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University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota - Indiana Big Ten Tournament Blog
5/23/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
#20 Minnesota (38 - 16) faces Indiana (31 - 25) in the Big Ten Tournament Championship game from beautiful Huntington Park in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Minnesota has come through the loser's bracket and has won three straight to play in this contest. Minnesota will have to defeat Indiana twice since the Hoosiers are undefeated. If the Gophers win this game, they will play Indiana again tomorrow at 12:07 PM. First pitch is set for 7:25 PM.
The blog is interactive so please feel free to send in questions and comments to gopherbaseballblog@yahoo.com. Blog host, Taylor Vander Aarde, will post fan queries and answer them throughout the game. This is your chance to have your opinion heard on gophersports.com!
Here are today's starting line-ups.
Indiana 1) Chris Hervey RF 2) Jerrud Sabourin 1B 3) Josh Phegley C 4) Alex Dickerson DH 5) Kipp Schutz LF 6) Vince Gonzalez 3B 7) Brian Lambert CF 8) Tyler Rogers 2B 9) Jake Dunning SS SP) Matt Igel
Minnesota 1) Matt Nohelty DH 2) AJ Pettersen SS 3) Derek McCallum 2B 4) Mike Kvasnicka RF 5) Kyle Knudson C 6) Nick O'Shea 1B 7) Eric Decker CF 8) Justin Gominsky LF 9) Kyle Geason 3B SP) Austin Lubinsky
6:37 PM - Austin Lubinsky delivers the first pitch for a strike.
Steve in Olympia, WA asks:
I've been a huge fan of the Gopher baseball team since Molitor and Winfield played. I'll never forget that heartbreaking loss to USC in the national championship. It's really helpful that the Gophers have gotten 5 innings, 8 innings, and a complete game out of their starting pitching the last 3 games. Indiana's pitching is well rested, but I believe, if we can steal a game from them today, we will win tomorrow. How's our relief pitching been this year?
Hi Steve. Thanks for the question. Our relief pitching has been fantastic and our bullpen is in as good of shape as we can hope for playing our fifth game in three days. Tim Ryan, Cullen Sexton, Allen Bechstein, and possibly Tyler Oakes are all available for this game against Indiana.
6:45 PM - Igel on the year has appeared in 12 games but this is his first career start. I believe the key for both teams will be getting to the other teams starting pitcher. If Minnesota can knock Igel out early, they will put Indiana behind the 8-ball for today and tomorrow. Indiana 0, Minnesota 0, Top 2.
6:48 PM - Minnesota's Austin Lubinsky has been a great pitcher all year. You can make a pretty strong argument that he is among the top pitchers in the team. His ERA is currently 3.00, but if you take out an outing to Illinois in which he gave up five runs in 1.1 innings, his ERA would be 1.71 ERA. Indiana 0, Minnesota 0, Top 2.
6:58 PM - Indiana's Igel is a lefty who works with an 87-88 mph fastball and a 76 - 77 mph curveball. Indiana 2, Minnesota 0, Bottom 2.
7:09 PM - Here are some quick facts about Huntington Park, the host of the 2009 Big Ten Tournament.
Seats 10,000 spectators
HD Scoreboard
Family Lawn and Kids Fountain
32 Suites
42 Loge Boxes
Picnic Terraces
Knot Hole openings in rightfield fence for walk up viewing
Indiana 3, Minnesota 0, Top 3.
7:15 PM - If anybody hasn't had a chance to watch AJ Pettersen play shortstop, you need to get out to Siebert Field or the Metrodome next year. The kid is a defensive wizard. Indiana 3, Minnesota 0, Bottom 3.
7:19 PM - Derek McCallum is now tied for first in the Big Ten home run chase. McCallum smashed his 17th homerun over the centerfield fence. McCallum's case for All-America is rock solid. Indiana 3, Minnesota 1, Top 4.
7:20 PM - McCallum now has the most homeruns in a season since Mark Groebner also his 17 in 1998. Indiana 3, Minnesota 1, Top 4.
7:26 PM - Minnesota got quite a surprise when they were heading back to the hotel after yesterday's double header. There is a sci-fi convention somewhere near and the team suddenly found itself surrounded by Klingons. Indiana 5, Minnesota 1, Top 4.
7:42 PM - The Gophers have now played in the championship game the last eight times they have been to the Big Ten Tournament. Indiana 7, Minnesota 1, Bottom 4.
7:50 PM - Minnesota Athletics Director Joel Maturi and Associate Athletics Director Regina Sullivan made the trip down to Columbus to support the team. Huntington Park put them up in one of the beautiful hospitality suites were they have enjoyed the last four games. Indiana 7, Minnesota 1, Top 5.
7:57 PM - Minnesota is now 57 - 38 in the Big Ten Tournament all-time. Minnesota has a winning record against every team in the conference except Michigan (8 - 10) and Ohio State (14 - 16). Indiana 7, Minnesota 1, Bottom 5.
8:07 PM - Freshman Nick O'Shea continues his hot hitting during the month of May. He came into the tournament hitting .370 this month and he has hit well all week including two homeruns. Indiana 7, Minnesota 2, Top 6.
8:17 PM - Allen Bechstein deserves a lot of credit for keeping this game close for Minnesota. Bechstein is currently working on his second longest outing of the 2009 season. Bechstein went four innings against UW-Milwaukee on April 14. Indiana 7, Minnesota 2, Top 7.
8:31 PM - Gopher fans! You can watch the NCAA selection show this Monday at 11:30 AM (central) on ESPN. Minnesota has a great to make the national tournament. If we make it, we will be back in action next Friday night. Indiana 8, Minnesota 2, Top 7.
8:47 PM - The last time Minnesota won when being down by more than five runs was March 21, 2009 when the Gophers rallied to defeat Dallas Baptist 11 - 9 at Patroit Field in Dallas. Indiana 11, Minnesota 2, Top 8.
8:58 PM - Should Indiana win this game, they would earn the second Big Ten Tournament title in school history. Indiana 13, Minnesota 2, Top 8.
9:07 PM - Indiana's 17 hits are the most given up by the Minnesota pitching staff since they gave up 17 to Illinois on April 17. Indiana 13, Minnesota 2, Bottom 8.
9:20 PM - Indiana's three seed is the highest in program history since 1996 which is also the last time they won the Big Ten Tournament. Indiana 13, Minnesota 2, Bottom 9.
9:29 PM - Indiana beats Minnesota and wins the 2009 Big Ten Tournament Championship. The Gophers will await the NCAA selection show on Monday to find out where they will play in the NCAA tournament. Indiana 13, Minnesota 2, FINAL
