University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Belt Five Home Runs in Rout of UST
3/1/2022 9:15:00 PM | Baseball
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Gophers bashed five home runs and totaled 12 hits in a 12-0 victory over St. Thomas on Tuesday night, the first ever Division I matchup between the two in-state schools.
Redshirt junior left-hander Jack Liffrig (1-1) brought his best stuff on the bump, working 7.2 innings and allowing just three hits from the Tommies. He struck out one and didn't surrender any walks.
Offensively the Gophers (3-6) were led by senior catcher Chase Stanke, who hit his Big Ten-leading fourth and fifth home runs of the year, totaling five RBI. Easton Bertrand went 3-for-4 with a home run while Kyle Bork and Ronald Sweeny both hit their second dingers of the season.
Minnesota got its offense going in the first inning with a two-run shot to right by Stanke. The 'U' then tallied six runs in its highest scoring inning of the 2022 season to break the game open in the second inning. Bertrand led the inning off with a solo home run to dead center before the home team filled the bases after walks by Sweeny and Drew Stahl and a single from Brett Bateman. Boston Merila then doubled down the left field line, plating both Sweeny and Stahl. Stanke capped off the frame with a monster three-run blast to deep right center to put the Gophers up 8-0.
STANKE DOES IT AGAIN!
— Minnesota Baseball (@GopherBaseball) March 2, 2022
His second homerun of the night extends the Gopher lead!
B2 | #Gophers 8, St. Thomas 0 pic.twitter.com/RlbT2UDEva
A tape measure shot to the upper deck in right field by Sweeny gave the home team a 9-0 lead in the third inning and the Gophers plated one more on a wild pitch in the fourth. The Gophers scored their 11th and 12th runs of the night in the bottom of the eighth inning when Kyle Bork blasted a pinch hit, two-run home run to center field, the team's fifth home run of the night.
Notes:Tonight would not. be complete without a Bork Blast!@kylebork9 launches one deep for his second homer in as many games!
— Minnesota Baseball (@GopherBaseball) March 2, 2022
B8 | #Gophers 12, St. Thomas 0 pic.twitter.com/BSi6cqTUuM
-Minnesota now leads the Big Ten with 15 home runs in nine games this season.
-Jack Liffrig worked 7.2 innings, just one out off the longest outing of his career.
-Chase Stanke posted his second two home-run game of the season and now leads the Big Ten with five long balls in 2022.
-It's the fourth time this season the Gophers have hit multiple long balls in a game and second time they've hit four-or-more.
-Minnesota tied its season-high with 12 hits (Feb. 18 at FAU).
-Kyle Bork has hit home runs in consecutive games, the first two long balls of his collegiate career.
NEXT UP:
Minnesota (3-6) hosts South Dakota State (1-6) tomorrow at 6 p.m. at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Liffrig, Jack (1-1)
L: G. Laubscher (0-1)

Batting:
2B: Merila, Boston 1 ; Bertrand, Easton 1
HR: Stanke, Chase 2 ; Bertrand, Easton 1 ; Sweeny, Ronald 1 ; Bork, Kyle 1
RBI: Merila, Boston 2 ; Stanke, Chase 5 ; Bertrand, Easton 1 ; Sweeny, Ronald 1 ; Bork, Kyle 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Bateman, Brett 2 ; Merila, Boston 1 ; Stanke, Chase 2 ; Hauser, Joe 1 ; Bertrand, Easton 1 ; Grimm, Otto 1 ; Sweeny, Ronald 2 ; Bork, Kyle 1 ; Stahl, Drew 1
SB: Bateman, Brett 1 ; Wilhite, Andrew 1 ; Sweeny, Ronald 1 ; Stahl, Drew 1
HBP: Counsell, Brady 1 ; Stanke, Chase 1 ; Berghammer, Noah 1