plate after he tried to score from first on a double by Mike McQuillan.
Oakes (4-4) scattered eight hits and three walks in seven innings, striking out seven. Billy Soule recorded two outs in the eighth before closer Scott Matyas pitched the final 1 1/3 innings for his seventh save this season.
Hippen (2-5) pitched a complete game with only 73 pitches.
No five-peat for U Kansas State pulled off a big surprise in the women's 4x800-meter relay at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, as anchor leg Boglarka Bozzay outkicked the Gophers' Elizabeth Yetzer in the final turn to give the Wildcats the title in 8 minutes, 34.81 seconds and deny the Gophers' quest for a fifth consecutive victory in that event.
The Gophers, with a relay team of Nikki Swenson, Katie Hill, Jamie Dittmar and Yetzer, finished third in 8:37.54, behind K-State and Baylor (8:37.14).
Hill and Dittmar were also members of the Gophers' distance medley relay, along with Missa Varpness and Stephanie Price, that recorded a third-place showing in 11:29.23. Samantha Sonnenberg finished third in the pole vault with a leap of 13 feet, 1 1/2 inches.
