Weather wreaks havoc on the road

The IU men's baseball team could not get its bats going in cold Minnesota as it fell 8-1 and 4-2 in what was supposed to be a four-game series. \nSaturday's doubleheader was canceled because of inclement weather, and the two teams salvaged the final game Sunday.\nFrom the start, the Hoosiers had trouble getting things going offensively. \nThe Gophers posted a single run in the first inning and another in the third to open a 2-0 advantage in Friday's game. But IU rallied in the top of the fourth. \nSophomore Mark Calkins singled to lead of the inning, and after a fly out, sophomore Joe Kemp beat out an infield single to give the Hoosiers a pair of runners with one out. Junior Nick Evans singled home Calkins, cutting the lead to 2-1. With two runners on base, the Hoosiers could not continue the rally and stranded both runners.\nThe Gophers posted a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth, three in the sixth and another in the seventh to put the ballgame out of reach at 8-1.\nThe Hoosiers pounded out 10 or more hits for the 26th time in 39 games this season but stranded 13 runners in the game.\nEvans finished the game with two hits and the lone Hoosier RBI. Junior Kennard Jones went 2-for-5 and extended his hitting streak to 12 games. Senior Gibran Hamdan and Calkins finished the day with two hits apiece.\nBoth teams battled the frigid cold Sunday, and the bats never heated up for either team.\nIU jumped on top after both teams posted a pair of scoreless innings. Sophomore Josh Romero hit his first home run of the season in the top of the third to give the Hoosiers a 1-0 advantage.\nThe Gophers then posted a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 2-1 lead. IU answered with a run of its own in the top of the sixth on junior Vasili Spanos' RBI groundout.\nThe Gophers tallied two more runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 4-2 lead, which is how the game ended as the Hoosiers could not mount a rally in the seventh.\nJones went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles and extended his hitting streak to 13 games. Kemp also went 2-for-3 with a double for the Hoosiers.\nIU falls to 28-12 overall and 9-8 in the Big Ten.