University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
32-13, 14-4
Michigan State
18-26, 9-9
Gophers Strand Nine and Fall 6-5 on Friday Night
5/11/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MINNEAPOLIS – The No. 15-ranked Gopher Baseball stranded nine runners on base, falling 6-5 to Michigan State in the opening game of their three-game Big Ten Conference series on Friday night at Siebert Field.
No. 15 Minnesota (32-13, 14-4 Big Ten) took an early lead, scraping across single runs in the first and second innings. Luke Pettersen walked, stole second, and scored on a single by Ben Mezzenga before Michigan State (18-25, 9-9 Big Ten) could even get an out. Mezzenga would steal both second and third in the inning, but Ethan Landon struck out the side to strand him, the only three strikeouts for the Spartan starter in the game. Similarly, Cole McDevitt and Micah Coffey both singled leading off the second, and McDevitt eventually came around to score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Alex Boxwell.
The Spartans did the majority of their damage in a five-run fourth inning, taking advantage of an error on the Gopher infield after four-straight singles to start the barrage. The error came after a sacrifice fly, and Marty Bechina added a double later in the inning to score another run before coming around to score on a single by Kory Young.
Pettersen and Mezzenga singled again leading off the fifth, before Eli Wilson reached on an error on the MSU infield to load the bases. Toby Hanson walked in a run to cap off an 11-pitch at-bat, and then McDevitt singled home a pair of runs to tie the game at 5-5. That score did not hold long as Bechina continued his power streak with a home run down the left field line, chasing Gophers starter Reggie Meyer after 5.2 innings, allowing five earned on eight hits and four strikeouts.
Mitchell Tyranski (2-1) struck out six Gophers in 2.1 innings to earn the victory out of the Michigan State bullpen. Riley McCauley struck out three more over the final 2.0 innings to earn his fifth save of the season. Minnesota struck out 12 times on the day.
NOTABLE
Brett Schulze struck out a season-high five in 3.1 innings of work, including striking out the side in the ninth.
UP NEXT
The series continues Saturday as Minnesota looks to take game two against Michigan State. The Gophers welcome back the 1968, 1969, and 1970 Big Ten Championship teams to Siebert Field for the game. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.
Single-game tickets and group ticket packages are still available for this weekend's final three-game series at Siebert Field between Minnesota and Michigan State. Stay up to date with all Gopher Baseball news by following the Gophers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram via the links provided, or get all Minnesota Golden Gopher athletics news and highlights, including exclusive behind-the-scenes content and special ticket offers and promotions delivered straight to your inbox by signing up today!
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Tyranski,M (2-1)
L: Meyer, Reggie (5-3)
S: McCauley,Riley (5)
Batting:
2B: Bechina,Marty 1
HR: Bechina,Marty 1
RBI: Antoncic,Justin 1 ; McGuire,Zack 1 ; Bechina,Marty 2 ; Young,Kory 1
SF: McGuire,Zack 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Gleaves,Danny 1 ; Roskelly,Chad 1 ; Antoncic,Justin 1 ; Iverson,Zach 1 ; Bechina,Marty 2
SB: Antoncic,Justin 1
Batting:
2B: Coffey, Micah 1
RBI: Mezzenga, Ben 1 ; Hanson, Toby 1 ; McDevitt, Cole 2 ; Boxwell, Alex 1
SF: Boxwell, Alex 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pettersen, Luke 2 ; Vavra, Terrin 1 ; Wilson, Eli 1 ; McDevitt, Cole 1
SB: Pettersen, Luke 1 ; Mezzenga, Ben 3
CS: Mezzenga, Ben 1
