Minnesota Drops Two Hard Fought Matchups on Day 3 of the Joan Joyce Classic

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GAME 1 | Louisville 2, Minnesota 1

BOCA RATON, Florida --The Minnesota Golden Gophers (1-6, 0-0 B1G) took a 1-0 lead into the sixth inning, but could not hang on and fell 2-1 to the Louisville Cardinals(6-2, 0-0 ACC) Saturday.

Junior Sydney Schwartz (0-4) got the ball to start for Minnesota and took the loss. The right-hander went seven innings, giving up two runs, one earned, on three hits, allowing four walks and striking out nine.

In the batter's box, the Gophers were paced by freshman Cameron Chard, who went 2-for-3 on the day with a double and an RBI. Senior Nani Valencia furnished a standout performance at the dish as well, going 2-for-4 with a double. Freshman Jae Cosgriff also helped out for Minnesota, putting together two hits in two trips to the plate while adding a walk.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Gophers got on the scoreboard first, starting in the second inning. Minnesota scored thanks to Chard's RBI double with one out. The Maroon and Gold were unable to hold the lead, as Louisville scored two times over the remaining five innings to grab the 2-1 win.

GAME NOTES

» Schwartz fanned nine Cardinals hitters.
» Four Minnesota hitters had multiple base knocks in the ballgame.
» The Gophers out-hit the Cardinals at a 9-3 clip.
» Minnesota pitchers limited Louisville to just 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position.
» Minnesota pitchers faced 30 Louisville hitters in the game, allowing 11 ground balls and one fly balls while striking out nine.
» Chard led the Gophers at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
» Louisville was led offensively by freshman Taylor Monroe, who went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
» Junior Alyssa Zabala led the Cardinals pitching staff, throwing 5.1 shutout innings.

GAME 2 | Villanova 10, Minnesota 8

Minnesota received contributions from every part of their lineup, as all nine starters reached base safely, but the Golden Gophers fell to the Villanova Wildcats (4-4, 0-0 Big East) 10-8 Saturday.

Sophomore Jessa Snippes (0-1) came out of the bullpen for Minnesota (1-7, 0-0 B1G) and took the loss. The right-hander went 2.1 innings, giving up four runs, zero earned, on two hits, allowing two walks and striking out two.

In the batter's box, the Gophers were paced by senior Taylor Krapf, who went 2-for-3 on the day with a double, a home run, a walk and an RBI. Junior Breezy Burnett had a standout day at the dish as well, going 1-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Senior Nani Valencia also helped out for Minnesota, putting together three hits in four trips to the plate while adding a double and an RBI. Valencia, hitting safely in both games today, has now hit safely in all 8 of Minnesota's games to start the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Gophers got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the top of the first inning. Krapf put Minnesota on the board with a mammoth one-out solo home run.

The 'U' lost the lead they built in the first, but got back on the board in the fourth trailing 7-1. Krapf came across to score the lone run of the inning for Minnesota, which tightened the Wildcats lead to 7-2.

Minnesota kept Villanova off the scoreboard before rallying to tie it up at seven in the fifth. The Golden Gophers bats heated up in the inning, scoring five runs, including a three-run home run off the bat of Burnett.

The Wildcats broke the tie and took the lead heading into the seventh inning, when Minnesota got back on the scoreboard. The Gophers scored once on an RBI single off the bat of senior Chavez, tightening the Villanova lead to 10-8. The game ended with that seventh inning rally falling short.

GAME NOTES

» Valencia led the Gophers, picking up three base hits in the ballgame.
» Minnesota's power output was led by Krapf, who compiled two extra base hits in the ballgame.
» Every Gophers starter reached base safely.
» Minnesota's highest scoring inning was the fifth, when it pushed five runs across.
» The 'U' out-hit the Wildcats at a 12-10 clip.
» Minnesota went 5-for-9 (.556) with runners in scoring position.
» Minnesota pitchers faced 31 Villanova hitters in the game, allowing 10 ground balls and five fly balls while striking out two.
» Krapf led the Gophers at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and an RBI.
» Villanova was led offensively by freshman A. Mahnken, who went 1-for-3 with a home run and four RBI.

UP NEXT

The 'U' will play a single game tomorrow to finish up their time at the Joan Joyce Classic. They will take on NC State at 7:30AM CT at Joan Joyce Field on the campus of Florida Atlantic University.

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