University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
27-11, 10-2
Ohio State
27-12, 8-5
No. 21 Gophers Wallop Ohio State, 11-1
4/27/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Reggie Meyer tossed eight innings as the No. 21-ranked Gopher Baseball team opened a Big Ten Conference series with an 11-1 win over Ohio State on Friday night at Bill Davis Stadium.
No. 21 Minnesota (27-11, 10-2 Big Ten) handed Ohio State (27-12, 8-5 Big Ten) its most one-sided defeat of the season with 13 hits, including a pair of home runs, while also taking advantage of three Buckeye errors.
The Gophers manufactured the game's first run as Luke Pettersen singled to lead off the game, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, stole third, and then scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Terrin Vavra. Cole McDevitt led off the second inning with a solo home run, taking advantage of a second chance after a dropped pop-up in foul territory. Minnesota took advantage of another error in the inning, a dropped fly ball in center, as Micah Coffey scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Pettersen.
The Maroon & Gold were not yet done scoring as Terrin Vavra led off the third with his fifth home run of the season. After loading the bases, Jordan Kozicky singled home Eli Wilson and Toby Hanson, the latter of whom doubled earlier in the inning. Cole McDevitt, who walked, came in to score on a single off the bat of Alex Boxwell and Minnesota ended the inning with a 7-1 lead.
Reggie Meyer (4-2) settled down after allowing a first inning run on three singles. He finished his day after the eighth, allowing seven hits while striking out three. The Gophers chased Ohio State starter Connor Curlis (5-3) after just 3.0 innings, allowing seven runs, but five earned, on eight hits.
"The first two innings, he made some big pitches with guys on," said head coach John Anderson on his redshirt junior starter. "In the second inning, he got a double play ball when the game was really still in the balance. That pitch he made was a big part of the game to get us back in the dugout and get our offense going again."
Ben Mezzenga came on as a defensive replacement for the Gophers in the fifth and started his hitting streak anew with a bunt single in the sixth, advancing all the way to third on an errant throw before coming in to score on a single off the bat of Vavra. Miscues continued to cost the Buckeyes in the inning as a walk and pair of wild pitches helped bring home three more runs in the frame as Minnesota expanded the lead to 10.
Jake Stevenson tossed a scoreless ninth for the Gophers to wrap up the victory.
QUOTABLE
"I was impressed with our preparation before the game. I had a feeling just being around the guys before the game that they were ready to play. They've done an exceptional job this year of remembering who they are, not focusing on the other team or the scoreboard. They set a standard for themselves in what they want from each other and how they want to compete. It's hard to do, but we're trying to stay connected to us." -John Anderson on the team's preparation ahead of this series
NOTABLE
Jordan Kozicky extended his team-leading seven-game hitting streak ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃÆ'¢'¬¦ Ben Mezzenga has hits in each of the Gopher's 12 Big Ten contests ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃÆ'¢'¬¦ Meyer matched his own team season-best effort when he threw 8.0 complete innings.
UP NEXT
The series continues Saturday afternoon at Bill Davis Stadium in Columbus. First pitch of game two is set for 3:05 p.m. ET.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Meyer, Reggie (4-2)
L: Curlis (5-3)
Batting:
2B: Wilson, Eli 1 ; Hanson, Toby 1
HR: Vavra, Terrin 1 ; McDevitt, Cole 1
RBI: Pettersen, Luke 1 ; Vavra, Terrin 3 ; McDevitt, Cole 2 ; Kozicky, Jordan 3 ; Boxwell, Alex 1
SH: Smith, Riley 1 ; Coffey, Micah 1
SF: Pettersen, Luke 1 ; Vavra, Terrin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pettersen, Luke 1 ; Mezzenga, Ben 1 ; Vavra, Terrin 2 ; Wilson, Eli 1 ; Hanson, Toby 2 ; McDevitt, Cole 3 ; Coffey, Micah 1
SB: Pettersen, Luke 1 ; Boxwell, Alex 1
HBP: Coffey, Micah 1
Batting:
RBI: Pohl 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Foppe 1
HBP: Cowles 1 ; Cherry 1
