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University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Falls to Northwestern 6-5
4/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Minnesota baseball team (14-21, 4-4) dropped a 6-5 decision at Northwestern (11-22, 4-4) at Rocky Miller Park on Saturday, Apr. 17.
Minnesota was led by sophomore Kyle Geason (Eden Prairie, Minn.) who went 3-for-4 with two RBI on the day. Geason is now 6-for-7 with five RBI in the first two games of the series. Sophomore Nick O'Shea (Blaine, Minn.) also went 1-for-4 with a double, a run and two RBI. Senior catcher Kyle Knudson (Maple Grove, Minn.) reached base three times, and was 1-for-3 with two runs.
Freshman Ryan Abrahamson (Oakdale, Minn.) also went 1-for-3 with an RBI, while Matt Puhl (North St. Paul, Minn.) finished 1-for-4 with a run. Michael Kvasnicka (Lakeville, Minn.) also went 1-for-5 with a run.
Minnesota starter TJ Oakes (Jordan, Minn.) took a no-decision, as he pitched a career-high 6.2 innings, gave up nine hits, four earned runs, walked four and struck out five. Senior Allen Bechstein (Apple Valley, Minn.) took the loss to fall to 1-1 on the season, as he pitched 1.1 innings, gave up one hit, one run and struck out a batter.
The Golden Gophers got on the board first with a single run in the top of the second. Knudson drew a walk, moved up on a ground out and scored on an RBI single by Geason to make it 1-0.
Northwestern answered with four runs in the bottom of the second to take a 4-1 lead. The Wildcats tied the score at 1-1 on an RBI single by Colby Everett. Geoff Rowan put Northwestern ahead 3-1 with a two-run double, and Chad Noble added an RBI single to push the Wildcat lead to three runs.
Minnesota responded with four runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 5-4 lead. Kvasnicka led off the inning with a single, and moved to second on a wild pitch. After Knudson drew a walk to make it first and second, O'Shea delivered a two-run double to make it 4-3. Puhl followed with a single to make it first and third, and Geason plated O'Shea with an RBI ground out to tie the game at 4-4. Puhl moved to second on the ground out, and scored an RBI single by Abrahamson that gave the Golden Gophers a 5-4 lead.
Both pitchers settled into the game from that point. With two outs in the sixth inning, Arby Fields reached on an error by the first baseman and Noble plated him with an RBI double to tie the game at 5-5.
The game remained tied until the bottom of the eighth inning. Hamilton Wise led off the inning with a single, and moved to second on sacrifice bunt by Rowan. Wise moved to third on a ground out and came home to score on a wild pitch to give Northwestern a 6-5 lead.
Minnesota threatened in the top of the ninth inning when pinch-hitter Andy Henkemeyer (Sauk Rapids, Minn.) led off with a single. Troy Larson (Maplewood, Minn.) moved Henkemeyer to second and AJ Pettersen (Minnetonka, Minn.) was hit by a pitch to make it first and second with one out. Kvasnicka followed by ripping a line drive to the left side that was caught by third baseman Chris Lashmet for the second out. Paul Snieder closed the game out by getting Knudson to ground out to give the Wildcats the victory.
Erik Jokisch picked up the win to move to 3-4, as he pitched eight innings, gave up nine hits, five runs, walked two and struck out six. Snieder closed out the ninth for his fifth save. Northwestern was led by Noble who was 2-for-5 with two RBI and a double. Lashmet was 2-for-4 with a run and two doubles, while Wise went 1-for-3 with two runs. Stevens also reached base three times, and was 1-for-2 with a run.
Minnesota and Northwestern will close out the series on Sunday, Apr. 18 at 1 p.m. That game can be heard on KLBB (1220 AM) and in the Gold Zone.
Minnesota was led by sophomore Kyle Geason (Eden Prairie, Minn.) who went 3-for-4 with two RBI on the day. Geason is now 6-for-7 with five RBI in the first two games of the series. Sophomore Nick O'Shea (Blaine, Minn.) also went 1-for-4 with a double, a run and two RBI. Senior catcher Kyle Knudson (Maple Grove, Minn.) reached base three times, and was 1-for-3 with two runs.
Freshman Ryan Abrahamson (Oakdale, Minn.) also went 1-for-3 with an RBI, while Matt Puhl (North St. Paul, Minn.) finished 1-for-4 with a run. Michael Kvasnicka (Lakeville, Minn.) also went 1-for-5 with a run.
Minnesota starter TJ Oakes (Jordan, Minn.) took a no-decision, as he pitched a career-high 6.2 innings, gave up nine hits, four earned runs, walked four and struck out five. Senior Allen Bechstein (Apple Valley, Minn.) took the loss to fall to 1-1 on the season, as he pitched 1.1 innings, gave up one hit, one run and struck out a batter.
The Golden Gophers got on the board first with a single run in the top of the second. Knudson drew a walk, moved up on a ground out and scored on an RBI single by Geason to make it 1-0.
Northwestern answered with four runs in the bottom of the second to take a 4-1 lead. The Wildcats tied the score at 1-1 on an RBI single by Colby Everett. Geoff Rowan put Northwestern ahead 3-1 with a two-run double, and Chad Noble added an RBI single to push the Wildcat lead to three runs.
Minnesota responded with four runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 5-4 lead. Kvasnicka led off the inning with a single, and moved to second on a wild pitch. After Knudson drew a walk to make it first and second, O'Shea delivered a two-run double to make it 4-3. Puhl followed with a single to make it first and third, and Geason plated O'Shea with an RBI ground out to tie the game at 4-4. Puhl moved to second on the ground out, and scored an RBI single by Abrahamson that gave the Golden Gophers a 5-4 lead.
Both pitchers settled into the game from that point. With two outs in the sixth inning, Arby Fields reached on an error by the first baseman and Noble plated him with an RBI double to tie the game at 5-5.
The game remained tied until the bottom of the eighth inning. Hamilton Wise led off the inning with a single, and moved to second on sacrifice bunt by Rowan. Wise moved to third on a ground out and came home to score on a wild pitch to give Northwestern a 6-5 lead.
Minnesota threatened in the top of the ninth inning when pinch-hitter Andy Henkemeyer (Sauk Rapids, Minn.) led off with a single. Troy Larson (Maplewood, Minn.) moved Henkemeyer to second and AJ Pettersen (Minnetonka, Minn.) was hit by a pitch to make it first and second with one out. Kvasnicka followed by ripping a line drive to the left side that was caught by third baseman Chris Lashmet for the second out. Paul Snieder closed the game out by getting Knudson to ground out to give the Wildcats the victory.
Erik Jokisch picked up the win to move to 3-4, as he pitched eight innings, gave up nine hits, five runs, walked two and struck out six. Snieder closed out the ninth for his fifth save. Northwestern was led by Noble who was 2-for-5 with two RBI and a double. Lashmet was 2-for-4 with a run and two doubles, while Wise went 1-for-3 with two runs. Stevens also reached base three times, and was 1-for-2 with a run.
Minnesota and Northwestern will close out the series on Sunday, Apr. 18 at 1 p.m. That game can be heard on KLBB (1220 AM) and in the Gold Zone.
Players Mentioned
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