University of Minnesota Athletics
GOLDEN GOPHERS ELIMINATE BUCKEYES; ADVANCE TO TITLE GAME
5/20/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Ohio State struck first, with a run in the top of the second inning. Nick Swisher hit a double over the outstretched glove of Minnesota centerfielder Sam Steidl, then moved to third on a fly out to deep center. Swisher came in to score on another fly out to Steidl, and the Buckeyes took a 1-0 lead after an inning and a half.
Minnesota responded in the third. Junior Jason Kennedy worked a two-strike count full, then muscled a two-out single up the middle. One pitch later, Big Ten Player of the Year Jack Hannahan roped a triple down the left field line, scoring Kennedy and tying the game at 1-1. Senior Josh Holthaus, who extended his career-high 15-game hit streak in the second inning, launched his seventh home run of the year and third of the tournament to put the Golden Gophers ahead 3-1.
Gagner returned in the fourth to retire the Buckeyes in order. In the fifth, Ohio State blooped back-to-back one-out singles to mount a rally, but junior catcher Jeremy Beaulieu fired a bullet down to sophomore Scott Welch at second base to pick off Joe Wilkins and quiet the Buckeyes.
The Golden Gophers extended their cushion in the fifth, when Hannahan blistered a double to deep center field, scoring Kennedy for the second time in the game. Ohio State answered in the sixth inning with a RBI double by Doug Deeds, but Minnesota got the run back on a sacrifice fly to center field by junior Scott Howard.
Ohio State made the game interesting in the top of the eighth inning. With one away, the Buckeyes rallied three consecutive singles to score three runs and tie the game. A RBI slap to left field by Mike Harris brought Deeds home from third and sent John Mayor racing around third as the tying run. The throw from Howard to Beaulieu was right there, and Mayor was called out at the plate; and it appeared the Golden Gophers had escaped the inning with a one-run lead. Third base umpire Art Clendenning overruled the call at home, however, claiming that Hannahan interfered with Mayor. The call allowed the run to count, and brought the game to a 5-5 tie.
Minnesota came to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning in front of over 1,200 excited Buckeye fans. Welch reached safely with a hard single to right, and Howard sacrificed him to second with a well-laid bunt. Then with two down in the inning, Appert stepped into the batter's box, looking for his first hit of the tournament. He battled the count full, then knocked a solid base hit to center field, scoring Welch from second and giving Minnesota a one-run lead. "I struggled my first few at bats and hit, I think, only one ball hardly this week," Appert said, "but Coach Anderson and my team gave me a lot of confidence going into that at bat. I saw the ball a little better and remained more patient than I had earlier. I just waited for my pitch, and I got a fastball over the middle of the plate I took a good swing at it, and thankfully it fell in."
Kobow retired the buckeyes in order in the ninth, and the Golden Gophers advanced to the final game of the tournament versus the Wolverines. Undefeated in the brackets thus far, Minnesota is just one win away from earning the tournament title and an automatic bid to a regional. Michigan, on the other hand, must win twice over Minnesota to claim the tourney crown.
