University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
40-13
Ohio State
36-22
Gophers Pull Away Against Buckeye Bullpen
5/26/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. - The No. 11-ranked Gopher Baseball team will try to become the first team since Indiana in 2014 to claim both the Big Ten Regular Season and Tournament Championships as they advanced to Sunday's title game with an 8-1 victory over Ohio State in Saturday morning's semifinal at T.D. Ameritrade Park.
No. 11 Minnesota (40-13) will seek its 10th Big Ten Tournament Championship under head coach John Anderson and first since the 2010 season, also the last time the Gophers won both the regular season and tournament titles in the league.
Big Ten Pitcher and Freshman of the Year Patrick Fredrickson (9-0) allowed a solo home run off the left field foul pole, but settled in to throw 6.0 complete innings, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out one batter. Minnesota would tie the game against Buckeye starter Yianny Pavlopoulos when Toby Hanson lifted a sacrifice fly in the fourth, and the Gophers took the lead over Ohio State (36-22) for good by plating six runs in the sixth.
"The formula once again with Patrick Fredrickson on the mound was for him to pound the zone with three pitches and for us to play defense behind him," said Anderson after the game. He gave up the home run, but he ... then got back to doing his thing. Before the six-run inning, I got the guys together in the dugout and said, we were trying too hard. We didn't have a good approach at the plate the first half of the game. We had a lot of opportunities but couldn't get the big hit."
After Jordan Kozicky walked leading off the inning, Hanson gave them a lead they would never surrender with a triple to center. He came in to score on an RBI single by Luke Pettersen before the Maroon & Gold started to pile on. After loading the bases with walks to Eli Wilson and Micah Coffey, Cole McDevitt drove in two with a single, and Kozicky got a second look later in the inning, plating two more with a hit of his own.
"He told us to calm down, relax a bit, and get back to having a plan," said Hanson. "After that, we took a deep breath and got back to being us. We got some big hits and just kept on going."
Hanson walked, Pettersen doubled, and the Gophers tacked on some insurance with an RBI groundout in the seventh. Jackson Rose and Jeff Fasching combined to throw 3.0 shutout innings out of the Gopher bullpen, allowing just a pair of hits.
QUOTABLE
"I try and have the same attitude every start. I try and remind myself that it's just another game and you have to come in with the same intensity and attitude and just focus on executing pitches and not worry about what's going on outside of baseball. These accolades don't mean much to me at all. I'm just trying to help my team win and move on as far as we can go." - Patrick Fredrickson on maintaining focus in spite of positive press and awards for the team
NOTABLE
John Anderson now has 10 seasons of at least 40 victories during his tenure at Minnesota, this the first since 2009 ... Patrick Fredrickson matched Brett Schulze with his ninth victory of the season for the Gophers. The pair is now tied for tenth all-time in single-season victories at Minnesota ... the Buckeyes had four errors in the game, but none ressulted in a run as all eight Gopher runs were earned on the day.
UP NEXT
The Gophers will now take on Purdue in Sunday's Big Ten Tournament Championship. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. for the final.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Fredrickson, Patrick (9-0)
L: Smith (2-2)
Batting:
2B: Pettersen, Luke 1
3B: Hanson, Toby 1
RBI: Pettersen, Luke 1 ; Vavra, Terrin 1 ; McDevitt, Cole 2 ; Kozicky, Jordan 2 ; Hanson, Toby 2
SF: Hanson, Toby 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Vavra, Terrin 1 ; Wilson, Eli 1 ; Coffey, Micah 1 ; McDevitt, Cole 2 ; Kozicky, Jordan 1 ; Hanson, Toby 2
SB: Vavra, Terrin 1
Batting:
HR: Cowles 1
RBI: Cowles 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cowles 1
HBP: Foppe 1
