Reggie Meyer pitched a three-hitter in his first career complete game, and top-seeded Minnesota beat Illinois 3-0 in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday night.

 

The Gophers (39-13) are off until Saturday and need one more win to reach the championship game Sunday. The fourth-seeded Illini (32-19) play Indiana in an elimination game Friday night.

 

Meyer (7-3) struck out eight, walked one and hit a batter. He allowed a base hit in the first inning, another in the fifth and then retired 11 of the next 12 batters before Ben Troike singled leading off the ninth to extend his on-base streak to 56 games.

 

Illinois starter Andy Fisher (6-3) scattered nine hits, struck out nine and walked two in seven innings.