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University of Minnesota Athletics
Big Inning Propels Gophers Past Gauchos
2/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Minnesota baseball team (3-2) defeated UC Santa Barbara (3-2) 13-3 in the Dairy Queen Classic on Saturday, Feb. 28 at the Metrodome. Earlier in the day, Hawai'i scored in the bottom of the ninth to defeated Washington 3-2 in the first game of the Dairy Queen Classic.
Redshirt freshman AJ Pettersen (Minnetonka, Minn.) led Minnesota as he went 4-for-5 with two RBI, two doubles, two stolen bases, and two runs. Sophomore Michael Kvasnicka (Lakeville, Minn.) was 3-for-5 with a home run, two runs, three RBI and a double, while junior Eric Decker (Cold Spring, Minn.) was 3-for-5 with a home run, two runs and an RBI.
Jon Hummel (Lakefield, Minn.) was 1-for-3 with a home run, a run and two RBI, while junior Derek McCallum (Shoreview, Minn.) also went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Kyle Geason (Eden Praire, Minn.) also reached base three times, and was 1-for-2 with two runs on the night.
Senior Matt Nohelty (Rothschild, Wis.) extended hits hitting streak to 21 games dating back to the 2008 season as he went 1-for-6 with a run.
Minnesota clubbed four home runs on the night, which was the most since it had the same amount against South Dakota State on Apr. 18, 2007. The Golden Gophers pitching staff limited UC Santa Barbara to three hits in the game.
Minnesota got on the board early thanks to Kvasnicka's RBI single that knocked in Pettersen in the first inning to put the Golden Gophers ahead 1-0. Pettersen reached base on a ground-rule double and advanced to third on a steal, setting up the two-out hit by Kvasnicka.
In the second inning, Minnesota continued to push UC Santa Barbara pitcher Mario Hollands deep into the count. Playing small ball, the Golden Gophers found the scoreboard again when Geason scored on the front end of a double steal to put them up 2-0. Senior Matt Nohelty (Rothschild, Wis.) moved to second on the back end of the double steal, and Pettersen drove him home with an RBI single to make it 3-0
Continuing their offensive efficiency in the third, Kvasnica gave Minnesota another run on his second homer of the season. Three batters later, Hummel placed another ball in the home run porch on a two-run shot that scored Decker and gave the Gophers a 6-0 lead.
Kvasnicka showed off the leather along with the lumber in the top of the fourth. Eric Oliver delivered a hit to right field that appeared to be going for extra bases, however Kvasnicka gunned him down at second for the second out of the inning.
The Gauchos got on the board in the top of the sixth with a home run to dead center field by Mark Haddow to make the score 6-1. Other than the home run by Haddow, Santa Barbara's offense was stifled by senior starting pitcher Chauncy Handran's solid performance.
Handran went six innings, gave up two hits, two runs, walked three and struck out two batters to move to 1-1 on the season. Handran's six innings tied a career-high. For the Gaucnhos, Hollands went six innings, gave up nine hits, six runs, walked two and struck out eighth in a losing effort.
In the seventh, UC Santa Barbara threatened a comeback by loading the bases with one out. Robby Cummings plated Oliver to make it 6-2 when he reached on an error on a ground ball to the right side of the infield. Bryce Tafelski drew a bases-loaded walk to cut the Minnesota lead to 6-3.
With the Gauchos threatening, Minnesota brought in sophomore pitcher Cullen Sexton (Plover, Wis.). Sexton struck out Haddow and got Gump to fly out to end the inning to keep Minnesota ahead by three runs. On the night, Sexton threw 25 of his 28 pitches for strikes and retired all eight batters he faced as he went 2.2 shutout innings. Sexton recorded his first save of the season in the victory.
The eighth inning brought an offensive barrage for Minnesota. Decker opened the onslaught with his first homer of the year by blasting a Gaucho pitch into the right field suite level that put the Golden Gophers ahead 7-3. Pettersen continued his impressive performance on the evening with an RBI single that scored Geason to make it 8-3. Junior second baseman Derek McCallum (Shoreview, Minn.) followed the Pettersen at-bat with a round tripper, extending the Minnesota lead to 10-3. The Golden Gophers moved ahead 12-3 on RBI doubles by Kvasnicka and Kyle Knudson (Maple Grove, Minn.). Redsirt freshman Trip Schultz (Forest Lake, Minn.) knocked in the final run of the game on his first career hit, an RBI single that pushed it to 13-3.
The Gauchos were led by Haddow, who was 1-for-3 with a home run, a run and an RBI.
The DQ Classic continues tomorrow with UC Santa Barbara taking on Hawai'i at 12 p.m, and the Golden Gophers playing the Washington Huskies at 6:35 p.m.
