University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
South Dakota St.
Gophers Win in Bottom of Ninth
4/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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April 22, 2015
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The University of Minnesota baseball team needed only three hits to beat South Dakota State 3-2. Right fielder Matt Fiedler singled home center fielder Alex Boxwell for the winning run in the ninth. Boxwell and shortstop Michael Handel each hit a home run to center for the other two hits.
The Gophers (17-19) led 2-1 after Boxwell's sixth-inning home run broke a 1-1 tie. Lucas Gilbreath, who pitched a 1-2-3 eighth, struck out the first SDSU (24-15) batter of the ninth. Ty McDevitt hit pinch hitter Anthony Schneider with a pitch, and Al Robbins hit a double to the left-center gap to score Schneider and tie the game. McDevitt (1-2) recovered with two strikeouts to keep it 2-2 for the Gophers' at bat.
Boxwell reached on a Robbins fielding error. Second baseman Connor Schaefbauer laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Boxwell. Then Fiedler lined a single to center field. The throw home was not in time as Boxwell scored the winning run from second base.
The Jackrabbits outhit Minnesota 10-3 but left seven men on base. Catcher Matt Halloran also picked off one runner and caught one stealing. It was a delayed steal with two men on, and Halloran threw to Handel, who relayed it back home to get the lead runner.
Minnesota pitchers struck out 10 batters. Starter Toby Anderson retired four on strikes in five innings, allowing one run on seven hits. Reggie Meyer and Gilbreath each provided 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.
The Jacks' first run of the game came in the fifth. Cody Sharrow singled and scored on Eric Danforth's double. That run tied the game, as Handel's solo home run was in the second.
NOTABLE
*The walk-off win was the Gophers' first of the season, and their first since two bottom-of-the-ninth wins against Purdue last May.
*Handel's reached base streak is now at 13 games. He holds the team lead in home runs with four.
UP NEXT
The Gophers will host a series against Michigan April 24-26. Game times are 6:35 p.m. CT Friday, 6:05 p.m. Saturday and 12:05 p.m. Sunday. It will be Strike Out Cancer Weekend at Siebert Field, as pitching coach Todd Oakes continues to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
