MINNEAPOLIS -- Alex Boxwell homered and doubled and drove in four runs, Jackson Rose pitched four innings of strong relief, and Minnesota won its first regional in 19 NCAA Tournament appearances under coach John Anderson with a 13-8 win over UCLA on Sunday night in front of a sold out crowd at Siebert Field.
Boxwell's two-run homer gave the Gophers a 7-5 lead in the third inning, and he drove in two more runs with a double in a six-run fourth that broke open the game.
Toby Hanson also had a three-run homer for Big Ten champion and No. 14 national seed Minnesota (44-13).
Rose (5-1) relieved struggling starter Jake Stevenson, who gave up five runs in two innings. Rose limited the Bruins to one run and five hits over four innings.
Garrett Mitchell went 2 for 4 with three RBIs for the Bruins (38-21). Nick Scheidler (1-1), the second of six UCLA pitchers, took the loss.
Minnesota will now travel to Corvallis, Oregon to face No. 3 seed Oregon State for a three-game series in the NCAA Super Regional. The series will be played Friday, June 8 through Sunday, June 10 or Saturday, June 9 through Monday, June 11.
