University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Ohio State
Gophers Sweep Buckeyes
3/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Columbus, Ohio - The University of Minnesota swept Ohio State after winning two games of a doubleheader Saturday at Bill Davis Stadium.
The Gophers improved to 14-8 overall in the season and now have started 3-0 in Big Ten Conference play.
Game One - Minnesota: 15 Ohio State: 5
Minnesota fell down 2-0 early with Ohio State scoring runs in the first and third innings but bounced back with a five-run fourth inning.
The first run came when Toby Hanson bunted for a single, advancing Alex Boxwell to second who then scored on two throwing errors on the play that allowed Hanson to advance to second.
Jordan Smith then followed that with a double to right field that scored Hanson to tie it 2-2. A few batters later Cole McDevitt sent a three-run home run over the 400 foot mark in center field to drive in Smith and Jordan Kozicky to give the Gophers a 5-2 lead.
The Buckeyes tacked on another score in the fourth inning but Minnesota pulled away in the top of the fifth inning when Smith hit a three-run home run with Hanson and Boxwell on base.
Ohio State scored one more run in the bottom of the fifth inning but the Maroon and Gold exploded for seven runs in the top of the eighth inning. The scoring began when Terrin Vavra singled to left field scoring McDevitt.
Hanson then doubled to right center to make it 11-5 when Vavra and Boxwell scored. Stemper then singled to the shortstop which resulted in an error that Hanson scored on.
With Stemper and Smith on base, Jordan Kozicky tripled to right center scoring the two seniors. The scoring was then topped off when Kozicky scored the 15th run on a wild pitch.
Brett Schulze started on the mound for the Gophers in game one. The freshman picked up his third win of the season after throwing 5.0 innings, allowing three hits, five earned runs and striking out one batter.
Nick Lackney was the first pitcher out of the bullpen and he went 1.0 inning where he walked two batters but did not allow a hit. Tim Shannon tossed the final 3.0 innings where he picked up his second save of the season. The senior only allowed two hits and struck out two batters.
Game Two - Minnesota: 6 Ohio State 5
The Buckeyes once again jumped out to an early lead when they scored one run in the bottom of the second inning. The Gophers tied it 1-1 in the top of the third inning when Boxwell recorded a sacrifice fly that scored Vavra.
Minnesota tacked on two more runs in the top of the fourth inning. The first run was a result of a Kozicky double down the left field line that scored Stemper. Smith was thrown out at home on the play. Next McDevitt singled through the right side scoring Kozicky to make it 3-1 for the Gophers.
The Maroon and Gold answered back when Ohio State scored one run in the bottom of the fourth inning with a Boxwell solo-homerun to left field in the top of the fifth inning.
In the sixth inning, Eduardo Estrada, Jr. singled to left field, driving in McDevitt then made his way around the base to score on a wild pitch to make it 6-3 in favor of Minnesota.
Ohio State would go on to score two more runs but their comeback fell short for the Minnesota sweep.
Toby Anderson set a personal season high by throwing 6.2 innings as the starter for game two. He allowed two earned runs on seven hits while striking out three batters. The senior improved to 3-2 on the season.
Tyler Hanson came into the game for 0.1 inning where he gave up one earned run on two hits. Shannon made his second appearance of the day but faced one batter which he walked.
Brian Glowicki threw the next 2.0 innings working out of a jam in the eighth inning with two runners on base. The senior right hander did not allow a hit or a run as he struck out one batter in route to his eighth save of the season.
Up Next
The Maroon and Gold will head to Lawerence, Kan. where they will play the Kansas Jayhawks in a two-game series. You can follow the action this year by following the Gophers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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