University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
15-18, 7-5
Illinois
22-12, 3-6
Gophers Come From Behind Late in Series Finale
4/15/2019 5:11:00 PM | Baseball
Trailing 4-1 after the seventh inning stretch, Minnesota (14-18, 6-5 Big Ten) scored two runs in each of the seventh and eighth innings to edge out the Illini. Quinten Sefcik made his second appearance of the weekend for Illinois (22-11, 3-5 Big Ten), surrendering two runs on three Gopher hits in the inning. Ben Mezzenga led off the seventh with a single, and came around to score on a pinch-hit RBI single by Drew Hmielewski. Cole McDevitt ripped his third double of the series to bring home Hmielewski with two outs.
Nathan Lavender (1-2) walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth and then hit Eli Wilson with a pitch to pull Minnesota even. Zack Raabe scored on an RBI groundout by Hmielewski to take the 5-4 lead and Brett Schulze shut the door in a perfect ninth inning for his fifth save of the season.
Nick Lackney (1-3) earned the victory, throwing 3.2 scoreless innings in relief of Joshua Culliver. The right-hander worked into the fifth for Minnesota, surrendering four earned on six hits while striking out three on the day. Wilson singled in the third, coming around to score on an RBI groundout by Jordan Kozicky to give the Gophers their first run of the day.And the #Gophers get the lead! Hmielewski sends one up the right infield and scores Raabe! #Gophers lead 5-4 after the eighth! pic.twitter.com/MetMNRsB5Z
— Minnesota Baseball (@GopherBaseball) April 15, 2019
Illinois had a 2-0 lead in the first after RBI singles by Cam McDonald and Jack Yalowitz, and stretched the lead to 4-1 in the fifth, chasing Culliver with Zac Taylor's second home run of the series.
NOTABLEWassel slings one from the low third base line to get the out at first! #Gophers one out a way. pic.twitter.com/5nhedrbZC1
— Minnesota Baseball (@GopherBaseball) April 15, 2019
Mezzenga extended his team-leading five-game hitting streak with his single in the seventh … Kozicky has reached base in nine consecutive games for the Gophers, drawing a walk on Monday … Schulze now has five saves to match his five victories out of the Minnesota bullpen.
UP NEXT
The Maroon & Gold host South Dakota State on Tuesday evening at Siebert Field. The game will also include the rescheduled "Masters Night" theme and hat giveaway to the first 100 students. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
The homestand continues this weekend as Minnesota hosts Oklahoma. Game two of the three-game series will take place in downtown Minneapolis at the home of the Minnesota Twins. Tickets will only be available for purchase day of game at the Target Field box office.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lackney, Nick (1-3)
L: Lavender, Nathan (1-2)
S: Schulze, Brett (5)
Batting:
2B: Michalak, Michael 1
HR: Taylor, Zac 1
RBI: Taylor, Zac 2 ; McDonald, Cam 1 ; Yalowitz, Jack 1
SH: Comia, Branden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Massey, Michael 2 ; Taylor, Zac 2
SB: Yalowitz, Jack 1
Batting:
2B: Estrada, Jr., Eduardo 1 ; McDevitt, Cole 1
RBI: Wilson, Eli 1 ; Hmielewski, Drew 2 ; Kozicky, Jordan 1 ; McDevitt, Cole 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mezzenga, Ben 1 ; Wilson, Eli 1 ; Hmielewski, Drew 1 ; Wassel, Jack 1 ; Raabe, Zack 1
SB: Mezzenga, Ben 1 ; Bertrand, Easton 1
HBP: Wilson, Eli 1
