University of Minnesota Athletics
OHIO STATE SINKS MINNESOTA 5-1; COMPLETES SERIES SWEEP
4/29/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
For the first time on the weekend, it was the Golden Gophers that struck first. Minnesota took advantage of two first inning walks to score a run. Sophomore Luke Appert grounded in freshman Sam Steidl, who led the inning off with his 52nd hit of the season, and the Maroon and Gold were quickly up 1-0. Freshman Josh Krogman did what no other Golden Gopher pitcher was able to do over the weekend; he retired the first three Ohio State batters and held the Buckeyes scoreless in the first inning of play.
Krogman continued his brilliance through the seventh inning. The 6-4, 190-pound righthander faced the minimum number of batters through four and two-thirds innings of work, and allowed just four hits, before leaving the game in the eighth inning.
Ohio State blew the game open in the bottom of the eighth. A lead-off single by Lance Rolston - his third hit of the day - and a pinch-hit, two-run blast over the right-center field wall by Christian Snavely gave the Buckeyes a 2-1 lead with just one out in the inning. A walk and an infield single later, Doug Dendinger belted his eighth home run of the season into dead center field, making the score 5-1.
The Golden Gophers left 11 men on base in the game - eight of them in scoring position - and could not come up with the timely hits that the Buckeyes found all weekend.
Now 29-19 overall and 15-8 in conference play, Minnesota will take a weekend off from Big Ten rivals, before closing out its regular season against Northwestern May 11-13 at Siebert Field. The Golden Gophers next game is May 2 versus St. Scholastica. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Siebert Field.
