University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, May 25
Omaha, NE
1:00 PM
University of Minnesota
29-26
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Ohio State
33-25
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Photo by: Steven Branscombe
Estrada's Power, Meyer's Return Help 'U' Force Semifinal Game Two with Ohio State
5/25/2019 6:20:00 PM | Baseball
UPDATE (May 25, 2019, 10:10 p.m.) - Due to potentially dangerous weather and curfew restrictions, Gopher Baseball's Big Ten Tournament semifinal game two against Ohio State will be played Sunday, May 26 at 11 a.m. CT. The Championship game will be played approximately one hour after the conclusion of Game 14.
OMAHA, Neb. – Eduardo Estrada, Jr. homered twice against Ohio State and the Gopher Baseball team got a dominating return performance from its ace on the mound at the Big Ten Tournament, defeating the Buckeyes 6-4 at T.D. Ameritrade Park on Saturday afternoon.
The victory forces a decisive game two between Minnesota (29-26) and Ohio State (33-25) later Saturday to determine who will survive the double elimination bracket to earn a big to the Big Ten Championship game on Sunday.
The Gophers began the day with a pick-me-up with news their ace Max Meyer (5-3) had returned to the rotation. The right-hander picked up where he left off before his ankle injury, striking out seven while allowing just three hits in shutting down the Buckeyes over 5.2 innings.
Typically a reliever for OSU, Will Pfennig (2-4) allowed just the one run on five Gopher hits through the first six innings, but Estrada homered leading off the seventh in a pinch-hitting appearance to double up the lead. Pfennig continued to work into the eighth, but left a pair of runners on base. An RBI fielder's choice for Riley Smith scored the innings first run before Estrada launched a home run to the bleachers in right center, his second of the day and seventh of the season.
Jake Stevenson started another strong outing from the Gopher bullpen, extending the relief corps' streak without allowing an earned run to 16.2 innings before handing the ball to Jeff Fasching. A bases-loaded walk by Conner Pohl broke up the shutout and the streak, and a bases-clearing double by Brent Todys cleared the bases to pull the Buckeyes within 6-4.
Closer Brett Schulze would get the final two outs of the eighth inning with a pair of strikeouts. Jack Wassel extended the lead with a bases-clearing triple in the top of the ninth to put Minnesota up 9-4. Ohio State got a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, but pulled no closer against J.P. Massey.
NOTABLE
Minnesota worked back to the Big Ten semifinals through the elimination bracket last in 2017, eventually falling 7-5 to Iowa after forcing a second game. The Gophers went 4-0 in 2018 to earn the team's ninth Big Ten Tournament title … Zack Raabe's season-long 12-game hitting streak came to a close, but he drove in a run on the day.
UP NEXT
Minnesota will need a second victory against Ohio State on Saturday to advance to Sunday's Big Ten Championship. First pitch is tentatively scheduled for 10:30 pm, but the game will begin approximately 55 minutes after the conclusion of Michigan and Nebraska's second game of the day broadcasting live on Big Ten Network and streaming on BTN2Go. The tournament has a curfew of 11:00 p.m. for first pitch of the last game of the day.
T.D. Ameritrade Park will releases ticket information via social media channels this evening.
OMAHA, Neb. – Eduardo Estrada, Jr. homered twice against Ohio State and the Gopher Baseball team got a dominating return performance from its ace on the mound at the Big Ten Tournament, defeating the Buckeyes 6-4 at T.D. Ameritrade Park on Saturday afternoon.
The victory forces a decisive game two between Minnesota (29-26) and Ohio State (33-25) later Saturday to determine who will survive the double elimination bracket to earn a big to the Big Ten Championship game on Sunday.
The Gophers began the day with a pick-me-up with news their ace Max Meyer (5-3) had returned to the rotation. The right-hander picked up where he left off before his ankle injury, striking out seven while allowing just three hits in shutting down the Buckeyes over 5.2 innings.
Typically a reliever for OSU, Will Pfennig (2-4) allowed just the one run on five Gopher hits through the first six innings, but Estrada homered leading off the seventh in a pinch-hitting appearance to double up the lead. Pfennig continued to work into the eighth, but left a pair of runners on base. An RBI fielder's choice for Riley Smith scored the innings first run before Estrada launched a home run to the bleachers in right center, his second of the day and seventh of the season.
Jake Stevenson started another strong outing from the Gopher bullpen, extending the relief corps' streak without allowing an earned run to 16.2 innings before handing the ball to Jeff Fasching. A bases-loaded walk by Conner Pohl broke up the shutout and the streak, and a bases-clearing double by Brent Todys cleared the bases to pull the Buckeyes within 6-4.
Closer Brett Schulze would get the final two outs of the eighth inning with a pair of strikeouts. Jack Wassel extended the lead with a bases-clearing triple in the top of the ninth to put Minnesota up 9-4. Ohio State got a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, but pulled no closer against J.P. Massey.
NOTABLE
Minnesota worked back to the Big Ten semifinals through the elimination bracket last in 2017, eventually falling 7-5 to Iowa after forcing a second game. The Gophers went 4-0 in 2018 to earn the team's ninth Big Ten Tournament title … Zack Raabe's season-long 12-game hitting streak came to a close, but he drove in a run on the day.
UP NEXT
Minnesota will need a second victory against Ohio State on Saturday to advance to Sunday's Big Ten Championship. First pitch is tentatively scheduled for 10:30 pm, but the game will begin approximately 55 minutes after the conclusion of Michigan and Nebraska's second game of the day broadcasting live on Big Ten Network and streaming on BTN2Go. The tournament has a curfew of 11:00 p.m. for first pitch of the last game of the day.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Meyer, Max (5-3)
L: Pfennig, Will (2-4)
Batting:
3B: Wassel, Jack 1
HR: Estrada, Jr., Eduardo 2
RBI: Raabe, Zack 1 ; Wassel, Jack 3 ; Smith, Riley 1 ; Estrada, Jr., Eduardo 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Mezzenga, Ben 1 ; Raabe, Zack 1 ; Kozicky, Jordan 1 ; Wilson, Eli 1 ; McDevitt, Cole 1 ; Smith, Riley 1 ; Estrada, Jr., Eduardo 2 ; Bertrand, Easton 1
CS: Mezzenga, Ben 1
HBP: Raabe, Zack 1 ; Smith, Riley 1
Batting:
2B: Carpenter, Matt 1 ; Todys, Brent 1
3B: Dingler, Dillon 1
HR: Dingler, Dillon 1
RBI: Dingler, Dillon 1 ; Pohl, Conner 1 ; Todys, Brent 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Canzone, Dominic 2 ; Carpenter, Matt 1 ; Dingler, Dillon 1 ; Cherry, Brady 1 ; Pohl, Conner 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
4
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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IF
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RHP
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IF/OF
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