U baseball team is shut out by UCLA

No. 2 UCLA scored seven runs in the first three innings en route to a 14-0 victory Saturday over the Gophers in Los Angeles in their season-opening series.

Dan Olinger led the Gophers (1-1) by going 2-for-3, while Bobby Juan went 2-for-4. Andy Henkemeyer extended his hitting streak to 14 games.

The Gophers had six hits, while UCLA had 16.

Ben Meyer started in his third collegiate game and took the loss when he allowed five earned runs.

Gophers softballFreshman first baseman Paige Palkovich blasted a two-run home run off the left-field foul pole with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the Gophers a 3-1 victory against Northern Iowa at the Littlewood Classic in Tempe, Ariz.

Palkovich's home run was her second in as many days, and it helped the U (3-5) sweep a pair of games against UNI (3-6).

Junior pitcher Sara Moulton (3-4) picked up her second complete-game victory of the day against the Panthers, going seven innings, scattering four hits and striking out seven. Earlier, she took a no-hitter into the seventh before settling for a one-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts in the Gophers' 5-0 victory over the Panthers.

Swarm losesThe Swarm couldn't hold on after making a comeback against the Calgary Roughnecks and suffered its first home loss of the season Saturday at Xcel Energy Center, falling 17-16.

The Swarm (2-3) trailed by five goals early but took the lead in the fourth quarter. A pair of shorthanded goals by Curtis Dickson of Calgary (4-3) made the difference.

U gymnasts• The 11^th-ranked Gophers women's gymnastics team remained one of just three undefeated teams nationally, as it improved to 12-0 by winning its annual Best of Minnesota/Always Dreaming Invitational at the Sports Pavilion. The U (12-0, 4-0 Big Ten) finished with a team total of 196.000 points to top the state's three other women's programs: Winona State (184.975), Hamline (184.675) and Gustavus Adolphus (177.450).

• The Gophers men's gymnastics team recorded a season-high team score and posted season highs on five events at Oklahoma but still came up short against No. 2 Oklahoma. The Sooners topped the sixth-ranked Gophers 443.000 to 435.450.

Etc.• The Gustavus Adolphus women claimed their fourth-consecutive conference championship at the final session of the 2013 MIAC Swimming and Diving Championships at the U's Aquatic Center. Meanwhile the St. Olaf men swam away with their fourth team championship in the past seven years.