University of Minnesota Athletics
GOLDEN GOPHERS DROP HEARTBREAKER TO DEFENDING CHAMPS, 10-9
5/25/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
LSU crossed home first when Todd Linden poked a two-out single through the right side, scoring Mike Fontenot form third. Fontenot reached on a two-out walk, then advanced to third base on a throwing error by Jeremy Beaulieu, who attempted to gun out Fontenot at second on a stolen base attempt. Minnesota managed a lead-off hit in both the first and second innings, but failed to advance either runner.
The Tigers attacked again in the bottom of the second, capitalizing on another walk, stolen base and throwing error. They followed with three consecutive singles, scoring four runs, and quickly went up 5-0 after two.
The Golden Gophers went on a hunt of their own in the top of the third by rallying for four runs on five hits to match the Tigers and close the gap to 5-4. Sophomore Luke Appert led off the inning with a four-pitch walk. Freshman Sam Steidl then knocked his second hit of the day on two pitches, moving Appert to second. Junior Jason Kennedy loaded the bags with his first hit of the game - a short single to left - and junior All-American Jack Hannahan roped a single up the middle to score Appert and Steidl, and put Minnesota on the board. A RBI hit into left field by senior Josh Holthaus, and a sacrifice fly to left-center by senior Kurt Haring made the score 5-4.
LSU extended its lead to 6-4 on a home run by Zeph Zinsman in the bottom of the third, but it was the only Tiger hit if the inning. In fact, it was the last Tiger hit until the sixth, as Kobow retired five of seven LSU batters in the fourth and fifth innings.
| Sophomore Scott Welch celebrates his sixth homer of the year, which tied the game at 6. |
Minnesota warmed up the bats again in the fifth, as Holthaus lined a double down the right field line to lead things off. Two batters later, sophomore Scott Welch belted his sixth home run of the season to deep right-center field and tied the game at 6-6.
Kobow, who had shut down five of the last seven Tigers he faced heading into the fifth, struggled to start the inning - walking three of the four batters he faced. Kobow lasted four and one-third innings in his 14th start of the season, striking out two Tiger batters, but walking eight.
LSU tallied its seventh run of the game on a sacrifice fly to center field by Ryan Theriot in the bottom of the fifth, but the Golden Gophers responded with two more in the sixth. A two-RBI double into center field by Holthaus scored Steidl and Kennedy, and Minnesota held an 8-7 lead over LSU heading into the bottom of the seventh.
The Tigers assembled four hits and capitalized on Minnesota's fourth error of the game to put up three more runs and take the lead yet again at 10-8. A lead-off double by Appert in the top of the ninth led to a RBI single by Steidl, narrowing the lead to 10-9, but Kennedy's ground ball could not find the hole, ending the game with a 6-4-3 double play.
Appert led both teams with a 4-for-4 performance, and Holthaus added three hits and three RBI, but Minnesota could not get all of the runs in that they needed, leaving 11 men on base - eight in scoring position.
Minnesota will play the loser of Friday night's California/Virginia Commenwealth game at 11 a.m. CDT Saturday morning. The winner of that game will advance to play the loser of the winner's game at 7:30 p.m. CDT, and the loser will be eliminated. Saturday morning's game will air live on WDGY-AM 630 and can also be heard online by logging onto www.gophersports.com.
