University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, April 3
1:00 PM
University of Minnesota
10
vs
9
Michigan State
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Wilhite, Wassel Lift Gophers to Walk-off Victory Over Spartans
4/3/2021 8:16:00 PM | Baseball
MINNEAPOLIS – Andrew Wilhite delivered a two-out, walk-off single to left-centerfield to power Minnesota (4-13) to a 10-9 win over Michigan State (8-9) at Siebert Field on Saturday afternoon.
Leading up to an epic ninth inning, Minnesota and Michigan State traded blows in a back-and-forth game two thriller.
Cody Kelly got the scoring started for the Gophers early, driving in Drew Stahl with a single through the right side in the third.
From there, the Spartans responded for a trio of runs in the fourth, beginning with a Joe Stewart solo home run to right field. The two runs to follow came home on a Gabe Sotres sacrifice fly and an RBI groundout by Zach Iverson.
Down 3-1, Brett Bateman quickly tied the game up with a two-run double to left field in the fourth, scoring both Jack Kelly and Wilhite. Zack Raabe then put Minnesota on top, 4-3, bringing in Bateman with an RBI single to left field.
In the fifth, Minnesota extended their lead as Jack Wassel blasted a no-doubt home run over the right field wall. The Gophers then tacked on two more runs on a Drew Stahl RBI infield single, followed by a Brett Bateman RBI single up the middle that plated Stahl.
With a 7-3 advantage in hand, the Gopher lead was cut down by the Spartans in the sixth. Michigan State drew within two as Peter Ahn drove in a pair of runs with a triple to right field, making it a 7-5 game.
The Gopher bullpen maintained the two-run lead up until the ninth inning, anchored by Noah DeLuga, who worked Minnesota out of the seventh before producing a scoreless eighth. Trouble struck in the ninth, however, as Michigan State battled back for four runs to turn a two-run Gopher lead into a two-run deficit.
Behind 9-7 entering the bottom of the ninth, Minnesota was in need of some late-inning magic. With one out and nobody on base, Raabe singled to right field to give the Gophers a baserunner. Two batters later, Chase Stanke stepped up with two outs and Raabe still on first, as the game appeared to be all but lost for the Maroon & Gold.
On the very first pitch, Stanke drove a double to left-center, advancing Raabe all the way to third. That give Minnesota two runners in scoring position for Wassel, who stepped up with two outs and an opportunity to tie the game up with a base hit.
With the count at 1-0, Wassel sent a flare to shallow center that dropped for a base hit, effectively scoring Raabe and Stanke to tie the game up at 9-9. Ronald Sweeny then drew a pivotal walk that advanced Wassel into scoring position at second.
At that point, Wilhite stepped to the plate with the game potentially on the line and a chance to give the Gophers an epic walk-off victory. With the count at 1-1, that is precisely what the junior outfielder delivered, barreling up a fastball into the left-center gap to bring home Wassel and win the game.
With the walk-off hit, Wilhite finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored and one RBI. Bateman registered his first career three-hit game in the win, going 3-for-5 as well with three RBI and one run. Wassel went 3-for-6 in the game with one home run, three RBI and two runs scored.
Additionally, Raabe (2-for-5), Stanke (2-for-4) and Stahl (2-for-4) all collected multiple hits on Saturday.
Minnesota reliever Tom Skoro earned the win, pitching two-thirds of an inning to close out the top of the ninth with zero baserunners allowed. Starting pitcher Jack Liffrig received the no-decision, firing five innings of three-run ball on five hits and three walks, striking out four.
Michigan State reliever William Christophersen was saddled with the loss, as he failed to record an out and allowed the winning run to cross home on two hits and one walk. Starter Adam Berghorst received a no-decision, tossing three innings with one run allowed on three hits and two walks.
With the win, Minnesota improves to 4-13 on the season and will look to claim their first series victory of the 2021 campaign with a win against Michigan State on Sunday.
Quotable
"Number one, this was our best day offensively all year long in terms of the number of quality at bats and strikeouts were down," head coach John Anderson said. "I told them afterwards, I was really happy for how resilient they are and how positive and how confident they stayed. They've played hard all year long, regardless of what has happened. It's a good quality. We're going to have to fall down and skin our knees and take the bumps as they come. But, a win like that can surely help your confidence. We're just going to use each day and not quit, not give up and try to improve as a team."
"Hitting is contagious," Wilhite said. "We just tried to put a couple of good at bats together and we were able to. I got a fastball and I was able to put a good swing on it… Any time you can win a game like that, after we've had some pretty tough losses lately, really helps us out. It puts us in a good mental spot for the next game and for the future."
"It's a rollercoaster of a game. Baseball beats you down every single inning, every single pitch and it's so hard to bounce back like we did today," Wassel said. "I'm really proud of our team and the guys, especially on the bench, keeping up the energy… I thought that was going to be caught. I wasn't too happy with how it came off the bat. I got a little jammed, but I was lucky enough for it to fall in and give my guys a chance."
Notable
Wilhite's walk-off single marks Minnesota's first walk-off hit since May 4, 2019. On that date, Gabe Knowles ended an 18-inning marathon against Ohio State with a walk-off single to give the Gophers a 5-4 win.
Bateman notched both his first career multi-hit and three-hit game in the win, going 3-for-5 with one double, three RBI, one run and one walk.
Wassel also drove in three runs in the win, finishing 3-for-6 with one home run and two runs scored.
Up Next
Minnesota and Michigan State will face off for the third and final matchup in their three-game series on Sunday, April 4 at 1 p.m.
Leading up to an epic ninth inning, Minnesota and Michigan State traded blows in a back-and-forth game two thriller.
Cody Kelly got the scoring started for the Gophers early, driving in Drew Stahl with a single through the right side in the third.
From there, the Spartans responded for a trio of runs in the fourth, beginning with a Joe Stewart solo home run to right field. The two runs to follow came home on a Gabe Sotres sacrifice fly and an RBI groundout by Zach Iverson.
Down 3-1, Brett Bateman quickly tied the game up with a two-run double to left field in the fourth, scoring both Jack Kelly and Wilhite. Zack Raabe then put Minnesota on top, 4-3, bringing in Bateman with an RBI single to left field.
In the fifth, Minnesota extended their lead as Jack Wassel blasted a no-doubt home run over the right field wall. The Gophers then tacked on two more runs on a Drew Stahl RBI infield single, followed by a Brett Bateman RBI single up the middle that plated Stahl.
With a 7-3 advantage in hand, the Gopher lead was cut down by the Spartans in the sixth. Michigan State drew within two as Peter Ahn drove in a pair of runs with a triple to right field, making it a 7-5 game.
The Gopher bullpen maintained the two-run lead up until the ninth inning, anchored by Noah DeLuga, who worked Minnesota out of the seventh before producing a scoreless eighth. Trouble struck in the ninth, however, as Michigan State battled back for four runs to turn a two-run Gopher lead into a two-run deficit.
Behind 9-7 entering the bottom of the ninth, Minnesota was in need of some late-inning magic. With one out and nobody on base, Raabe singled to right field to give the Gophers a baserunner. Two batters later, Chase Stanke stepped up with two outs and Raabe still on first, as the game appeared to be all but lost for the Maroon & Gold.
On the very first pitch, Stanke drove a double to left-center, advancing Raabe all the way to third. That give Minnesota two runners in scoring position for Wassel, who stepped up with two outs and an opportunity to tie the game up with a base hit.
With the count at 1-0, Wassel sent a flare to shallow center that dropped for a base hit, effectively scoring Raabe and Stanke to tie the game up at 9-9. Ronald Sweeny then drew a pivotal walk that advanced Wassel into scoring position at second.
HAVE A DAY, @Jack_Wassel7! pic.twitter.com/tvqRmyiRoW
— Minnesota Baseball (@GopherBaseball) April 3, 2021
At that point, Wilhite stepped to the plate with the game potentially on the line and a chance to give the Gophers an epic walk-off victory. With the count at 1-1, that is precisely what the junior outfielder delivered, barreling up a fastball into the left-center gap to bring home Wassel and win the game.
WALK IT OFF, @wilhit3! #Gophers win! pic.twitter.com/SmAspHaBwC
— Minnesota Baseball (@GopherBaseball) April 3, 2021
With the walk-off hit, Wilhite finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored and one RBI. Bateman registered his first career three-hit game in the win, going 3-for-5 as well with three RBI and one run. Wassel went 3-for-6 in the game with one home run, three RBI and two runs scored.
Additionally, Raabe (2-for-5), Stanke (2-for-4) and Stahl (2-for-4) all collected multiple hits on Saturday.
Minnesota reliever Tom Skoro earned the win, pitching two-thirds of an inning to close out the top of the ninth with zero baserunners allowed. Starting pitcher Jack Liffrig received the no-decision, firing five innings of three-run ball on five hits and three walks, striking out four.
Michigan State reliever William Christophersen was saddled with the loss, as he failed to record an out and allowed the winning run to cross home on two hits and one walk. Starter Adam Berghorst received a no-decision, tossing three innings with one run allowed on three hits and two walks.
With the win, Minnesota improves to 4-13 on the season and will look to claim their first series victory of the 2021 campaign with a win against Michigan State on Sunday.
Quotable
"Number one, this was our best day offensively all year long in terms of the number of quality at bats and strikeouts were down," head coach John Anderson said. "I told them afterwards, I was really happy for how resilient they are and how positive and how confident they stayed. They've played hard all year long, regardless of what has happened. It's a good quality. We're going to have to fall down and skin our knees and take the bumps as they come. But, a win like that can surely help your confidence. We're just going to use each day and not quit, not give up and try to improve as a team."
"Hitting is contagious," Wilhite said. "We just tried to put a couple of good at bats together and we were able to. I got a fastball and I was able to put a good swing on it… Any time you can win a game like that, after we've had some pretty tough losses lately, really helps us out. It puts us in a good mental spot for the next game and for the future."
"It's a rollercoaster of a game. Baseball beats you down every single inning, every single pitch and it's so hard to bounce back like we did today," Wassel said. "I'm really proud of our team and the guys, especially on the bench, keeping up the energy… I thought that was going to be caught. I wasn't too happy with how it came off the bat. I got a little jammed, but I was lucky enough for it to fall in and give my guys a chance."
Notable
Wilhite's walk-off single marks Minnesota's first walk-off hit since May 4, 2019. On that date, Gabe Knowles ended an 18-inning marathon against Ohio State with a walk-off single to give the Gophers a 5-4 win.
Bateman notched both his first career multi-hit and three-hit game in the win, going 3-for-5 with one double, three RBI, one run and one walk.
Wassel also drove in three runs in the win, finishing 3-for-6 with one home run and two runs scored.
Up Next
Minnesota and Michigan State will face off for the third and final matchup in their three-game series on Sunday, April 4 at 1 p.m.
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