University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
32-12, 14-3
Indiana
31-13, 9-8
Gophers Complete Comeback and Sweep of Indiana
5/6/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Tickets: Gophers Host Michigan State in Final Home Series
MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 20-ranked Gopher Baseball team slugged four home runs, including three in the eighth inning, to come from behind for a 7-6 walk-off victory in 10 innings and complete a Big Ten Conference series sweep over No. 15 Indiana at Siebert Field on Sunday.
Luke Pettersen represented the go-ahead run when he was called out after being hit with a batted ball between second and third in the bottom of the ninth inning. When he came to the plate in the bottom of the tenth, he earned his redemption grounding a single through the infield allowing Cole McDevitt to barrel home with the game-winning run and No. 20 Minnesota (32-12, 14-3 Big Ten) to walk off victors in four-straight games.
"I think I was 0-for-4 going into that one," said Pettersen. "I had been chasing off-speed pitches down in the dirt so I was looking for a fastball, something I could do something with.Luke Pettersen walks the #Gophers off victorious in the 10th! pic.twitter.com/QXbAq2svHF
-- Minnesota Baseball (@GopherBaseball) May 6, 2018
Terrin Vavra launched a two-run home run (7) out to the scoreboard in right field in the first inning, giving the Gophers a lead after the first frames, but No. 15 Indiana (31-13, 9-8 Big Ten) chased starting pitcher Sam Thoresen after just four outs. The Hoosiers scored four runs in the second, but Minnesota turned the ball to the bullpen who settled things down, allowing just two runs the rest of the way.
McDevitt singled leading off the fourth and came around to score on an RBI single by Alex Boxwell later in the inning. The Gophers were down 6-3 in the eighth when Eli Wilson led off the inning with a solo home run (3) to left. One out later, McDevitt lifted a home run (7) of his own to left, and one out after that, Jordan Kozicky sent a solo shot (5) to straight-away center, tying the game for the Maroon & Gold on three home runs in the inning, each separated by one batter.
Max Meyer (1-2) earned his first collegiate victory to go with his 12 saves, striking out three in 2.0 innings while allowing just one hit. The Gophers scored a run on just one hit in 1.1 innings by Indiana closer Matt Lloyd (3-1), who went 3-for-4 at the plate in the game starting at first base.
QUOTABLE
"It was wild. We were down for a while, but luckily, we had a few guys put good swings on balls to hit those three home runs in the eighth. I'm just happy to be up there to have a chance to give us the win." - more from Luke Pettersen after his walk-off winner
NOTABLE
Minnesota had seven home runs against Indiana, three more than they've hit in any three-game series yet this season ... the Gophers swept a true home Big Ten series for the first time since April 17-19, 2015 against Penn State (the team also swept a three-game neutral site series with Penn State earlier this season played at Purdue's Alexander Field) ... the Gophers last swept a series of three or more games against a ranked team on April 1-3, 2005 during a four-game series with Michigan ... Minnesota last won back-to-back games against a ranked team on April 8, 2016 when they swept a doubleheader against Michigan.
UP NEXT
The homestand continues for the Gophers next week as Minnesota hosts Michigan State in a three-game Big Ten Conference series at Siebert Field. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Meyer, Max (1-2)
L: Lloyd, Matt (3-1)
Batting:
2B: Lloyd, Matt 1 ; Gorski, Matt 1 ; Walker, Justin 1
HR: Gorski, Matt 1
RBI: Kaletha, Logan 1 ; Lloyd, Matt 2 ; Gorski, Matt 3
SF: Lloyd, Matt 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kaletha, Logan 2 ; Gorski, Matt 1 ; Bradley, Scotty 1 ; Walker, Justin 1 ; Houston, Jeremy 1
CS: Sowers, Logan 1
HBP: Houston, Jeremy 1
Batting:
HR: Vavra, Terrin 1 ; Wilson, Eli 1 ; McDevitt, Cole 1 ; Kozicky, Jordan 1
RBI: Pettersen, Luke 1 ; Vavra, Terrin 2 ; Wilson, Eli 1 ; McDevitt, Cole 1 ; Kozicky, Jordan 1 ; Boxwell, Alex 1
SH: Smith, Riley 1 ; Coffey, Micah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Smith, Riley 1 ; Vavra, Terrin 1 ; Wilson, Eli 1 ; McDevitt, Cole 3 ; Kozicky, Jordan 1
HBP: Vavra, Terrin 1 ; Coffey, Micah 1 ; Kozicky, Jordan 1
