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University of Minnesota Athletics
GOLDEN GOPHERS DOWN NO. 29 ORAL ROBERTS 5-2
3/31/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Kobow yielded only two runs on seven hits in earning his third victory of the season. He ran into trouble in the fifth and sixth innings, but was able to work out of jams to keep Minnesota in the lead. Kitzerow relieved Kobow in the seventh inning and pitched three innings of perfect baseball, retiring the final nine batters of the game. He struck out the side in the top of the ninth to finish the game and did not allow a ball out of the infield in his three innings.
Minnesota struck for two runs in the bottom of the second inning. With the bases loaded and no outs, Rob LaRue hit a sacrifice fly to right field scoring Chris Guetzlaff from third. Jeremy Negen then doubled to the gap in right center to score Jack Hannahan from third and give the Golden Gophers a 2-0 lead.
The Golden Gophers added to the lead in the bottom of the third as Chris Guetzlaff's RBI single scored Rick Brosseau from second. Oral Roberts center fielder Erick Donaldson took a sure extra-base hit away from Rob LaRue, as he made an all-out diving catch on a sinking liner to get the Golden Eagles out of the inning.
Donaldson struck again in the top of the seventh inning when lead-off batter Jason Kennedy drilled a shot to deep left-center. Donaldson made a spectacular catch against the wall to rob Kennedy of a sure extra-base hit. But back-to-back singles by Scott Howard and Rick Brosseau forced Oral Roberts starting pitcher Jordan Gerk from the game. Golden Eagle reliever Stockton Davis was greeted with a single by Josh Holthaus scoring Howard from second, and a pinch-hit single by Luke Appert scored Brosseau from third. The two runs in the bottom of the seventh gave Minnesota a comfortable 5-2 lead.
The win for Minnesota extended their winning streak to a season-high seven games, while the loss broke a five-game winning streak for the Golden Eagles. The same two teams will play Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. at the Metrodome.
123 456 789 R H E Oral Roberts 000 011 000 2 7 1 Minnesota 021 000 20x 5 12 0 UM-Kobow, Kitzerow (7) and Negen. ORU-Gerk, Davis (7), Sanderson (8) and Hickman. WP - Kobow (3-1). LP - Gerk (3-4). HR - none. LOB: ORU: 7. UM: 9. T: 2:29. A: 297
