University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Creighton
Gophers Rally to Beat Creighton, 10-5
2/21/2014 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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Feb. 21, 2014
The University of Minnesota baseball team (4-0) came from behind to beat Creighton (0-4) 10-5 in Fort Myers, Fla., Friday.
The Gophers trailed 5-1 entering the fifth inning. They then used two hits and five walks to take a 7-5 lead. Shortstop Michael Handel hit 3-for-4 with a run, an RBI and a double.
Creighton got out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning. Left-fielder Brad McKewon led off with an infield single and scored on second baseman Jake Peter's triple off of starter Alec Crawford. Center-fielder Mike Gerber and catcher Kevin Lamb hit RBI singles. Then Lamb scored on Brett Murray's single after advancing on a passed ball.
Left-fielder Jordan Smith reached on an infield single and scored on a passed ball in the second. The Blue Jays then pushed the lead back to four in the third. Murray singled in first baseman Reagan Fowler, who had hit a double.
The Gophers were down 5-1 to start their half of the fifth inning. Catcher Austin Athmann led off with an infield hit. Left-fielder Jake Bergren walked, and both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Second baseman Connor Schaefbauer's RBI groundout scored Athmann for the first run of the inning.
Handel, Olinger, Halloran and third baseman Mark Tatera all walked in consecutive at bats, Halloran and Tatera with the bases loaded. Right-fielder Bobby Juan grounded out to drive in a run, and Smith singled in a run to make it 7-5 in Minnesota's favor.
The Gophers hit three doubles in the eighth inning (Juan, Athmann, first baseman Dan Olinger), and Handel had an RBI single to help tack on three more runs.
Tyler Hanson, making his first pitching appearance, got the win for Minnesota. He pitched 2 1/3 innings and gave up just one hit. Dalton Sawyer and Kevin Kray also pitched in relief to help shut out Creighton for the last six innings of the game. Max Ising took the loss for the Blue Jays.
The second game of the series will be played at noon CT Saturday, while the time for Sunday's game has changed to 11 a.m. CT.
