University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Indiana State
Gophers Drop Weekend Finale to Indiana State
2/27/2022 3:52:00 PM | Baseball
Kyle Bork and Brett Bateman each had three-hit games
FORT MYERS, Florida -- The Minnesota Golden Gophers were defeated 14-8 by the Indiana State Sycamores on Sunday afternoon at Hammond Stadium.
The Gophers (2-6) led 6-3 late in the game before a 10-run top of the eighth inning gave ISU a 13-6 advantage, which it would not relinquish.
Kyle Bork tallied a 3-for-4 day at the plate, including an RBI single and a two-run home run. Jack Kelly went 1-for-3 with a home run, three RBI and a run scored. Brett Bateman went 3-for-5 at the dish, tallying his sixth straight game with a hit, including his third multi-hit game. The home runs were the first of both Bork and Kelly's collegiate careers.
Senior right-hander J.P. Massey pitched 5.1 innings, giving up just three hits and one earned run before leaving in the seventh inning.
George Klassen started the game for Minnesota and struck out two while allowing one run in the first inning. The Gophers would answer right back and more with a breakout, six-hit, four run bottom of the frame. Jack Kelly hit his first career home run, a three-run shot to right center that plated Bateman and Stanke. Later in the inning, Kyle Bork drove in Boston Merila with an RBI single to give the 'U' a 4-1 lead after one.
Minnesota would add two more runs in the bottom of the third when Kyle Bork hit his first collegiate home run as well, a towering two-run blast to right center, putting his team up 6-1. ISU would add one back in the top of the fourth to make it after a hitter reached on an error and scored on a wild pitch by Massey.
The Sycamores continued to chip away at the lead in the seventh inning when right fielder Parker Stinson hit a solo home run to right field off of Massey. Seth Clausen came into the game with one out in the seventh and promptly shut down ISU in the rest of the frame.
The Gophers ran into trouble with one out in the top of the eighth inning when ISU got three straight runners aboard with a pair of singles and a walk. Will Semb replaced Clausen with one out and the bases loaded and struck out the first man he faced. However, ISU re-took the lead for the first time since it led 1-0 in the top of the first inning after a bases loaded walk and a bloop single by Luis Hernandez scored three runs to give the Sycamores a 7-6 advantage.
After two more walks and a wild pitch that scored a run, ISU's Beck hit a two-run single to left field to put the Sycamores up 10-6. Randon Dauman came in for Semb on the mound to try and get the Gophers out of the jam, but two more doubles from ISU plated three more runs to balloon the lead to 13-6 and complete the 10-run inning.
Minnesota would add two more runs in the bottom of the eighth on a pair of RBI ground outs by Andrew Wilhite and Chase Stanke, but it wouldn't be enough as the Gophers fell, 14-8.
NEXT UP:
Minnesota (2-6) plays St. Thomas (2-5) on Tuesday, March 1 at 6 p.m. at U.S. Bank Stadium.
