University of Minnesota Athletics
Isaksson Pitches Gophers to Series Victory
5/2/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
For a second straight week, junior Phil Isaksson (Eau Claire, Wis.) tossed a gem in rubber game of a Big Ten weekend, as the Minnesota baseball team (19-25, 8-7) defeated Iowa (18-24, 6-9) 6-1 in the series finale at Duane Banks Field on Sunday, May 2.
With the win, the Golden Gophers claimed their second straight Big Ten road series victory. Minnesota is now 5-4 on the road in conference play with wins over Purdue and Iowa away from home in Big Ten action.
Isaksson gave up six hits, one run, walked four and struck out two in 6.2 innings of work. The last two weeks, Isaksson has given up only seven hits and one run in 13.2 innings in Big Ten rubber games the last two weeks against Indiana and Iowa. With the win,
Isaksson moved his record to 4-0 on the season. Cullen Sexton (Plover, Wis.) also pitched 1.1 shutout innings and struck out two batters in relief, and Scott Matyas (North Prairie, Wis.) closed out the game with a scoreless ninth.
Senior Kyle Knudson (Maple Grove, Minn.) reached base three times, and was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI. With the two hits, Knudson extended his hitting streak to 18 games. Junior Michael Kvasnicka (Lakeville, Minn.) also reached base three times, and was 2-for-3 with a run, an RBI and a double.
Junior Nick O'Shea (Blaine, Minn.) also was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. O'Shea finished the series 6-for-12 with three home runs and nine RBI. Matt Puhl (North St. Paul, Minn.) also went 1-for-4 with a run and a double. Puhl also extended his hitting streak 11 games with the hit. Kyle Geason (Eden Prairie, Minn.) was also 1-for-4 with an RBI, while AJ Pettersen (Minnetonka, Minn.) was 1-for-5 with two runs and a double.
Hawkeye starter Phil Schreiber gave up seven hits, six runs, walked one and struck out one in 4.1 innings. Zach Robertson finished the game with 4.2 shutout innings, giving up three hits, walking one and striking out three batters.
Iowa looked like it was going to get on the board first with in the bottom of the first. Mike McQuillan got things started with a two-out single, and Ryan Durant followed with a double to left field. McQuillan came home, but was thrown out when Henkemeyer got the throw to Pettersen and he delivered it to Knudson who tagged McQuillan for the third out of the inning.
Minnesota got on the board first with a single run in the top of the third to make it 1-0. With two outs, Pettersen reached on an error by the shortstop. Kvasnicka followed with an RBI double into the gap to give the Golden Gophers the early one-run lead.
The Golden Gophers added to their lead with a two-run top of the fourth inning to take a 3-0 lead. O'Shea led off with a single, moved to third on a Puhl double and ended up scoring on the play when the right fielder bobbled the ball. Geason followed with an RBI single to plate Puhl to put Minnesota ahead by three runs.
Minnesota scored three more runs in the top of the fifth to take a 6-0 lead. With one out, Pettersen got things started with a double. Kvasnicka followed with a walk, and Knudson delivered an RBI single with both hitters on the move to put the Golden Gophers ahead 4-0. O'Shea followed with an RBI single on a cue shot that snuck through the right side to plate Kvasnicka to make it 5-0. Knudson came home to score to make it 6-0 when Iowa reliever Zach Roberston delivere a wild pitch on a strike out of Puhl.
Sean Flanagan delivered a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to cut the Golden Gopher lead to 6-1. Iowa was led by Ryan Durant who went 3-for-4 on the day. Flanagan was also 1-for-4 with a solo home run, while Mike McQuillan finished 2-for-4.
Minnesota will be back in action when it travels to Kansas State to play a two-game midweek series on May 4-5. The Golden Gophers will face the 20th-ranked Wildcats on Tuesday, May 4 at 6:30 p.m. and Wednesday, May 5 at 3 p.m. Minnesota will then welcome Michigan to the Metrodome for a three-game series on May 7-9.
The Golden Gophers will face the Wolverines on Friday, May 7 at 6:35 p.m., Saturday, May 8 at 2:05 p.m. and Sunday, May 9 at 1:05 p.m. On Saturday, May 8, Minnesota will honor the 1960, 1970 and 2000 teams prior to the game. All five games this week can be heard on KLBB (1220 AM) and in the Gold Zone.
With the win, the Golden Gophers claimed their second straight Big Ten road series victory. Minnesota is now 5-4 on the road in conference play with wins over Purdue and Iowa away from home in Big Ten action.
Isaksson gave up six hits, one run, walked four and struck out two in 6.2 innings of work. The last two weeks, Isaksson has given up only seven hits and one run in 13.2 innings in Big Ten rubber games the last two weeks against Indiana and Iowa. With the win,
Isaksson moved his record to 4-0 on the season. Cullen Sexton (Plover, Wis.) also pitched 1.1 shutout innings and struck out two batters in relief, and Scott Matyas (North Prairie, Wis.) closed out the game with a scoreless ninth.
Senior Kyle Knudson (Maple Grove, Minn.) reached base three times, and was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI. With the two hits, Knudson extended his hitting streak to 18 games. Junior Michael Kvasnicka (Lakeville, Minn.) also reached base three times, and was 2-for-3 with a run, an RBI and a double.
Junior Nick O'Shea (Blaine, Minn.) also was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. O'Shea finished the series 6-for-12 with three home runs and nine RBI. Matt Puhl (North St. Paul, Minn.) also went 1-for-4 with a run and a double. Puhl also extended his hitting streak 11 games with the hit. Kyle Geason (Eden Prairie, Minn.) was also 1-for-4 with an RBI, while AJ Pettersen (Minnetonka, Minn.) was 1-for-5 with two runs and a double.
Hawkeye starter Phil Schreiber gave up seven hits, six runs, walked one and struck out one in 4.1 innings. Zach Robertson finished the game with 4.2 shutout innings, giving up three hits, walking one and striking out three batters.
Iowa looked like it was going to get on the board first with in the bottom of the first. Mike McQuillan got things started with a two-out single, and Ryan Durant followed with a double to left field. McQuillan came home, but was thrown out when Henkemeyer got the throw to Pettersen and he delivered it to Knudson who tagged McQuillan for the third out of the inning.
Minnesota got on the board first with a single run in the top of the third to make it 1-0. With two outs, Pettersen reached on an error by the shortstop. Kvasnicka followed with an RBI double into the gap to give the Golden Gophers the early one-run lead.
The Golden Gophers added to their lead with a two-run top of the fourth inning to take a 3-0 lead. O'Shea led off with a single, moved to third on a Puhl double and ended up scoring on the play when the right fielder bobbled the ball. Geason followed with an RBI single to plate Puhl to put Minnesota ahead by three runs.
Minnesota scored three more runs in the top of the fifth to take a 6-0 lead. With one out, Pettersen got things started with a double. Kvasnicka followed with a walk, and Knudson delivered an RBI single with both hitters on the move to put the Golden Gophers ahead 4-0. O'Shea followed with an RBI single on a cue shot that snuck through the right side to plate Kvasnicka to make it 5-0. Knudson came home to score to make it 6-0 when Iowa reliever Zach Roberston delivere a wild pitch on a strike out of Puhl.
Sean Flanagan delivered a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to cut the Golden Gopher lead to 6-1. Iowa was led by Ryan Durant who went 3-for-4 on the day. Flanagan was also 1-for-4 with a solo home run, while Mike McQuillan finished 2-for-4.
Minnesota will be back in action when it travels to Kansas State to play a two-game midweek series on May 4-5. The Golden Gophers will face the 20th-ranked Wildcats on Tuesday, May 4 at 6:30 p.m. and Wednesday, May 5 at 3 p.m. Minnesota will then welcome Michigan to the Metrodome for a three-game series on May 7-9.
The Golden Gophers will face the Wolverines on Friday, May 7 at 6:35 p.m., Saturday, May 8 at 2:05 p.m. and Sunday, May 9 at 1:05 p.m. On Saturday, May 8, Minnesota will honor the 1960, 1970 and 2000 teams prior to the game. All five games this week can be heard on KLBB (1220 AM) and in the Gold Zone.
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