University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, March 21
College Park, Md.
3:00 PM
University of Minnesota
9
at
12
Maryland
Gophers Drop Doubleheader at Maryland
3/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 21, 2015
The Golden Gophers dropped both games of a doubleheader at No. 14 Maryland Saturday. The 5-1 and 12-9 losses gave Minnesota (7-12) an 0-2 start to Big Ten Play, while the Terrapins moved to 16-4 overall. The games were the first ever between Minnesota and Maryland, and the first conference games for Maryland as a member of the Big Ten.
Game 1: Maryland 5, Minnesota 1 - Box Score| Box Score(PDF)
Gophers starter Ben Meyer sent the Terrapins down in order in the first two innings before they got to him in the third. Anthony Papio started the inning with a double. A sacrifice bunt moved him to third. After Meyer struck out Kengo Kawahara for the second out, the Gophers looked poised to strand Papio on third.
Meyer (0-3) settled back down to pitch four more innings, all scoreless. He struck out five batters and allowed five runs on seven hits, one walk and one hit batsman in seven innings, his longest outing of the season.
Halloran hit 2-for-4, leading off two innings with singles to right. He was left on base each time. Lowe hit 2-for-4 with a triple, a run and an RBI to lead the Terrapins.
One big inning was all Maryland needed to take the opening game on Saturday. The Gophers and Terrapins each tallied seven hits, and Maryland committed three errors to Minnesota's zero. But a two-out rally decided the game.
Gophers starter Ben Meyer sent the Terrapins down in order in the first two innings before they got to him in the third. Anthony Papio started the inning with a double. A sacrifice bunt moved him to third. After Meyer struck out Kengo Kawahara for the second out, the Gophers looked poised to strand Papio on third.
But the Terrapins knocked out five straight two-out hits for a 5-0 lead. Brandon Lowe (2-for-4), Kevin Smith and Nick Cieri each singled, Kevin Martir doubled and Jose Cuas hit a two-run home run. Catcher Matt Halloran caught Cieri stealing second to end the inning.
Meyer (0-3) settled back down to pitch four more innings, all scoreless. He struck out five batters and allowed five runs on seven hits, one walk and one hit batsman in seven innings, his longest outing of the season.
During the lull in Maryland's offense, Minnesota only managed one unearned run off starter Mike Shawaryn. Right fielder Matt Fiedler, who also pitched a scoreless eighth, hit an infield single in the sixth and advanced to second on the shortstop's errant throw. He scored when first baseman Toby Hanson reached on an error. Shawaryn (5-0) lasted eight innings, scattered six hits, struck out six and walked one.
Halloran hit 2-for-4, leading off two innings with singles to right. He was left on base each time. Lowe hit 2-for-4 with a triple, a run and an RBI to lead the Terrapins.
Game 2: Maryland 12, Minnesota 9 - Box Score| Box Score(PDF)
Center fielder Dan Motl led off the game with his first career home run, clubbing the ball off the batting cage structure beyond the left field fence. Skjefte's two-out infield single scored Matt Fiedler, who reached on a fielder's choice and stole second, to put the Gophers ahead 2-0.
Five hits in the top of the second produced five more runs to push the lead to 7-0. Left fielder Jordan Smith hit the first of his two doubles to start the inning. The next two batters made outs without advancing Smith, and left-handed starter Willie Rios intentionally walked Motl to bring up left-handed-hitting second baseman Connor Schaefbauer. Schaefbauer's single up the middle scored Smith to start a flood of two-out scoring. Fiedler hit a single, catcher Austin Athmann a double and Skjefte a two-run single.
The Terrapins started gaining ground in the bottom of the second. Cuas led off with a home run. Cieri was hit by pitch and scored on a Kevin Biondic groundout. Papio doubled and scored on a Kawahara single and it was 7-3.
Shortstop Luke Pettersen's first career hit, a squeeze bunt in the third, scored designated hitter Matt Stemper to add a run back to the lead. Pettersen made his collegiate debut in the first game as Michael Handel was out with an injury.
Minnesota starter Dalton Sawyer came out of the game after a one-out walk of Martir in the third. Both Martir and Cieri, who was walked by Lucas Gilbreath, scored on a Tim Lewis single after a double steal to cut the lead to 8-5.
The Terrapins' momentum continued in the fourth, when they scored five runs on five hits and two walks. All five runs scored with two outs. Gilbreath (0-1) left the game after Lewis' go-ahead two-run single. Brian Glowicki allowed one hit after entering in relief before getting a strikeout of Maryland's 10th batter of the inning. Minnesota trailed 10-8.
After Pettersen's single, reliever Zach Morris (2-1) kept Minnesota off the scoreboard for the rest of his 3 1/3 innings. The Gophers did not score again until Fiedler hit a leadoff single and scored on Skjefte's hit off Ryan Selmer in the sixth.
That run cut the lead to 10-9, but the Terrapins tacked on a run in each of the next two innings, including Cuas' second solo home run of the game. Kevin Mooney finished the game and earned a save for Maryland.
NOTABLES
*Ty McDevitt pitched a scoreless eighth for the Gophers, as he did at Richmond on Wednesday.
*Fiedler, Athmann and Smith each had two hits in the second game. Fiedler is batting .411 on the season.
UP NEXT
Minnesota saw a 7-0 lead evaporate in the twilight game. The Gophers outhit Maryland 15-13 in the game, but the Terrapins walked four more times than Minnesota and got two more home runs from Cuas. Third baseman Tony Skjefte led the Gophers with a 3-for-5 game and four RBIs.
Center fielder Dan Motl led off the game with his first career home run, clubbing the ball off the batting cage structure beyond the left field fence. Skjefte's two-out infield single scored Matt Fiedler, who reached on a fielder's choice and stole second, to put the Gophers ahead 2-0.
Five hits in the top of the second produced five more runs to push the lead to 7-0. Left fielder Jordan Smith hit the first of his two doubles to start the inning. The next two batters made outs without advancing Smith, and left-handed starter Willie Rios intentionally walked Motl to bring up left-handed-hitting second baseman Connor Schaefbauer. Schaefbauer's single up the middle scored Smith to start a flood of two-out scoring. Fiedler hit a single, catcher Austin Athmann a double and Skjefte a two-run single.
The Terrapins started gaining ground in the bottom of the second. Cuas led off with a home run. Cieri was hit by pitch and scored on a Kevin Biondic groundout. Papio doubled and scored on a Kawahara single and it was 7-3.
Shortstop Luke Pettersen's first career hit, a squeeze bunt in the third, scored designated hitter Matt Stemper to add a run back to the lead. Pettersen made his collegiate debut in the first game as Michael Handel was out with an injury.
Minnesota starter Dalton Sawyer came out of the game after a one-out walk of Martir in the third. Both Martir and Cieri, who was walked by Lucas Gilbreath, scored on a Tim Lewis single after a double steal to cut the lead to 8-5.
The Terrapins' momentum continued in the fourth, when they scored five runs on five hits and two walks. All five runs scored with two outs. Gilbreath (0-1) left the game after Lewis' go-ahead two-run single. Brian Glowicki allowed one hit after entering in relief before getting a strikeout of Maryland's 10th batter of the inning. Minnesota trailed 10-8.
After Pettersen's single, reliever Zach Morris (2-1) kept Minnesota off the scoreboard for the rest of his 3 1/3 innings. The Gophers did not score again until Fiedler hit a leadoff single and scored on Skjefte's hit off Ryan Selmer in the sixth.
That run cut the lead to 10-9, but the Terrapins tacked on a run in each of the next two innings, including Cuas' second solo home run of the game. Kevin Mooney finished the game and earned a save for Maryland.
NOTABLES
*Minnesota started four freshmen in the first game, the most it has started in a game this season. Three of them in a row made up the bottom third of the Gophers' batting order: designated hitter Micah Coffey, center fielder Alex Boxwell and Pettersen.
*Ty McDevitt pitched a scoreless eighth for the Gophers, as he did at Richmond on Wednesday.
*Fiedler, Athmann and Smith each had two hits in the second game. Fiedler is batting .411 on the season.
UP NEXT
Minnesota and Maryland will conclude their series Sunday with first pitch at 11 a.m. CT.
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