University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, February 28
7:00 PM
University of Minnesota
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Meyer Uses Career High 14 Strikeouts to Lift Gophers Over Tar Heels
2/29/2020 12:06:00 AM | Baseball
MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota Baseball opened the 2020 CambriaCollegeClassic with a signature win on Friday night, defeating the Tar Heels of North Carolina, 4-1. The Maroon & Gold were the lone Big Ten team to claim a victory on day one of the tournament.
Although the Gophers received several notable performances at the plate, the evening ultimately belonged to Gopher ace Max Meyer. Meyer went the distance in his third start of the 2020 season, tossing nine innings with just one run allowed on five hits and one walk.
Perhaps most notably, Meyer registered a career high 14 strikeouts against North Carolina en route to the 112-pitch gem. With the complete game victory, Meyer lowered his season ERA to 2.75 and has now punched out 31 hitters in just 19 2/3 innings of work.
Minnesota struck first in the contest, using an Easton Bertrand RBI single to go ahead 1-0 in the first inning. The score remained unchanged until the fourth, when North Carolina made things even with a sacrifice fly to left.
The temporary tie would prove to be short-lived, however, as the Gophers reclaimed the lead via a two-run fifth inning. Jack Kelly drove in a run with a fielder's choice to first base, before Jack Wassel made it a 3-1 ballgame with an RBI single to center field.
Saving the best for last, the Gopher offense's fourth and final run of the night would undoubtedly be the most memorable. Playing in his 47th career start and in his 191st at bat in Maroon and Gold, sophomore Zack Raabe unloaded on the first pitch he saw in the seventh inning – sending it well over the wall in left field. Raabe's first career homer pushed the Minnesota lead to 4-1, where it would stay through the game's final pitch.
In the final two innings of the game, Meyer notched five strikeouts, including his record-setting 14th punchout to slam the door on the Tar Heels in the ninth. With the victory, Meyer improved to 2-1 overall on the campaign.
North Carolina starter Will Sandy received the loss, falling to 0-2 after throwing five innings with three earned runs on five hits, three walks and seven strikeouts.
Quotable
"The first inning, Max went out there and got us a one-two-three inning and Raabe made a great play to open up the game. I think we got some energy from that and a little confidence and then we were able to get a run on the board in the first inning," said head coach John Anderson. "I think that was one of Max's better pitching performances. He was more of a pitcher tonight, used three pitches and had a purpose and a plan out there for what he was trying to do."
"It's great momentum for us. We've been struggling at pitching and just walking a lot of guys, so I just focused on pounding the zone the whole game and made them get themselves out," said Meyer. "We're a good team. We can take down teams like North Carolina."
Notable
Meyer set a new career high with 14 strikeouts against North Carolina on Friday night en route to a complete game victory on the mound.
Raabe hit his first career home run in the seventh inning of tonight's game. The homer came in his 47th career start and 191st career at bat.
Up Next
Minnesota hosts Duke at 7 p.m. on Saturday in their second game of the 2020 CambriaCollegeClassic at U.S. Bank Stadium. Both teams are 1-0 through day one of the round robin tournament.
Although the Gophers received several notable performances at the plate, the evening ultimately belonged to Gopher ace Max Meyer. Meyer went the distance in his third start of the 2020 season, tossing nine innings with just one run allowed on five hits and one walk.
Perhaps most notably, Meyer registered a career high 14 strikeouts against North Carolina en route to the 112-pitch gem. With the complete game victory, Meyer lowered his season ERA to 2.75 and has now punched out 31 hitters in just 19 2/3 innings of work.
Minnesota struck first in the contest, using an Easton Bertrand RBI single to go ahead 1-0 in the first inning. The score remained unchanged until the fourth, when North Carolina made things even with a sacrifice fly to left.
The temporary tie would prove to be short-lived, however, as the Gophers reclaimed the lead via a two-run fifth inning. Jack Kelly drove in a run with a fielder's choice to first base, before Jack Wassel made it a 3-1 ballgame with an RBI single to center field.
Saving the best for last, the Gopher offense's fourth and final run of the night would undoubtedly be the most memorable. Playing in his 47th career start and in his 191st at bat in Maroon and Gold, sophomore Zack Raabe unloaded on the first pitch he saw in the seventh inning – sending it well over the wall in left field. Raabe's first career homer pushed the Minnesota lead to 4-1, where it would stay through the game's final pitch.
In the final two innings of the game, Meyer notched five strikeouts, including his record-setting 14th punchout to slam the door on the Tar Heels in the ninth. With the victory, Meyer improved to 2-1 overall on the campaign.
North Carolina starter Will Sandy received the loss, falling to 0-2 after throwing five innings with three earned runs on five hits, three walks and seven strikeouts.
Quotable
"The first inning, Max went out there and got us a one-two-three inning and Raabe made a great play to open up the game. I think we got some energy from that and a little confidence and then we were able to get a run on the board in the first inning," said head coach John Anderson. "I think that was one of Max's better pitching performances. He was more of a pitcher tonight, used three pitches and had a purpose and a plan out there for what he was trying to do."
"It's great momentum for us. We've been struggling at pitching and just walking a lot of guys, so I just focused on pounding the zone the whole game and made them get themselves out," said Meyer. "We're a good team. We can take down teams like North Carolina."
Notable
Meyer set a new career high with 14 strikeouts against North Carolina on Friday night en route to a complete game victory on the mound.
Raabe hit his first career home run in the seventh inning of tonight's game. The homer came in his 47th career start and 191st career at bat.
Up Next
Minnesota hosts Duke at 7 p.m. on Saturday in their second game of the 2020 CambriaCollegeClassic at U.S. Bank Stadium. Both teams are 1-0 through day one of the round robin tournament.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Meyer, Max (2-1)
L: Will Sandy (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Angel Zarate 1 ; Aaron Sabato 1
RBI: Aaron Sabato 1
SF: Aaron Sabato 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Danny Serretti 1
Batting:
HR: Raabe, Zack 1
RBI: Raabe, Zack 1 ; Kelly, Jack 1 ; Bertrand, Easton 1 ; Wassel, Jack 1
SH: Kozicky, Jordan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wilhite, Andrew 2 ; Raabe, Zack 2
HBP: Wilhite, Andrew 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
C/OF
/ Baseball
IF
/ BaseballIF
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