University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers One-Hit Indiana to Claim Series
4/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Juniors Phil Isaksson (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Scott Matyas (North Prairie, Wis.) combined on a one-hit shutout as the Minnesota baseball team (16-24, 6-6) defeated Indiana (20-18, 6-6) 10-0 at the Metrodome in the series finale on Sunday, Apr. 25.
The shutout victory gave the Golden Gophers the series win as they claimed two of three games from the Hoosiers. Minnesota also recorded two shutouts in a Big Ten series for the first time since Apr. 1-2, 2006 when it defeated Penn State 5-0 in the final two games of a conference series.
Isaksson pitched brilliantly as he gave up one hit, walked three, hit three batters and struck out six in seven shutout innings. With the win, Isaksson moved his record to 3-0 on the seasons. Matyas retired all six batters he faced, and recorded four strikeouts in his relief appearance.
Minnesota had eight different batters collect hits on the day. Senior catcher Kyle Knudson (Maple Grove, Minn.) went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI, while Matt Puhl (North St. Paul, Minn.) went 3-for-4 with three doubles and two runs. It marked the first time since Apr. 22, 2006 that a Golden Gopher has collected three doubles in a game. That came when Sean Kommerstad had three at Michigan State.
Freshman Ryan Abrahamson (Oakdale, Minn.) filled in at first base after Nick O'Shea (Blaine, Minn.) was hit by a pitch in the hand and later left the game. Abrahamson ended up going 2-for-4 with a home run, four RBI and two runs, as he collected a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning. AJ Pettersen (Minnetonka, Minn.) also reached base four times on the day, and was 1-for-2 with two runs.
The Golden Gophers got on the board with a pair of runs in the top of the third to take a 2-0 lead. Troy Larson (Maplewood, Minn.) got thing started when he drew a one-out walk, stole second and moved to third on an infield single by Pettersen. Knudson delivered a two-out, two-run double to put Minnesota ahead 2-0.
Minnesota pushed the lead to 4-0 with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Puhl drew a lead-off walk, moved to second on a wild pitch and went to third on a bunt by Andy Henkemeyer (Sauk Rapids, Minn.). Kurt Schlangen (Albany, Minn.) followed with a two-out RBI double to put the Gophers ahead 3-0. Larson plated Puhl with an RBI single to make it 4-0.
The Golden Gophers' lead stayed at four runs until the bottom of the seventh when they pushed two more across the plate. With one out, Abrahamson singled and Puhl doubled to make it second and third. Henkemeyer and Schlangen delivered back-to-back RBI singles to give Minnesota a 6-0 lead.
Abrahamson capped off the scoring when delivered a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning to put Minnesota ahead 10-0.
Indiana starter Matt Carr took the loss, as he gave up two hits, two runs, walked one and struck out three in 2.2 innings.
Earley reached twice in the game, and collected the Hoosiers' only hit on a one-out triple with one out in the second inning. Isaksson and Matyas would not allow a hit for the remaining 7.2 innings.
The Golden Gophers will be back in action when they travel to Fargo to face North Dakota State on Apr. 28 at 5 p.m. Minnesota will then head to Iowa City to face the Hawkeyes on Friday, Apr. 30 at 6:05 p.m., Saturday, May 1 at 1:05 p.m. and Sunday, May 2 at 1:05 p.m. All four games can be heard on KLBB (1220 AM) and in the Gold Zone.
The shutout victory gave the Golden Gophers the series win as they claimed two of three games from the Hoosiers. Minnesota also recorded two shutouts in a Big Ten series for the first time since Apr. 1-2, 2006 when it defeated Penn State 5-0 in the final two games of a conference series.
Isaksson pitched brilliantly as he gave up one hit, walked three, hit three batters and struck out six in seven shutout innings. With the win, Isaksson moved his record to 3-0 on the seasons. Matyas retired all six batters he faced, and recorded four strikeouts in his relief appearance.
Minnesota had eight different batters collect hits on the day. Senior catcher Kyle Knudson (Maple Grove, Minn.) went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI, while Matt Puhl (North St. Paul, Minn.) went 3-for-4 with three doubles and two runs. It marked the first time since Apr. 22, 2006 that a Golden Gopher has collected three doubles in a game. That came when Sean Kommerstad had three at Michigan State.
Freshman Ryan Abrahamson (Oakdale, Minn.) filled in at first base after Nick O'Shea (Blaine, Minn.) was hit by a pitch in the hand and later left the game. Abrahamson ended up going 2-for-4 with a home run, four RBI and two runs, as he collected a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning. AJ Pettersen (Minnetonka, Minn.) also reached base four times on the day, and was 1-for-2 with two runs.
The Golden Gophers got on the board with a pair of runs in the top of the third to take a 2-0 lead. Troy Larson (Maplewood, Minn.) got thing started when he drew a one-out walk, stole second and moved to third on an infield single by Pettersen. Knudson delivered a two-out, two-run double to put Minnesota ahead 2-0.
Minnesota pushed the lead to 4-0 with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Puhl drew a lead-off walk, moved to second on a wild pitch and went to third on a bunt by Andy Henkemeyer (Sauk Rapids, Minn.). Kurt Schlangen (Albany, Minn.) followed with a two-out RBI double to put the Gophers ahead 3-0. Larson plated Puhl with an RBI single to make it 4-0.
The Golden Gophers' lead stayed at four runs until the bottom of the seventh when they pushed two more across the plate. With one out, Abrahamson singled and Puhl doubled to make it second and third. Henkemeyer and Schlangen delivered back-to-back RBI singles to give Minnesota a 6-0 lead.
Abrahamson capped off the scoring when delivered a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning to put Minnesota ahead 10-0.
Indiana starter Matt Carr took the loss, as he gave up two hits, two runs, walked one and struck out three in 2.2 innings.
Earley reached twice in the game, and collected the Hoosiers' only hit on a one-out triple with one out in the second inning. Isaksson and Matyas would not allow a hit for the remaining 7.2 innings.
The Golden Gophers will be back in action when they travel to Fargo to face North Dakota State on Apr. 28 at 5 p.m. Minnesota will then head to Iowa City to face the Hawkeyes on Friday, Apr. 30 at 6:05 p.m., Saturday, May 1 at 1:05 p.m. and Sunday, May 2 at 1:05 p.m. All four games can be heard on KLBB (1220 AM) and in the Gold Zone.
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