University of Minnesota Athletics
Baseball Blanks Michigan State 6-0
5/24/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Like Thursday's meeting with Northwestern, Minnesota found itself in a pitching duel with Michigan State. Starters Gagner and Pat Gill went toe-to-toe, surrendering just four hits apiece through five innings.
Minnesota finally cracked the goose egg in the bottom of the fifth inning. Pattee led off with a hard single through the right side. Junior David Roach followed with a ground ball to short, but advanced to second base on a throwing error by second baseman Travis Gulick. Roach moved up to third on a wild pitch, and came in on freshman David Hrncirik's burner up the middle.
Ahead 1-0, the Golden Gophers pulled away form the Spartans in the sixth, sending all nine men to the plate. Junior Luke Appert, who reached after being hit in the foot by a pitch, moved to second on senior Jason Kennedy's sacrifice bunt. Junior Scott Welch was intentionally walked, then Pattee's hit into left field loaded the bases. Roach took a pitch in the elbow, moving Appert home and everyone else up one base. Freshman Jake Elder then scored Welch and advanced the runners with a tricky ground ball to the left side. Hrncirik hustled out an infield single to score Pattee, and Howard doubled to left field to send in Roach, and Minnesota took control of the game with a 5-0 lead.
The Maroon and Gold added an insurance run in the seventh on Pattee's RBI single to go up 6-0.
Gagner started the game for the Golden Gophers, shutting out Michigan State for five-plus innings. The Spartans, who tallied 14 runs against Indiana in the early game, managed just five scattered hits against the Cumberland lefty. However, Gagner was drilled in the leg in the fourth inning by a line drive off the bat of Brady Burrill, and was forced to leave because of discomfort in the sixth. Loberg came on for the gutsy Gagner, and showed just as much determination and poise. Loberg retired the first eight batters he faced, allowing just one single in the ninth inning. He fanned four Spartans in four innings, earning the first save of his career. Gagner improved to 4-1 with the victory.
Minnesota earned a rematch with Northwestern in the loser's bracket, after the Wildcats fell to Ohio State in the night game. The two teams will play tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. CDT. The winner will advance to play Ohio State in the championship round. The loser will be eliminated from the tournament. For updated brackets, box scores and complete game times, log on to www.GopherSports.com.
Post-game Quotes
Minnesota head coach John Anderson
"I thought the kids responded well after getting beat last night. I was concerned out they would handle this game. We got out of the first inning jam; the first inning played a big part in the rest of the game. They had the momentum going for them, but once Jay [Gagner] settled down, he got us going. Loberg came in and pitched outstanding. The first inning was the whole game; it made a big difference."
"I said last night that there's still a lot of baseball to be played. The bye makes a difference. We just played our second game, where this was Michigan State's fourth game already and we're facing their fourth starter. We pitched perfectly and the defense played well, too. You can't walk people. They tend to get runs in bunches, stringing hits together. The important thing is we didn't make any errors and allow walks."
Minnesota relief pitcher Matt Loberg
"I had been up throwing since the first inning. I felt good and warm. I thought I located the pitches well and kept the ball down. Defense played great. It seems like whenever I come into a game, the guys come in and back me up with runs - good support."
Michigan State head coach Ted Mahan
"We've got a good hitting team, but they pitched very well. This was our fourth game in three days. We're tired. There's no doubt that was a factor in this game. But we're 38-19; we've had a great year. We hope to keep playing next week. We're a good team that's looking to get an NCAA bid."
"We had a couple of guys on with one out in the first inning, but this was one of those games without big games for us. We had opportunities today, but we didn't get the big hits that we needed. We're a good hitting team, but good pitching gets good hitting out. That's why pitching is the name of the game."
