University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, March 6
6:30 PM
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Photo by: Kelly Hagenson
Meyer's Career Night Powers Gophers Past Utah
3/6/2020 11:06:00 PM | Baseball
MINNEAPOLIS – Max Meyer became the first Gopher pitcher to strike out 15 batters in a game since Glen Perkins in 2004 as Minnesota returned to the win column Friday night with a 6-4 victory over Utah.
After striking out a career-high 14 batters last Friday in a complete game gem against North Carolina, Meyer took his swing-and-miss stuff to the next level against the Utes. Meyer's 15 strikeouts versus Utah signified a new career best, as the Gopher ace has now struck out double-digit batters in three consecutive starts for a combined 39 strikeouts over that span.
Meyer lasted eight innings on the hill, allowing three runs (zero earned) on four hits and two walks. Although it took the right-hander 118 pitches to get the Gophers through the eighth, Meyer ultimately earned his third win of the season (3-1) and reduced his earned run average to 1.95.
The Minnesota offense did their job in providing Meyer with enough run support in the contest, taking the lead in the third inning and never looking back from there. Zack Raabe opened the scoring in the third with his first of three hits on the night, driving in Andrew Wilhite with an RBI single to right field.
Drew Hmielewski added a second run to the Gopher lead in the fourth with an RBI single of his own. In the fifth, Raabe laced a two-strike double down the left field line that again plated Wilhite to put Minnesota in control, 3-0. Jack Wassel made it back-to-back doubles by driving a ball into the left-center field gap the very next at bat, as Raabe came around to score for the Maroon and Gold's fourth run.
With a 4-0 advantage in the eighth, the game began to get interesting. Utah loaded up the bases on an infield single, walk and subsequent fielding error by Meyer. The Utes then used a two-out, bases-clearing double to left-center field to cut Minnesota's lead to one run.
Meyer escaped the eighth by striking out his record-setting 15th batter and that would more-or-less seal the deal for the U on Friday night. Jordan Kozicky delivered a clutch, two-out single to center in the bottom of the eighth that scored two runs and put the Gophers up, 6-3.
Having played the entirety of the game in right field and already with a single to his credit, Sam Ireland moved from the outfield to the pitcher's mound in an attempt to close out the game in the ninth. Ireland worked a fairly uneventful frame to record his first career save, only allowing a single run on a two-out solo home run to left.
With Ireland nailing down the save, Meyer earned his third win of the season in the game. Utah starter Justin Kelly received the loss, lasting six full innings and giving up four runs (two earned) on nine hits, two walks and four strikeouts.
Quotable
"Max, again, had outstanding stuff. I thought it might have been the best slider he's had this year. He got some outs with the changeup and located the fastball. Just another outstanding starting performance for him," said head coach John Anderson. "I thought we played better on offense tonight. We were able to get a couple of two-out, RBI hits that we've really struggled with so far this year. I thought we had better at bats throughout the lineup and throughout the game. We're going in the right direction. Hopefully, tomorrow we can clean up some more things and keep getting a little bit better."
"My stuff felt great tonight. I'm just out there trying to pound the zone and set the tempo for the weekend," said Meyer. "Just throw strikes and compete over the plate. The pace of play is a big factor to me. Just getting in there, trusting my defense and throwing strikes."
Notable
Meyer became the first Gopher pitcher to strike out 15 batters in a game on Friday since Glen Perkins accomplished the feat on May 27, 2004 against Purdue. The Gopher right-hander has now struck out double-digit batters in three consecutive starts for a combined 39 strikeouts during that span.
Raabe finished three-for-four at the plate in game one, recording his fourth game with three-plus hits in 2020 through just 13 games played. As of the end of Friday night's game, the Gopher second baseman leads the team with a .429 batting average.
Up Next
Minnesota hosts Utah again on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. in the second installment of a three game series at U.S. Bank Stadium.
After striking out a career-high 14 batters last Friday in a complete game gem against North Carolina, Meyer took his swing-and-miss stuff to the next level against the Utes. Meyer's 15 strikeouts versus Utah signified a new career best, as the Gopher ace has now struck out double-digit batters in three consecutive starts for a combined 39 strikeouts over that span.
Meyer lasted eight innings on the hill, allowing three runs (zero earned) on four hits and two walks. Although it took the right-hander 118 pitches to get the Gophers through the eighth, Meyer ultimately earned his third win of the season (3-1) and reduced his earned run average to 1.95.
The Minnesota offense did their job in providing Meyer with enough run support in the contest, taking the lead in the third inning and never looking back from there. Zack Raabe opened the scoring in the third with his first of three hits on the night, driving in Andrew Wilhite with an RBI single to right field.
Drew Hmielewski added a second run to the Gopher lead in the fourth with an RBI single of his own. In the fifth, Raabe laced a two-strike double down the left field line that again plated Wilhite to put Minnesota in control, 3-0. Jack Wassel made it back-to-back doubles by driving a ball into the left-center field gap the very next at bat, as Raabe came around to score for the Maroon and Gold's fourth run.
With a 4-0 advantage in the eighth, the game began to get interesting. Utah loaded up the bases on an infield single, walk and subsequent fielding error by Meyer. The Utes then used a two-out, bases-clearing double to left-center field to cut Minnesota's lead to one run.
Meyer escaped the eighth by striking out his record-setting 15th batter and that would more-or-less seal the deal for the U on Friday night. Jordan Kozicky delivered a clutch, two-out single to center in the bottom of the eighth that scored two runs and put the Gophers up, 6-3.
Having played the entirety of the game in right field and already with a single to his credit, Sam Ireland moved from the outfield to the pitcher's mound in an attempt to close out the game in the ninth. Ireland worked a fairly uneventful frame to record his first career save, only allowing a single run on a two-out solo home run to left.
With Ireland nailing down the save, Meyer earned his third win of the season in the game. Utah starter Justin Kelly received the loss, lasting six full innings and giving up four runs (two earned) on nine hits, two walks and four strikeouts.
Quotable
"Max, again, had outstanding stuff. I thought it might have been the best slider he's had this year. He got some outs with the changeup and located the fastball. Just another outstanding starting performance for him," said head coach John Anderson. "I thought we played better on offense tonight. We were able to get a couple of two-out, RBI hits that we've really struggled with so far this year. I thought we had better at bats throughout the lineup and throughout the game. We're going in the right direction. Hopefully, tomorrow we can clean up some more things and keep getting a little bit better."
"My stuff felt great tonight. I'm just out there trying to pound the zone and set the tempo for the weekend," said Meyer. "Just throw strikes and compete over the plate. The pace of play is a big factor to me. Just getting in there, trusting my defense and throwing strikes."
Notable
Meyer became the first Gopher pitcher to strike out 15 batters in a game on Friday since Glen Perkins accomplished the feat on May 27, 2004 against Purdue. The Gopher right-hander has now struck out double-digit batters in three consecutive starts for a combined 39 strikeouts during that span.
Raabe finished three-for-four at the plate in game one, recording his fourth game with three-plus hits in 2020 through just 13 games played. As of the end of Friday night's game, the Gopher second baseman leads the team with a .429 batting average.
Up Next
Minnesota hosts Utah again on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. in the second installment of a three game series at U.S. Bank Stadium.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Meyer, Max (3-1)
L: Kelly, Justin (0-2)
S: Ireland, Sam (1)
Batting:
2B: Kiernan, Jayden 1 ; Kramer, Shea 1
HR: Zavolta, Vinny 1
RBI: Kiernan, Jayden 3 ; Zavolta, Vinny 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Zavolta, Vinny 1 ; Tom, Rykker 1 ; Yates, Kayler 1 ; Fernlund, Chase 1
Batting:
2B: Raabe, Zack 1 ; Wassel, Jack 1 ; Kelly, Jack 1
RBI: Raabe, Zack 2 ; Wassel, Jack 1 ; Hmielewski, Drew 1 ; Kozicky, Jordan 2
SH: Bertrand, Easton 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wilhite, Andrew 2 ; Raabe, Zack 1 ; Wassel, Jack 1 ; Kelly, Jack 2
CS: Wilhite, Andrew 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
2
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
RHP/1B
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
IF
/ BaseballIF
/ BaseballOF
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