University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Rutgers
Rutgers Comes Back to Win Finale
4/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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April 5, 2015
Two-out hitting helped the Golden Gophers take a 5-3 lead, but Rutgers came back to win 6-5 and take the series 2-1 in Piscataway, N.J. The Scarlet Knights (10-19, 5-4 Big Ten) went ahead for good on a double following a Minnesota (10-17, 2-7 Big Ten) error in the eighth.
The Gophers had 10 hits to Rutgers' seven, including 2-for-5 days from second baseman Connor Schaefbauer and shortstop Michael Handel and a 2-for-3 day by right fielder Jake Bergren. Minnesota left 11 men on base, and Rutgers seven.
The game went back and forth in the early innings. In the first, Schaefbauer hit a triple to the left-center gap and scored when Handel lined a two-out single to left. Rutgers tied it up in the bottom of the inning on consecutive singles by Joe D'Annunzio and Tom Marcincyzk.
Minnesota had another short-lived one-run lead in the second after a pair of walks and a Jordan Smith sacrifice fly to score third baseman Tony Skjefte. The Scarlet Knights started their half of the inning with a hit batmsman and a walk, and R.J. Devlish and Chris Folinusz went on to score on a fielder's choice and a Mike Carter single, giving Rutgers a 3-2 lead.
An inning-ending double play in the second was a turning point for starter Tim Shannon. After the play, which came with two runners on base, the right-hander held the Scarlet Knights without a hit or walk in the third, fourth and fifth. The only base runner in that stretch resulted from an error. Shannon left the game with two outs and one runner on in the sixth. Shannon's final line was 5 2/3 innings, five hits, four runs, two walks and a strikeout.
The Gophers had a 5-3 lead when Shannon left. Bergren singled and Dan Motl walked in the fourth. Schaefbauer smacked a two-out double off the wall in left-center to drive in two runs and go ahead 4-3. Consecutive singles by Skjefte, catcher Matt Halloran and Bergren added a run in the fifth.
Left-handed reliever Max Hermann (2-2) quieted the Gopher bats for the next three innings. Minnesota got to starting right-hander Gaby Rosa for nine hits and five runs, but Hermann allowed just one hit and two walks in his outing.
Meanwhile, Rutgers chipped away at the lead and knotted the game at 5 in the seventh. The Scarlet Knights had previously cut it to 4-3 on a single off reliever Matt Fiedler, who started as the designated hitter and came in for the last out of the sixth. Fiedler got strikeouts to end the sixth and start the seventh, but walked a pair of batters before Ty McDevitt relieved him. One more walk loaded the bases for the tying Vinny Zarrillo sacrifice fly before a groundball ended the inning.
The Gophers took two one-out walks in the eighth, but a double play ended the scoring opportunity. Devish reached base on a dropped throw in the bottom of the inning and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Folinusz. Christian Campbell doubled down the left field line and Devish scored the deciding run. The unearned run gave McDevitt (0-2) the loss.
Jon Young issued a leadoff walk to Fiedler and hit Skjefte with two outs in the ninth, but completed the scoreless inning for a save.
NOTABLES
*With three steals today, the Gophers brought their season total to 40. They stole 39 bases in 51 games last season. Schaefbauer stole two bases after reaching on a fielder's choice in the sixth, and Feidler had the other steal in the ninth.
*The Gophers recorded 34 hits in the three-game series. Handel hit 9-for-15 in Piscataway.
UP NEXT
The Gophers will host St. Thomas at Siebert Field on Wednesday, April 8 at 3 p.m. CT. They will travel to Nebraska for a weekend series against the Cornhuskers April 10-12.
