University of Minnesota Athletics
ANDERSON WINS 700TH CAREER GAME; GOPHERS SPLIT DOUBLE HEADER
3/24/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The temperature was barely above freezing at Lambert Field, with wind gusts over 20 miles per hour, as the first pitch crossed the plate. Freshman Sam Steidl and sophomore Luke Appert both singled to lead off the Gopher first inning, and junior Jack Hannahan drove them in with his third home run of the year. Hannahan blasted the 2-2 pitch well over the left field wall, and Minnesota jumped ahead of Purdue 3-0. The Boilermakers loaded the bases in the bottom of the first, but freshman Craig Molldrem got Boilermaker John Gusich to strike out looking - preserving the Minnesota lead.
The Golden Gophers added to that lead in the second, as they brought 12 men to the plate against Boilermaker pitching. With the help of two hit batters, Minnesota roped two doubles - one by Steidl and one by Hannahan - and senior Kurt Haring belted his first career home run to left. The three-run shot gave Anderson and his club a comfortable 9-1 lead. The Maroon and Gold added one more run before the inning ended, and found themselves ahead 10-1 over the Boilermakers after just an inning and a half.
Purdue was ready to say die, however. After a walk and back-to-back singles by the Boilers, the bases were quickly loaded with just one out. That brought to the plate Nate Sickler, a senior from Hinckley, Minn. Sickler hit Molldrem's 1-0 pitch to deep left field. Junior outfielder Scott Howard drifted back to make the play, but crashed into the wall as he attempted to make the catch. The ball rolled into left field, and Howard did not get up. Sickler raced around the bases for an inside-the-park grand slam, and Purdue was all of a sudden within four.
Each team added another run in the sixth, and Minnesota carried an 11-7 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning. A lead-off double by David Harrell, a single to center by Gusich and a walk to Mike Duursma loaded the bases for the Boilermakers and threatened the Golden Gopher's victory. Senior Jason Shupe came on in relief for freshman Josh Krogman - who had retired his first ten batters faced before struggling - to face Daniel Underwood. Underwood muscled a single into right, scoring Harrell and cutting the deficit to three. David Blomberg was the next batter for Purdue. Blomberg hit a single to left, scoring Gusich and Duursma, but was thrown out trying to advance to second on the play.
The score was now 11-10 with two outs and Underwood was on third base. Sickler stepped in as the winning run, but on the 1-2 pitch, Shupe struck him out swinging and the Golden Gophers survived the Boilermaker threat. Shupe earned his first save of the year, Krogman earned his second win and Anderson won his 700th game as head coach at Minnesota.
The night-cap was not so kind to Anderson and company. Purdue scored two runs in the bottom of the first and one in the third to pounce on top of Minnesota 3-0. The Golden Gophers rallied in the fifth, but with the bases loaded and no one out, junior Jason Kennedy grounded into a 5-2-3 double play to kill the threat. The Maroon and Gold tried to get something going in the seventh, but it was not to be, as senior southpaw David Gassner worked himself out of the jam. Gassner went the distance for Purdue, striking out seven and earning his first win of the year.
Minnesota (11-11, 2-1) and Purdue (6-13, 1-2) will lock horns for the fourth time Sunday afternoon at noon central time to wrap up the opening Big Ten series. Sophomore C.J. Woodrow is scheduled to throw for the Gophers versus sophomore Sean O'Neil from Purdue. The game can be heard live on WDGY-AM 630. If Minnesota wins, it will make Anderson the winningest coach in Big
