University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, April 17
1:00 PM
University of Minnesota
4-19, 0
0
vs
4
Michigan
17-7, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Michigan Wolverines
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
4
5
0
Minnesota Gophers
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
7
2
Gophers Drop Pitchers' Duel to Michigan
4/17/2021 4:24:00 PM | Baseball
MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota baseball team came up short in a close, late-inning battle against Michigan on Saturday by a final score of 4-0.
Minnesota starting pitcher Jack Liffrig was nearly flawless in this one, cruising through seven shutout innings for the Maroon & Gold. Liffrig only allowed one hit through the first five innings, before finishing with seven scoreless frames and a career-high eight strikeouts. Liffrig allowed just two hits and walked one.
Liffrig and Michigan starter Cameron Weston engaged in a pitchers' duel for most of the day, as neither pitcher allowed a run through seven innings of work. Both starting pitchers were relieved in the eighth inning by their respective teams.
Upon Liffrig's removal from the game, Ryan Duffy picked up where his fellow southpaw left off, producing a scoreless frame for Minnesota in the eighth inning highlighted by two strikeouts.
Despite five hits through the first five innings of play, the Gophers were held scoreless. Minnesota later loaded up the bases with one out in the eighth, but came away empty as a pair of strikeouts stranded them loaded.
In the top of the ninth inning, Michigan finally broke the scoreless tie with four runs. After a one-out triple by Tito Flores, Ted Burton hit a two-run home run to left center. The Wolverines then tacked on another run with a Jordon Rogers RBI single to center field followed by an RBI groundout by Christian Molfetta.
Thereafter, Minnesota went down in order in the bottom of the ninth as the game ended at 4-0 in favor of Michigan.
Duffy received the loss, pitching two innings of relief and allowing four runs (three earned) on three hits and two walks while striking out three.
Michigan reliever Willie Weiss earned the win, tossing 1 2/3 no-hit innings with five strikeouts. Wolverine starter Weston finished with seven shutout innings, surrendering six hits and one walk while striking out eight.
Zack Raabe (2-for-3) and Chase Stanke (2-for-3) were the lone Gophers to collect multiple hits in the game for Minnesota.
Notable
Liffrig tied his career high with seven innings pitched, allowing zero runs on just two hits and one walk while also striking out a career-high eight batters in the game.
Raabe notched his second two-hit day in as many games in the series, raising his season slash line to .432/.528/.703.
Quotable
"Michigan has an outstanding team and the guy they threw out there today was outstanding as well, and Liffrig matched him pitch for pitch," head coach John Anderson said. "We had a few chances and we just weren't able to get a big hit with runners in scoring position... I thought Liffrig pitched with angle today. He's been working on trying to get more angle on his fastball and breaking ball. He pitched to the bottom of the zone as good as anybody has this year. That was a great outing for him."
Up Next
Minnesota and Michigan meet for the third and final game of the series on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. CT. The game will stream live on BTN+.
Minnesota starting pitcher Jack Liffrig was nearly flawless in this one, cruising through seven shutout innings for the Maroon & Gold. Liffrig only allowed one hit through the first five innings, before finishing with seven scoreless frames and a career-high eight strikeouts. Liffrig allowed just two hits and walked one.
Liffrig and Michigan starter Cameron Weston engaged in a pitchers' duel for most of the day, as neither pitcher allowed a run through seven innings of work. Both starting pitchers were relieved in the eighth inning by their respective teams.
Upon Liffrig's removal from the game, Ryan Duffy picked up where his fellow southpaw left off, producing a scoreless frame for Minnesota in the eighth inning highlighted by two strikeouts.
Despite five hits through the first five innings of play, the Gophers were held scoreless. Minnesota later loaded up the bases with one out in the eighth, but came away empty as a pair of strikeouts stranded them loaded.
In the top of the ninth inning, Michigan finally broke the scoreless tie with four runs. After a one-out triple by Tito Flores, Ted Burton hit a two-run home run to left center. The Wolverines then tacked on another run with a Jordon Rogers RBI single to center field followed by an RBI groundout by Christian Molfetta.
Thereafter, Minnesota went down in order in the bottom of the ninth as the game ended at 4-0 in favor of Michigan.
Duffy received the loss, pitching two innings of relief and allowing four runs (three earned) on three hits and two walks while striking out three.
Michigan reliever Willie Weiss earned the win, tossing 1 2/3 no-hit innings with five strikeouts. Wolverine starter Weston finished with seven shutout innings, surrendering six hits and one walk while striking out eight.
Zack Raabe (2-for-3) and Chase Stanke (2-for-3) were the lone Gophers to collect multiple hits in the game for Minnesota.
Notable
Liffrig tied his career high with seven innings pitched, allowing zero runs on just two hits and one walk while also striking out a career-high eight batters in the game.
Raabe notched his second two-hit day in as many games in the series, raising his season slash line to .432/.528/.703.
Quotable
"Michigan has an outstanding team and the guy they threw out there today was outstanding as well, and Liffrig matched him pitch for pitch," head coach John Anderson said. "We had a few chances and we just weren't able to get a big hit with runners in scoring position... I thought Liffrig pitched with angle today. He's been working on trying to get more angle on his fastball and breaking ball. He pitched to the bottom of the zone as good as anybody has this year. That was a great outing for him."
Up Next
Minnesota and Michigan meet for the third and final game of the series on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. CT. The game will stream live on BTN+.
Follow Minnesota Baseball
Support Minnesota Baseball
Support the University of Minnesota Baseball program. Your support helps our student-athletes succeed athletically, academically, and socially. It takes just seconds to make a monthly or one-time donation. Thank you for your support! Give Now
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Weiss, Willie (4-1)
L: Duffy, Ryan (0-4)
Batting:
3B: Flores, Tito 1
HR: Burton, Ted 1
RBI: Rogers, Jordon 1 ; Molfetta, Christian 1 ; Burton, Ted 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Rogers, Jordon 1 ; Flores, Tito 1 ; Burton, Ted 1 ; Bertram, Riley 1
SB: Bertram, Riley 3
CS: Velazquez, Joey 1
HBP: Elliott, Clark 1 ; Mazur, Griffin 1 ; Bertram, Riley 1
Batting:
SH: Bertrand, Easton 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
LHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballC
/ BaseballWeber Neels Highlights
Wednesday, May 28
Gophers (11) - Michigan State (5) Highlights
Friday, May 16
Gophers (4) - Michigan State (3) Highlights
Thursday, May 15
Gopher Baseball Senior Salute
Monday, May 12