University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Blanks Akron 6-0 in Season Opener
2/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Minnesota baseball team (1-0) shut out Akron (0-1) 6-0 at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Fla. in its season opener.
It was the first shutout for the Golden Gophers since Apr. 5, 2008 when Minnesota defeated Ohio State on the road 6-0.
Juniors Seth Rosin (Shoreview, Minn.) and Scott Fern (Eau Claire, Wis.) combined on the shutout. Rosin started and gave up just four hits in four innings. Fern picked up the win, as he pitched a career-high five innings, gave up three hits, walked one and struck out two.
Offensively, Minnesota was led by junior Brooks Albrecht (Hutchinson, Minn.) who went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Senior Kyle Knudson (Maple Grove, Minn.) reached base in all four plate appearances, and went 3-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
Junior Michael Kvasnicka (Lakeville, Minn.) was 2-for-5 with a home run, one run and an RBI, while Nick O'Shea (Blaine, Minn.) also was 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI. Trip Schultz (Forest Lake, Minn.) went 1-for-2 with a run and an RBI.
In his collegiate debut, Matt Puhl (North St. Paul, Minn.) went 1-for-2 with a double and a walk. Troy Larson (Maplewood, Minn.) also reached base twice, and was 1-for-1 in his collegiate debut. Sophomore Kyle Geason (Eden Prairie, Minn.) was also 1-for-4 with a run.
The Golden Gophers got on the board in the bottom of the first with a single run to make it 1-0. Kurt Schlangen (Albany, Minn.) led off the game with a walk, stole second and moved to third on an error. Akron starter Alex Loftin retired the next two batters, but O'Shea delivered an RBI single to make it 1-0.
Minnesota added three runs in the bottom of the third to move ahead 4-0. O'Shea got things started with a one-out single and moved to second on a wild pitch. Knudson plated him with an RBI single that went off the shortstop's glove and into the center field to make it 2-0. After Knudson moved to second on a balk, Schultz singled him home to move the score to 3-0. Schultz stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and eventually scored on an Albrecht RBI single.
The Golden Gophers moved the score to 5-0 in the fifth inning when Geason singled, moved to second on a ground out and scored on an RBI single by Albrecht. Minnesota finished the scoring in the sixth inning when Kvasnicka led off the inning with a solo home run to make it 6-0.
Lofton took the loss, as he gave up eight hits, four runs, walked four and struck out two batters in four innings. Nick Soliario went 2-for-3 on the day, while Brandon White was also 2-for-4.
Minnesota will be back in action when it faces Akron on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 1:05 p.m. (CT) and Sunday, Feb. 21 at 12:05 p.m. (CT). Both games can be heard in the Gold Zone.
It was the first shutout for the Golden Gophers since Apr. 5, 2008 when Minnesota defeated Ohio State on the road 6-0.
Juniors Seth Rosin (Shoreview, Minn.) and Scott Fern (Eau Claire, Wis.) combined on the shutout. Rosin started and gave up just four hits in four innings. Fern picked up the win, as he pitched a career-high five innings, gave up three hits, walked one and struck out two.
Offensively, Minnesota was led by junior Brooks Albrecht (Hutchinson, Minn.) who went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Senior Kyle Knudson (Maple Grove, Minn.) reached base in all four plate appearances, and went 3-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
Junior Michael Kvasnicka (Lakeville, Minn.) was 2-for-5 with a home run, one run and an RBI, while Nick O'Shea (Blaine, Minn.) also was 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI. Trip Schultz (Forest Lake, Minn.) went 1-for-2 with a run and an RBI.
In his collegiate debut, Matt Puhl (North St. Paul, Minn.) went 1-for-2 with a double and a walk. Troy Larson (Maplewood, Minn.) also reached base twice, and was 1-for-1 in his collegiate debut. Sophomore Kyle Geason (Eden Prairie, Minn.) was also 1-for-4 with a run.
The Golden Gophers got on the board in the bottom of the first with a single run to make it 1-0. Kurt Schlangen (Albany, Minn.) led off the game with a walk, stole second and moved to third on an error. Akron starter Alex Loftin retired the next two batters, but O'Shea delivered an RBI single to make it 1-0.
Minnesota added three runs in the bottom of the third to move ahead 4-0. O'Shea got things started with a one-out single and moved to second on a wild pitch. Knudson plated him with an RBI single that went off the shortstop's glove and into the center field to make it 2-0. After Knudson moved to second on a balk, Schultz singled him home to move the score to 3-0. Schultz stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and eventually scored on an Albrecht RBI single.
The Golden Gophers moved the score to 5-0 in the fifth inning when Geason singled, moved to second on a ground out and scored on an RBI single by Albrecht. Minnesota finished the scoring in the sixth inning when Kvasnicka led off the inning with a solo home run to make it 6-0.
Lofton took the loss, as he gave up eight hits, four runs, walked four and struck out two batters in four innings. Nick Soliario went 2-for-3 on the day, while Brandon White was also 2-for-4.
Minnesota will be back in action when it faces Akron on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 1:05 p.m. (CT) and Sunday, Feb. 21 at 12:05 p.m. (CT). Both games can be heard in the Gold Zone.
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