University of Minnesota Athletics
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15-26, 15-26
Minnesota Splits Doubleheader with Purdue
5/30/2021 1:47:00 PM | Baseball
The Gophers split their last four games of the season with two wins over Purdue.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Gopher baseball program closed out the 2021 season by splitting a doubleheader with Purdue on Sunday at Alexander Field.
The Gophers (6-31) opened the day with a 2-1 win over the Boilermakers before dropping a 6-7 loss to the host school in the final game of the season.
Minnesota, which snapped a 16-game skid with a win over Purdue last Sunday at Siebert Field, rounded out the 2021 campaign with wins in two of its last four games.
Game 1: Minnesota 2, Purdue 1
Jack Liffrig was mowing people down on Sunday, striking out eight Boilermaker batters over eight innings of work to help propel Minnesota past Purdue 2-1 in the first game of Big Ten doubleheader. Liffrig (2-4) did not allow an earned run in the win while Drake Davis also made an impact on the mound for the Gophers, throwing one shutout inning while allowing no hits, with one walk and two strikeouts.
In the batter's box, the Gophers were paced by Zack Raabe, who went 2-for-3 on the day with a home run, a walk and an RBI. Easton Bertrand put together a standout day at the dish as well, going 3-for-4 with two doubles.
Minnesota got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the top of the first inning when Raabe hit a two-out solo home run off Cory Brooks. The Golden Gophers then got back on the board the very next inning when Bertrand came across to score the lone run of the inning for Minnesota, which brought the Golden Gophers lead to 2-0. Purdue put one run on the scoreboard before the game was over, but Minnesota held on for the 2-1 win.
Game 2: Minnesota 6, Purdue 7
An outstanding offensive output was not enough for Minnesota on Sunday as the Gophers put up six runs, but could not hold Purdue at bay in a 7-6 loss to close out the season.
Tom Skoro was a bright spot for the Golden Gophers, starting the ballgame and throwing five innings, giving up three runs, two earned, on three hits, with four walks and six strikeouts. Ryan Duffy (1-5) came out of the bullpen for Minnesota and took the loss. Josh Culliver and Patrick Fredrickson also saw action on the mound for Minnesota.
In the batter's box, the Gophers were paced by Drew Stahl, who went 1-for-3 on the day with a double, a walk and an RBI. Ronald Sweeny put together a noteworthy effort as well, going 1-for-5 with two RBIs. Chase Stanke also chipped in for Minnesota, putting together one hit in four trips to the plate while adding a double and an RBI.
The Gophers were trailing 1-0 in the fourth inning when they first put runs on the board. Minnesota plated two runs off of Purdue pitching, one of which was driven in on a run-scoring double off the bat of Stanke.
The Boilermakers failed to push any runs across before the Golden Gophers offense got back to their scoring ways the next inning. Minnesota picked up two runs when a single from Sweeny brought home Jack Kelly and Zack Raabe, which brought the Golden Gophers lead to 4-1.
Minnesota held Purdue without a run before expanding their lead to 6-1 the following inning. The Gophers picked up two runs in the frame, the key hit being an RBI double from Stahl. Minnesota was unable to hold the lead as Purdue scored six times over the remaining three innings to grab the 7-6 win.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Liffrig, Jack (2-4)
L: BROOKS, Cory (3-4)
S: Davis, Drake (1)
Batting:
2B: Bertrand, Easton 2
HR: Raabe, Zack 1
RBI: Raabe, Zack 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Raabe, Zack 1 ; Bertrand, Easton 1
HBP: Stahl, Drew 1
Batting:
2B: HUNTER, Skyler 1
RBI: POWERS, Tyler 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HOWE, Ryan 1
SB: POWERS, Tyler 2
