University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
44-14
Oregon State
48-10-1
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Heimlich (16-1)
L: Meyer, Reggie (8-4)
Batting:
HR: Hanson, Toby 1
RBI: Hanson, Toby 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hanson, Toby 1
HBP: Pettersen, Luke 1
Batting:
2B: Rutschman 1 ; Anderson 1 ; Taylor 1
3B: Gretler 1
HR: Larnach 1 ; Rutschman 1
RBI: Kwan 2 ; Larnach 2 ; Rutschman 2 ; Gretler 1 ; Taylor 1
SH: Kwan 1 ; Taylor 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Madrigal 1 ; Larnach 2 ; Rutschman 2 ; Nobach 1 ; Anderson 1 ; Taylor 1
HBP: Anderson 1
Game Leaders
Gophers Offense Stifled in Game One
6/8/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
CORVALLIS, Ore. - The No. 14-seeded Gopher Baseball team will need to take its next two against No. 3 national seed Oregon State after the Beavers claimed game one of the NCAA Super Regional series 8-1 at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field on Friday afternoon.
A steady rain fell on the turf throughout the game, as No. 3-seed Oregon State (48-10-1) took an early lead on No. 14-seed Minnesota (44-14) and did not look back thanks to a stellar outing on the mound.
After Beavers starter Luke Heimlich (16-1) set the Gophers down in order in the first with a groundball and a pair of strikeouts, Reggie Meyer (8-4) matched him with the first two outs, but the Oregon State offense came alive with a single by Nick Madrigal and back-to-back home runs by Trevor Larnach and Adley Rutschmann to take a 3-0 lead in the first. The Beavers took advantage of a walk and a hit-by-pitch to scrape across another run without the benefit of a hit in the bottom of the second.
.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }
"We had two outs in the first inning and made a couple mistakes, and they took advantage of them," said head coach John Anderson. "Heimlich does a great job of commanding the bottom of the zone. He pitched outstanding. Give him a lead like that in their ballpark, and we have an uphill climb. We battled but couldn't put together three, four, five good at-bats in a row."
Minnesota had its first chance in the third with singles by Jordan Kozicky and Ben Mezzenga, but Terrin Vavra's hard line drive to right center was tracked down by Larnach to end the threat. The bottom of the Oregon State order came out swinging in the fourth as Jack Anderson and Zak Taylor each doubles, and Steven Kwan added a single to extend the lead to 6-0.
"We were just trying to answer and put some runs on the board moving forward," said Vavra. "Give the guy credit, he made a great play. Sometimes, that happens."
"That was our chance to get back in the game, but they made a great play," said Anderson. "If that falls in, it's a [different] game, and maybe we can climb back into it."
Heimlich would finish with 8.2 innings pitched, striking out nine while allowing seven hits. To his credit, Meyer settled in after the first and gave the Gophers 6.0 innings on the mound, striking out three while giving up six runs on nine hits.
Oregon State got to the Minnesota bullpen with a pair of runs in the seventh, but the Maroon & Gold got the offense going in the top of the eighth when Toby Hanson lifted a home run to left leading off the inning. The Gophers built another threat with two on in both the eighth and ninth innings, but OSU played enough defense to keep them off the scoreboard any further.
QUOTABLE
"The good news is that it's best out of three. Tomorrow is a new day. We're going to get back to work with the same mentality we've had all year. They're a good team, but we are, too. We're looking forward to another opportunity to take the field and give our best tomorrow." - Toby Hanson on needing two wins in a row to take the series
NOTABLE
Reggie Meyer had allowed just six home runs on the season entering the game, and more than one only one other time: two on March 9 against Creighton ... Ben Mezzenga extended his hitting streak to a team season-high 12 games and reached bases for the 31st consecutive game ... Nick Lackney struck out four batters in 2.0 innings out of the Minnesota bullpen.
UP NEXT
The same two teams will meet in game two Saturday in Corvallis beginning at 6:30 p.m. PT (8:30 p.m. CT). The game will be broadcast on ESPN2 and KFAN 100.3 FM.