University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Nebraska
Big Inning Helps Huskers Even Series
4/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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April 11, 2015
A four-run eighth inning decided Saturday's game as No. 23 Nebraska defeated the University of Minnesota baseball team 7-4 in Lincoln. The Cornhuskers (25-11, 4-4 Big Ten) evened the series at one win each after the Golden Gophers (12-18, 3-8 Big Ten) won on Friday.
Minnesota's hitters got to Nebraska starter Kyle Kubat for 11 hits and three runs, taking a 3-2 lead in the fourth. But the Huskers tied it in the fifth and took the lead with a two-out rally in the eighth.Â
Center fielder Dan Motl hit 3-for-5 with a double and a run for the Gophers. Four other Gophers had two hits each as the Gophers outhit the Huskers 12-10. Ryan Boldt went 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs for Nebraska, and Tanner Lubach was 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs. Nebraska batters drew nine walks.
The Gophers struck first after Motl led off the game with a double. Shortstop Michael Handel drove him in with a single to right field for a 1-0 lead.
Nebraska then took a 2-1 lead on three hits in the bottom of the inning. Jake Schleppenbach singled and Blake Headley doubled, and they scored on a Ben Miller grounder and Tanner Lubach single, respectively.
An error helped the Gophers reclaim a one-run lead in the fourth. The misplay allowed designated hitter Micah Coffey to reach first. First baseman Toby Hanson and catcher Matt Stemper followed up with singles, with Coffey scoring on Stemper's hit to right-center. A sacrifice fly by left fielder Jordan Smith scored Hanson.
In the fifth, Handel made a tough play for a 6-3 out that ended up keeping the Huskers from taking the lead earlier than they did. The next batter, Lubach, hit a home run off Dalton Sawyer with the bases empty to tie the game 3-3. Sawyer had relieved starter Toby Anderson with one out in the fourth. Anderson allowed two runs on four hits and five walks.
Reliever Jake Meyers (2-1) retired all seven batters he faced in relief of Kubat, striking out three after entering the game with two outs in the fifth. For the Gophers, Brian Glowicki (1-2) relieved Sawyer with one out in the sixth following back-to-back walks. Glowicki induced a flyout and a swinging strikeout to hold onto the tie.
Nebraska broke through for four runs with two outs in the seventh. Austin Darby singled and scored the go-ahead run on a double by Austin Christensen. After back-to-back walks by Jake Placzek and Christian Cox, Ryan Boldt hit a bases-clearing triple off the fence in left-center. Smith came close to making the catch, but collided with the wall, and Nebraska led 7-3.
Third baseman Tony Skjefte walked and scored on a Stemper double off Colton Howell in the eighth. But that was their only run in the eighth, and closer Josh Roeder earned his 11th save with two strikeouts and a groundout in the ninth.
NOTABLES
*Matt Fiedler (.336) and Motl (.333) are the Gophers leading hitters.
*Aside from Motl, the other Gophers to record multiple hits Saturday were Fiedler (2-for-5), Handel (2-for-4), Hanson (2-for-4) and Stemper (2-for-4).
*Minnesota recorded its sixth outfield assist of the year. After a single to right, Handel cut off Fiedler's throw and threw Schleppenbach out at first.
*A win tomorrow would give the Gophers their first conference series win against Nebraska.
UP NEXT
The series finale between the Gophers and Huskers is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. CT Sunday.
