University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
30-12, 12-3
Indiana
31-11, 9-6
Reggie Meyer Silences Hoosiers to Open Series
5/4/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Final Stats |
Photo Gallery 
MINNEAPOLIS – Reggie Meyer tossed yet another 8-inning gem for the No. 20 Gopher Baseball team to knock off No. 15 Indiana 4-1 in their Big Ten Conference series opener at Siebert Field.
Before the game, Minnesota honored Gopher alum Glen Perkins and his family with a ceremony dedicating the Glen Perkins Family Baseball Performance Center, the team’s new indoor training facility adjacent to the Field.
After a quick top of the first by Meyer (5-2), Luke Pettersen walked leading off the game, and Terrin Vavra doubled putting runners on second and third. Eli Wilson grounded out but drove in his first of two runs on the day.
“Luke and [Ben Mezzenga] set the tone in the first inning. Those two guys are so good at getting on and getting the guy over,” said Wilson after the game. “Seems like they just have someone in scoring position every time Terrin and I come up. Obviously, Terrin, you just can't get him out. It seems like every time I come up, Terrin just hit a double or a single, and it's my job to get them in.”
Matt Lloyd homered leading off the fourth for Indiana, the only blemish on the day for Meyer, who allowed just four hits while striking out six on the day.
“I was able to locate my fastball pretty well today,” said Meyer. “I mixed in a few off-speed pitches when I needed to for strikes, but the defense was making some great plays behind me.”
No. 20 Minnesota (30-12, 12-3 Big Ten) regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth when Alex Boxwell led off with a single, advancing to second on an error in the Hoosier outfield. Ben Mezzenga doubled him home, and Terrin Vavra scored Mezzenga with a single. Boxwell again led off the seventh with a single and eventually scored on a single by Wilson.
No. 15 Indiana (31-11, 9-6 Big Ten) would not threaten again until the top of the ninth when Meyer walked a pair of hitters, handing the ball off to rookie reliever Max Meyer, who hit a batter but came away unscathed with one punch-out of his own on the day for his 12th save, now alone in third place all-time for the Gophers in that category.
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“Reggie just competes better than anyone I know. He mixed his pitches really well and threw a lot of good sliders. He got great movement on his fastball and put it where he wanted to get a lot of quick outs and ground ball outs. He's not a guy that wants to strike out a lot of guys, just get the outs for the team.” – Eli Wilson on Reggie Meyer’s tenacity
UP NEXT
The series continues Saturday as the two teams meet at Siebert Field. First pitch is set for 2:02 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Meyer, Reggie (5-2)
L: Stiever, Jonathan (5-3)
S: Meyer, Max (12)
Batting:
2B: Gorski, Matt 1
HR: Lloyd, Matt 1
RBI: Lloyd, Matt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lloyd, Matt 1
HBP: Fineman, Ryan 1
Batting:
2B: Mezzenga, Ben 1 ; Vavra, Terrin 1
RBI: Mezzenga, Ben 1 ; Vavra, Terrin 1 ; Wilson, Eli 2
SH: Pettersen, Luke 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mezzenga, Ben 2 ; Boxwell, Alex 2
SB: Boxwell, Alex 1
