University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Seattle
Athmann Guides Offensive Onslaught of Seattle U
3/16/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Box Score: Minnesota 12, Seattle U 2 
Austin Athmann went 5-for-5 from the plate, including a home run and two RBI, to lead Minnesota to a 12-2 victory at Seattle University on Wednesday. The Gophers (8-6) tallied a season-high 18 hits in the series finale.
Eight other players recorded a hit, including Eddie Estrada, Luke Pettersen, Connor Schaefbauer and Jordan Smith who each touted multiple base knocks, with Schaefbauer picking up a season-high three hits.
Toby Anderson earned the win on the mound after tossing 5.0 innings, scattering four hits with one earned run and striking out five.
Minnesota got on the board early and never let up. In the first, after Matt Fiedler reached on an error by the first baseman pulling his foot early, Athmann drilled a double to left field that put the first run on the board.
The Gophers matched a season-high by scoring five runs on five hits in the third inning to blow the game wide open. Athmann and Estrada opened the stanza with a pair of singles, which preceded an RBI single up the middle from Schaefbauer. With runners on second and third, Pettersen stepped to the dish and flared a single to right field that scored two more. The final run of the inning came on a throwing error by the Redhawks (11-5).
Athmann's biggest hit came in the leadoff spot in the fourth inning. He took a pitch left over the middle of the plate and launched his third home run of the season - a solo shot - to make it a 7-0 game.
Through the first four innings, Anderson kept the Seattle U hitters off-balance by striking out five and allowing just a pair of hits.
The Redhawks finally got on the board by plating one run in the fifth and sixth innings to bring the score to 7-2 in favor of the Gophers.
Minnesota put the game out of reach by matching its output from the third inning in its final at-bat in the ninth stanza. Micah Coffey opened the scoring in the ninth with a sacrifice fly, which was followed by RBI singles from Estrada and Pettersen. Ben Mezzenga came on to pinch-hit and added another RBI single, which came directly before a Terrin Vavra RBI base knock to cap the scoring and make it 12-2.
Tim Shannon shut the door in the bottom of the inning and gave the Gophers their eighth win of the season.
Athmann's five hits were the most by a Gopher since Kyle Knudson had five against Penn State in 2010. The junior has had at least one hit in the last eight games and has hit a blistering .531 over that stretch.
Minnesota has one day off before traveling to Orem, Utah for a three-game series with Utah Valley, March 18-20.
