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University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Defeats St. Thomas in 12 Innings
3/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Kurt Schlangen (Albany, Minn.) delivered an RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the 12th to give the Minnesota baseball team (4-7) a 5-4 victory over St. Thomas (2-1) at the Metrodome on Wednesday, Mar. 10.
Sophomore Trip Schultz (Forest Lake, Minn.) got things started with one out in the 12th inning when he was hit by a pitch. With two outs, Schultz moved to second and third on wild pitches by Tommies' reliever Brandon Stone. Matt Puhl (North St. Paul, Minn.) drew his third walk of the game, before Schlangen delivered the game-winning hit.
The Golden Gophers had trailed heading into the bottom of the ninth 4-3 after St. Thomas scored a single run in the top of the ninth. Puhl led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, and moved to second when Schlangen drew a walk. Both runners moved up on a balk to make it second and third with no one out. Stone battled back to strike out the next two batters.
Michael Kvasnicka (Lakeville, Minn.) drew a walk to load the bases with two outs. Nick O'Shea grounded a pitch to the shortstop, but the Tommies' shortstop hesitated after nobody covered second base allowing O'Shea to beat out the play. Puhl scored on the play to tie the game at 4-4. Stone battled back to retire JT Canakes (Eden Prairie, Minn.) to send the game to extra innings.
Minnesota reliever Phil Isaksson (Eau Claire, Wis.) picked up the win to move to 2-0, as he retired all five batters he faced and collected two strikeouts. Sophomore Austin Lubinsky (LaCrosse, Wis.) made his first appearance of the year, as he started and gave up two hits, one run, walked and struck out five batters in 2.2 innings.
Freshman Kevin Kray (Maple Grove, Minn.) gave up two hits, two runs, walked one and struck out five batters in 2.2 innings. Billy Soule (Hamel, Minn.) pitched 2.2 innings, gave up two hits and struck out a pair of batters. Scott Fern (Eau Claire, Wis.) also gave up three hits, one run, walked one and struck out two batters in 2.1 innings.
Overall, the Golden Gopher pitching staff struck out 16 total batters on the night and walked only three. St. Thomas struck out 10 batters, but also walked eight.
Stone took the loss to fall to 0-1 on the season, as he gave up four hits, two runs, walked five and struck out six batters in 3.2 innings. Kris Edwards started and gave up six hits, three runs, walked two and struck out four batters in 5.1 innings.
Minnesota was led by O'Shea who went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Pettersen also went 2-for-6 with a run and a stolen base, while Kvasnicka reached base three times, and was 1-for-4 with a run and a stolen base. Puhl reached base in all four plate appearances, going 1-for-1 with run and three walks.
Schlangen went 1-for-2 with an RBI, while Schultz was 1-for-2 with a run, a double and an RBI.
St. Thomas took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Tayler Rahm plated Matt McQuillan with an RBI single.
Minnesota got a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 2-1 lead. Pettersen led off the inning by reaching on an error by the second baseman, and moved to third on a single by Kvasnicka. With one out, Kvasnicka stole second and on the same play the Tommies catcher threw the ball into center field allowing Pettersen to score to make it 1-1. O'Shea followed with an RBI single to plate Kvasnicka to give the Golden Gophers the lead.
St. Thomas reclaimed the lead at 3-2 with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth. Tayler Rahm tied the game at 2-2 with an RBI single that plated Matt Olson. The Tommies moved ahead when John Means reached on an error that plated Roy Larson.
Minnesota tied the score with a single run in the bottom of the sixth. O'Shea led off the inning with a single, but was was wiped out on a fielder's choice by Canakes. Canakes moved up on a wild pitch and scored on a pinch-hit RBI double by Schultz to tie the game.
The Tommies took the lead 4-3 in the top of the ninth on an RBI single by McQuillan.
St. Thomas was led by McQuillan who went 3-for-6 with a run, an RBI and a double. Rahm went 2-for-5 with two RBI on the night.
Minnesota left 14 runners on base, while St. Thomas stranded eight. It was the longest game for the Golden Gophers since Feb. 29, 2008 when they lost 7-4 to TCU in the Dairy Queen Classic.
Minnesota will be back in action when its hosts the Metrodome Tournament on Mar. 12-14. The Golden Gophers will face Harvard on Friday, Mar. 12 at 6:35 p.m., Creighton on Saturday, Mar. 13 at 6:35 p.m. and South Dakota State on Sunday, Mar. 14 at 3:05 p.m.
Sophomore Trip Schultz (Forest Lake, Minn.) got things started with one out in the 12th inning when he was hit by a pitch. With two outs, Schultz moved to second and third on wild pitches by Tommies' reliever Brandon Stone. Matt Puhl (North St. Paul, Minn.) drew his third walk of the game, before Schlangen delivered the game-winning hit.
The Golden Gophers had trailed heading into the bottom of the ninth 4-3 after St. Thomas scored a single run in the top of the ninth. Puhl led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, and moved to second when Schlangen drew a walk. Both runners moved up on a balk to make it second and third with no one out. Stone battled back to strike out the next two batters.
Michael Kvasnicka (Lakeville, Minn.) drew a walk to load the bases with two outs. Nick O'Shea grounded a pitch to the shortstop, but the Tommies' shortstop hesitated after nobody covered second base allowing O'Shea to beat out the play. Puhl scored on the play to tie the game at 4-4. Stone battled back to retire JT Canakes (Eden Prairie, Minn.) to send the game to extra innings.
Minnesota reliever Phil Isaksson (Eau Claire, Wis.) picked up the win to move to 2-0, as he retired all five batters he faced and collected two strikeouts. Sophomore Austin Lubinsky (LaCrosse, Wis.) made his first appearance of the year, as he started and gave up two hits, one run, walked and struck out five batters in 2.2 innings.
Freshman Kevin Kray (Maple Grove, Minn.) gave up two hits, two runs, walked one and struck out five batters in 2.2 innings. Billy Soule (Hamel, Minn.) pitched 2.2 innings, gave up two hits and struck out a pair of batters. Scott Fern (Eau Claire, Wis.) also gave up three hits, one run, walked one and struck out two batters in 2.1 innings.
Overall, the Golden Gopher pitching staff struck out 16 total batters on the night and walked only three. St. Thomas struck out 10 batters, but also walked eight.
Stone took the loss to fall to 0-1 on the season, as he gave up four hits, two runs, walked five and struck out six batters in 3.2 innings. Kris Edwards started and gave up six hits, three runs, walked two and struck out four batters in 5.1 innings.
Minnesota was led by O'Shea who went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Pettersen also went 2-for-6 with a run and a stolen base, while Kvasnicka reached base three times, and was 1-for-4 with a run and a stolen base. Puhl reached base in all four plate appearances, going 1-for-1 with run and three walks.
Schlangen went 1-for-2 with an RBI, while Schultz was 1-for-2 with a run, a double and an RBI.
St. Thomas took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Tayler Rahm plated Matt McQuillan with an RBI single.
Minnesota got a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 2-1 lead. Pettersen led off the inning by reaching on an error by the second baseman, and moved to third on a single by Kvasnicka. With one out, Kvasnicka stole second and on the same play the Tommies catcher threw the ball into center field allowing Pettersen to score to make it 1-1. O'Shea followed with an RBI single to plate Kvasnicka to give the Golden Gophers the lead.
St. Thomas reclaimed the lead at 3-2 with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth. Tayler Rahm tied the game at 2-2 with an RBI single that plated Matt Olson. The Tommies moved ahead when John Means reached on an error that plated Roy Larson.
Minnesota tied the score with a single run in the bottom of the sixth. O'Shea led off the inning with a single, but was was wiped out on a fielder's choice by Canakes. Canakes moved up on a wild pitch and scored on a pinch-hit RBI double by Schultz to tie the game.
The Tommies took the lead 4-3 in the top of the ninth on an RBI single by McQuillan.
St. Thomas was led by McQuillan who went 3-for-6 with a run, an RBI and a double. Rahm went 2-for-5 with two RBI on the night.
Minnesota left 14 runners on base, while St. Thomas stranded eight. It was the longest game for the Golden Gophers since Feb. 29, 2008 when they lost 7-4 to TCU in the Dairy Queen Classic.
Minnesota will be back in action when its hosts the Metrodome Tournament on Mar. 12-14. The Golden Gophers will face Harvard on Friday, Mar. 12 at 6:35 p.m., Creighton on Saturday, Mar. 13 at 6:35 p.m. and South Dakota State on Sunday, Mar. 14 at 3:05 p.m.
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