University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
26-11
South Dakota State
10-23
Lackney Strikes Out Seven as Gophers Pull Away
4/25/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 21-ranked Gopher Baseball team pulled away from South Dakota State for a 6-2 victory at Siebert Field on Wednesday.
Nick Lackney (3-2) worked the first six innings for No. 21 Minnesota (26-11), allowing single runs in both the second and fifth innings. The Gophers got on the board in the fourth when Luke Pettersen led off the inning with a single, Minnesota's first hit of the day. He had each of the Gophers' three hits in their 1-0 victory over South Dakota State (10-23) earlier this season at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Pettersen advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Riley Smith, stole third, and came in to score on an RBI groundout by Toby Hanson. Terrin Vavra walked in the inning, coming around to score on a single by Cole McDevitt, who had three RBI in the game.
Korey Kuhlmann tossed the first four innings for the Jackrabbits, and Minnesota broke through against three different pitchers in the sixth inning. Smith, Vavra, Hanson, and McDevitt each singled in the inning, with Hanson driving in a run and McDevitt two in the inning.
The Gophers bullpen worked in and out of trouble as Jeff Fasching struck out two in 2.0 innings of work, while Fred Manke struck out two in the ninth inning. Jordan Kozicky added an RBI on a fielder's choice in the eighth inning to extend the lead to 6-2.
NOTABLE
Lackney matched his career high with seven strikeouts in the game before turning the ball over to the bullpen … Ben Mezzenga saw his nine-game hitting streak snapped after coming on late as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement in left field.
UP NEXT
Minnesota, currently 9-2 in the Big Ten, will take on Ohio State in a three-game Big Ten series in Columbus, Ohio. The series starts at 6:35 p.m. ET on Friday.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lackney, Nick (3-2)
L: Bryce Johnson (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Landon Badger 1
RBI: Gus Steiger 1
SH: Kolton Michalski 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Phil Velez 1 ; Gus Steiger 1
SB: Tony Kjolsing 1 ; Nick Smith 1 ; Newt Johnson 1
Batting:
RBI: Hanson, Toby 2 ; McDevitt, Cole 3 ; Kozicky, Jordan 1
SH: Smith, Riley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pettersen, Luke 1 ; Smith, Riley 1 ; Vavra, Terrin 2 ; Hanson, Toby 2
SB: Pettersen, Luke 1 ; Smith, Riley 1 ; Hanson, Toby 2
CS: Kozicky, Jordan 1
