Perry Homers Twice in Minnesota's Victory Over Northwestern

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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Jake Perry put together a stellar performance at the plate Friday, hitting two home runs to help lead the Minnesota Golden Gophers past the Northwestern Wildcats, 13-3.

Senior Justin Thorsteinson (4-3) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Minnesota (24-23, 10-13 Big Ten). The left-hander went two shutout innings while giving up three hits, allowing no walks and striking out one. Seth Clausen also made an impact on the mound for the Golden Gophers, throwing two scoreless innings while allowing three hits, with no walks and three strikeouts.

Perry went 2-for-4 at the plate, supplementing his two home runs with four RBIs. Freshman Jack Spanier went 2-for-2 with two RBI along with one walk, while Drew Berkland stayed hot at the plate, going 1-for-3 with a double, two walks, three runs scored and an RBI.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Trailing 2-0 after the first inning, the Gophers responded in a big way. Minnesota's offense started clicking and put up six runs, including a three-run home run off the bat of Perry and a two-run single from Spanier to give the 'U' a 6-2 lead.

Both teams were held scoreless through the next four innings until the Minnesota offense exploded for six more runs in the top of the seventh. Perry led off the inning with a solo home run, giving him the first multi-homer game of his career. The Gophers were patient at the dish in the rest of the inning, drawing four walks and taking two hit by pitches for RBIs. Brady Jurgella was the only other Gopher in the inning to drive in a run with a hit when he singled to bring in Ike Mezzenga.

Minnesota kept Northwestern without a run before building their lead to 13-2 in the ninth inning. Northwestern put one run on the scoreboard before the game was over, but Minnesota still coasted to the 13-3 win.

GAME NOTES
» The Golden Gophers got two home runs off the bat of Perry, his first multi-homer game in his career.
» Perry drove in four runs for Minnesota, tying a career high for RBI in a game.
» Every Minnesota starter reached base safely in the win for the second game in a row.
» The Gophers tallied two six-run frames in the game.
» Counsell extended his on-base streak to 22 games.
» The Golden Gophers drew 10 walks from Northwestern pitching.
» With wins by Ohio State and Penn State, the Gophers are now eliminated from playoff contention.
» With a win tomorrow, Minnesota could finish above .500 for the first time since 2019.

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