.png&width=42&height=42&type=webp)
University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Defeats Baylor 15-12
5/31/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Minnesota baseball team (40-18) defeated Baylor (30-26) 15-12 in the NCAA Regionals at Alex Box Stadium on Sunday, May 31.
With the win, the Golden Gophers will face No. 2 LSU at 6:04 p.m. in the first championship game. If Minnesota's wins, it would face LSU again for the right to advance to the Super Regionals on Monday, June 1 at 6:04 p.m.
"I am proud of our kids," said Minnesota Head Coach John Anderson. "When were down 5-2 it did not look good, but Derek (McCallum) and Michael (Kvasnicka) came up with some big hits to get us going. This team has battled back all year, and I was impressed by the way we did so again today."
Minnesota has now won two games in an NCAA Regional for the first time since 1999, and collected the ninth 40-win season during Anderson's tenure as head coach.
The Golden Gophers trailed 5-2 heading into the top of the seventh, before Derek McCallum (Shoreview, Minn.) delivered an RBI double and Michael Kvasnicka (Lakeville, Minn.) followed with a two-run homer to tie the game at 5-5.
Minnesota scored five runs apiece in the eighth and ninth paced by a pair of two-run doubles by McCallum to push the lead to 15-5. Baylor stormed back with seven runs in the bottom of the ninth to make it 15-12, before Luke Rasmussen (Northfield, Minn.) closed the door to give the Golden Gophers the victory.
Senior Chauncy Handran threw 135 pitches and got into the ninth inning. He entered the ninth, having limited Baylor to seven hits and five runs. Handran picked up the win as he went eight innings, gave up 11 hits, nine runs, walked to and struck out seven. He picked up the win to move to 8-3 on the season.
"I just wanted to go out there and give my team a quality outing and get deep into the game," said Handran. "I got into trouble in the fourth, but from that point on I had my three pitches working well."
Minnesota was led by junior second baseman Derek McCallum (Shoreview, Minn.) who went 4-for-6 with a home run, three doubles, four runs and a career-high seven RBI. With the seven RBI, McCallum broke the school record for RBI in a single-season with 86. He also hit his 18th home run to tie Jerry Kindall (1956) for second on the single-season list.
Redshirt freshmen AJ Pettersen (Minnetonka, Minn.) reached base four times, and was 3-for-5 with four runs and two RBI. Michael Kvasnicka (Lakeville, Minn.) also went 2-for-6 with a home run and two RBI, while Kyle Knudson (Maple Grove, Minn.) was 1-for-5 with two RBI. Matt Nohelty (Rothschild, Wis.) finished 3-for-6 with two runs on the game as well.
Minnesota jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning when McCallum crushed a two-run homer over the right field fence.
Baylor got the two runs back in the bottom of the first on a two-run single by Ben Booker to tie the game at 2-2.
The Bears took the lead 5-2 when they pushed three runs across the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning. Don Lambert put Baylor ahead 4-2 with a two-run single, and Gregg Glime followed with an RBI double to put the Bears up 5-2.
Baylor held the 5-2 lead until the top of the seventh inning. In that inning, Pettersen got things started with a two-out single. McCallum followed by driving the ball into left field. As McCallum was heading to second the Baylor leftfielder attempted to throw the ball back into the infield. As he tried to transfer the ball out of his glove, it flew into the seats allowing both runners to move up a base. Pettersen scored to make it 5-3, and McCallum moved up to third. Kvasnicka followed with a two-run homer to right center field to tie the game at 5-5.
Minnesota exploded for five runs in the top of the eighth to take a 10-5 lead. With one out, Justin Gominsky (Mahtomedi, Minn.) drew a walk and Kyle Geason (Eden Prairie, Minn.) was hit by a pitch. Nohelty beat out an infield single to load the bases. Pettersen followed with an RBI single to plate Gominsky to give the Golden Gophers a 6-5 lead. McCallum followed by crushing a two-run double to center field to give Minnesota an 8-5 lead. Two batters later, Knudson delivered a two-run single to push the lead to 10-5.
The Golden Gophers extended the lead to 15-5 with five runs in the top of the ninth. Eric Decker (Cold Spring, Minn.) led off with an infield single, and moved to second on a ground out by Gominksy. Geason followed with a walk, and Nohelty loaded the bases with an infield single. Pettersen drew a base-loaded walk to plate Decker to make it 11-5. McCallum followed a two-run double to push Minnesota's lead to 13-5. McCallum and Pettersen both scored when Knudson reached on an error by the third baseman to make it 15-5.
Baylor came storming back in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Bears made it 15-7 on RBI singles by Drew Bias and Dustin Dickerson. Kenton Gedwed delivered a pinch-hit grand slam to cut the Golden Gophers lead to 15-11. Booker had an RBI single to cut the lead to 15-12, but Rasmussen closed the door on the Bears to give Minnesota the victory.
Booker led the way for Baylor going 4-for-5 with two runs, three RBI and a double. Dickerson was also 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI. Lambert also finished 1-for-3 with a run and two RBI.
With the win, the Golden Gophers will face No. 2 LSU at 6:04 p.m. in the first championship game. If Minnesota's wins, it would face LSU again for the right to advance to the Super Regionals on Monday, June 1 at 6:04 p.m.
"I am proud of our kids," said Minnesota Head Coach John Anderson. "When were down 5-2 it did not look good, but Derek (McCallum) and Michael (Kvasnicka) came up with some big hits to get us going. This team has battled back all year, and I was impressed by the way we did so again today."
Minnesota has now won two games in an NCAA Regional for the first time since 1999, and collected the ninth 40-win season during Anderson's tenure as head coach.
The Golden Gophers trailed 5-2 heading into the top of the seventh, before Derek McCallum (Shoreview, Minn.) delivered an RBI double and Michael Kvasnicka (Lakeville, Minn.) followed with a two-run homer to tie the game at 5-5.
Minnesota scored five runs apiece in the eighth and ninth paced by a pair of two-run doubles by McCallum to push the lead to 15-5. Baylor stormed back with seven runs in the bottom of the ninth to make it 15-12, before Luke Rasmussen (Northfield, Minn.) closed the door to give the Golden Gophers the victory.
Senior Chauncy Handran threw 135 pitches and got into the ninth inning. He entered the ninth, having limited Baylor to seven hits and five runs. Handran picked up the win as he went eight innings, gave up 11 hits, nine runs, walked to and struck out seven. He picked up the win to move to 8-3 on the season.
"I just wanted to go out there and give my team a quality outing and get deep into the game," said Handran. "I got into trouble in the fourth, but from that point on I had my three pitches working well."
Minnesota was led by junior second baseman Derek McCallum (Shoreview, Minn.) who went 4-for-6 with a home run, three doubles, four runs and a career-high seven RBI. With the seven RBI, McCallum broke the school record for RBI in a single-season with 86. He also hit his 18th home run to tie Jerry Kindall (1956) for second on the single-season list.
Redshirt freshmen AJ Pettersen (Minnetonka, Minn.) reached base four times, and was 3-for-5 with four runs and two RBI. Michael Kvasnicka (Lakeville, Minn.) also went 2-for-6 with a home run and two RBI, while Kyle Knudson (Maple Grove, Minn.) was 1-for-5 with two RBI. Matt Nohelty (Rothschild, Wis.) finished 3-for-6 with two runs on the game as well.
Minnesota jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning when McCallum crushed a two-run homer over the right field fence.
Baylor got the two runs back in the bottom of the first on a two-run single by Ben Booker to tie the game at 2-2.
The Bears took the lead 5-2 when they pushed three runs across the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning. Don Lambert put Baylor ahead 4-2 with a two-run single, and Gregg Glime followed with an RBI double to put the Bears up 5-2.
Baylor held the 5-2 lead until the top of the seventh inning. In that inning, Pettersen got things started with a two-out single. McCallum followed by driving the ball into left field. As McCallum was heading to second the Baylor leftfielder attempted to throw the ball back into the infield. As he tried to transfer the ball out of his glove, it flew into the seats allowing both runners to move up a base. Pettersen scored to make it 5-3, and McCallum moved up to third. Kvasnicka followed with a two-run homer to right center field to tie the game at 5-5.
Minnesota exploded for five runs in the top of the eighth to take a 10-5 lead. With one out, Justin Gominsky (Mahtomedi, Minn.) drew a walk and Kyle Geason (Eden Prairie, Minn.) was hit by a pitch. Nohelty beat out an infield single to load the bases. Pettersen followed with an RBI single to plate Gominsky to give the Golden Gophers a 6-5 lead. McCallum followed by crushing a two-run double to center field to give Minnesota an 8-5 lead. Two batters later, Knudson delivered a two-run single to push the lead to 10-5.
The Golden Gophers extended the lead to 15-5 with five runs in the top of the ninth. Eric Decker (Cold Spring, Minn.) led off with an infield single, and moved to second on a ground out by Gominksy. Geason followed with a walk, and Nohelty loaded the bases with an infield single. Pettersen drew a base-loaded walk to plate Decker to make it 11-5. McCallum followed a two-run double to push Minnesota's lead to 13-5. McCallum and Pettersen both scored when Knudson reached on an error by the third baseman to make it 15-5.
Baylor came storming back in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Bears made it 15-7 on RBI singles by Drew Bias and Dustin Dickerson. Kenton Gedwed delivered a pinch-hit grand slam to cut the Golden Gophers lead to 15-11. Booker had an RBI single to cut the lead to 15-12, but Rasmussen closed the door on the Bears to give Minnesota the victory.
Booker led the way for Baylor going 4-for-5 with two runs, three RBI and a double. Dickerson was also 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI. Lambert also finished 1-for-3 with a run and two RBI.
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
IF
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballRHP/OF
/ BaseballC
/ BaseballC/OF
/ BaseballSS/2B
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball2B
/ Baseball
LHP/OF
/ BaseballHighlights: Gophers 10, Kansas 3
Saturday, February 28
Highlights: Gophers 12, Kansas 5
Friday, February 27
Highlights: Gophers 7, Kansas 8
Wednesday, February 25
Cinematic Recap: Gophers Sweep Northeastern
Wednesday, February 25