University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, March 20
6:00 PM
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Northwestern
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Minnesota Gophers
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Northwestern
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Gophers Come Up Short vs. Northwestern in Game One
3/20/2021 9:48:00 PM | Baseball
MINNEAPOLIS – The Gopher Baseball program dropped game one against Northwestern in a hard-fought, back-and-forth matchup on Saturday night, 4-3.
Starting pitcher Sam Ireland was once again stellar for the Maroon & Gold, tossing seven innings of two-run ball on four hits and one walk while striking out a career-high 10 batters. Saturday's outing marks the second consecutive game in which Ireland has both thrown a quality start and lasted seven or more innings with two runs allowed or fewer.
Despite Ireland's excellent performance on the mound, Northwestern was the first to crack into the scoring column in game one. Stephen Hrustich touched up Ireland for a two-run home run in the first, putting the Wildcats ahead, 2-0.
All seven runs in the game came courtesy of the long ball. In the fifth, Cody Kelly knotted up the game at 2-2 with the first home run of his career, sending a moonshot over the monster in right field at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Kelly was not done there, however, as the freshman launched his second home run of the game in the eighth inning to give the Gophers a 3-2 lead. With the two-home run night, Kelly became the first Minnesota player to homer twice in the same game since Eduardo Estrada Jr. accomplished the feat against Ohio State on May 23, 2019.
The Gopher lead did not last long, as Northwestern quickly regained the advantage upon Ireland's exit from the game. Anthony Calarco and Shawn Goosenberg hit back-to-back home runs off of Minnesota reliever Tom Skoro in the bottom half of the eighth to put the Wildcats back on top, 4-3.
That slim lead held for Northwestern in the ninth, as Minnesota was unable to mount a comeback in the game's final frame.
Quinn Lavelle earned the victory for the Wildcats, pitching two innings of relief with one earned run allowed on one hit, striking out two. Northwestern starting pitcher Mike Doherty pitched six innings in the win, allowing two earned runs on four hits and three strikeouts.
Skoro was saddled with the loss for Minnesota, throwing one-third of an inning and allowing two earned runs on two hits and two walks.
Quotable
"It was impressive the way Sam bounced back and competed the rest of the game. He made some adjustments on the mound and pitched with three pitches," head coach John Anderson said. "Our kids battled back. Cody Kelly had two big home runs for us after being down, 2-0. We're getting better. It doesn't look like it on the scoreboard, but our at bats are more competitive. We struck out only five times tonight. We're putting more balls in play... This group will compete and let us coach them, and we'll get back after it tomorrow and see if we can win the first inning."
"My whole goal is just to give the team a chance to win," said Ireland. "After the first inning, it kind of lit a fire under me. I had to figure out what was working and what was not working, and trying to just find a way to get outs. Doing anything I can to help the team win."
Notable
Ireland notched a new career high with 10 strikeouts in the game, finishing with seven innings pitched and allowing just two runs. The sophomore right-hander now owns a 2.89 ERA on the season.
Kelly collected the first two home runs of his collegiate career in the loss, setting new career highs in home runs and RBIs in a game. The freshman drove in all three runs for Minnesota.
Minnesota debuted their throwback gray pinstripe uniforms in the game. The new gray pinstripes are the program's first pinstripe uniform in nearly 20 years and only the second gray pinstripes to ever be utilized by the program.
Up Next
Minnesota and Northwestern will meet again on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT for game two of the three-game series.
Starting pitcher Sam Ireland was once again stellar for the Maroon & Gold, tossing seven innings of two-run ball on four hits and one walk while striking out a career-high 10 batters. Saturday's outing marks the second consecutive game in which Ireland has both thrown a quality start and lasted seven or more innings with two runs allowed or fewer.
Despite Ireland's excellent performance on the mound, Northwestern was the first to crack into the scoring column in game one. Stephen Hrustich touched up Ireland for a two-run home run in the first, putting the Wildcats ahead, 2-0.
All seven runs in the game came courtesy of the long ball. In the fifth, Cody Kelly knotted up the game at 2-2 with the first home run of his career, sending a moonshot over the monster in right field at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Kelly was not done there, however, as the freshman launched his second home run of the game in the eighth inning to give the Gophers a 3-2 lead. With the two-home run night, Kelly became the first Minnesota player to homer twice in the same game since Eduardo Estrada Jr. accomplished the feat against Ohio State on May 23, 2019.
The Gopher lead did not last long, as Northwestern quickly regained the advantage upon Ireland's exit from the game. Anthony Calarco and Shawn Goosenberg hit back-to-back home runs off of Minnesota reliever Tom Skoro in the bottom half of the eighth to put the Wildcats back on top, 4-3.
That slim lead held for Northwestern in the ninth, as Minnesota was unable to mount a comeback in the game's final frame.
Quinn Lavelle earned the victory for the Wildcats, pitching two innings of relief with one earned run allowed on one hit, striking out two. Northwestern starting pitcher Mike Doherty pitched six innings in the win, allowing two earned runs on four hits and three strikeouts.
Skoro was saddled with the loss for Minnesota, throwing one-third of an inning and allowing two earned runs on two hits and two walks.
Quotable
"It was impressive the way Sam bounced back and competed the rest of the game. He made some adjustments on the mound and pitched with three pitches," head coach John Anderson said. "Our kids battled back. Cody Kelly had two big home runs for us after being down, 2-0. We're getting better. It doesn't look like it on the scoreboard, but our at bats are more competitive. We struck out only five times tonight. We're putting more balls in play... This group will compete and let us coach them, and we'll get back after it tomorrow and see if we can win the first inning."
"My whole goal is just to give the team a chance to win," said Ireland. "After the first inning, it kind of lit a fire under me. I had to figure out what was working and what was not working, and trying to just find a way to get outs. Doing anything I can to help the team win."
Notable
Ireland notched a new career high with 10 strikeouts in the game, finishing with seven innings pitched and allowing just two runs. The sophomore right-hander now owns a 2.89 ERA on the season.
Kelly collected the first two home runs of his collegiate career in the loss, setting new career highs in home runs and RBIs in a game. The freshman drove in all three runs for Minnesota.
Minnesota debuted their throwback gray pinstripe uniforms in the game. The new gray pinstripes are the program's first pinstripe uniform in nearly 20 years and only the second gray pinstripes to ever be utilized by the program.
Up Next
Minnesota and Northwestern will meet again on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT for game two of the three-game series.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lavelle, Quinn (2-0)
L: Skoro, Tom (1-2)
S: Moe, Coby (2)
Batting:
HR: Kelly, Cody 2
RBI: Kelly, Cody 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Stanke, Chase 1 ; Kelly, Cody 2
CS: Raabe, Zack 1
Batting:
2B: Bianchina, Vincent 1
HR: Calarco, Anthony 1 ; Goosenberg, Shawn 1 ; Hrustich, Stephen 1
RBI: Calarco, Anthony 1 ; Goosenberg, Shawn 1 ; Hrustich, Stephen 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Calarco, Anthony 1 ; Goosenberg, Shawn 2 ; Hrustich, Stephen 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
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