University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
9-22
North Dakota State
8-23
Minnesota Erases Four Run Deficit to Top NDSU, 12-9
4/11/2023 9:19:00 PM | Baseball
Riley Swenson hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh
MINNEAPOLIS --The Minnesota Golden Gophers fought back from an early 4-0 deficit to defeat the North Dakota State Bison, 12-9, on Tuesday night.
Sophomore Seth Clausen (2-0) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Minnesota (9-22, 3-3 Big Ten). The right-hander went 2.1 shutout innings while giving up one hit, allowing one walk and striking out two. Sophomore Noah Rooney also made an impact on the mound for the Golden Gophers, throwing three innings, giving up one run on two hits, with two walks and two strikeouts.
Senior Riley Swenson led the way offensively for the Golden Gophers, going 2-for-3 in the ballgame with a game-winning three-run home run. Sophomore Ike Mezzenga provided a standout effort as well, going 3-for-4 with a home run and an RBI. Sophomore Jake Larson went 1-for-2 for Minnesota with a home run and two RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a four-run first inning for NDSU (three unearned runs), the Golden Gophers first put runs on the board in the second inning. Minnesota pushed across two runs in the frame, the big blow coming on an RBI double from freshman Kris Hokenson.
The Bison expanded their lead to 5-2 before the Golden Gophers offense got back to work, taking the lead with four runs in the fifth. The Minnesota offense exploded for four runs, highlighted by a solo home run from Weber Neels and a two-run double off the bat of freshman Sam Hunt, which brought the score to 6-5 in favor of the Golden Gophers.
Minnesota's lead had disappeared by the time the sixth inning arrived and turned into a 9-6 North Dakota State advantage. The Golden Gophers cut that deficit to 9-8 with a two-run home run off the bat of Jake Larson.
Minnesota kept the Bison off the board before taking the lead in the seventh. A three-run homer from Swenson to deep left field brought the Minnesota advantage to 11-9.
The Golden Gophers kept North Dakota State off the board before expanding their lead to 12-9 the following inning. Minnesota picked up a run on Ike Mezzenga's two-out solo home run to go up 12-9. Seth Clausen (2-0) closed it out in the ninth, giving up just one hit in the frame.
GAME NOTES
» Mezzenga picked up three base hits in the game for Minnesota, his second three-hit game of the year.
» Hunt and Swenson drove in three runs each for the Golden Gophers, season-highs for both.
» Minnesota's highest scoring inning was the fifth, when it pushed four runs across.
» Minnesota hitters hit four home runs in the ballgame, another season-best for the team.
» Minnesota went 3-for-7 (.429) with runners in scoring position.
» Minnesota pitchers faced 47 North Dakota State hitters in the game, allowing 10 ground balls and eight fly balls while striking out eight.
» Swenson led the Golden Gophers at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI.
» Weber Neels hit his team-leading fifth home run of the season, which leads all Big Ten freshmen.
» North Dakota State was led offensively by senior Terrell Huggins, who went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI.
» Junior Wyatt Nelson led the Bison pitching staff, throwing two scoreless innings.
UP NEXT
Minnesota (9-22, 3-3 Big Ten) hosts Iowa (22-8, 2-4 Big Ten) Friday through Sunday at Siebert Field. All games are on B1G+.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Clausen, Seth (2-0)
L: Nolan Johnson (1-2)
Batting:
2B: Cadyn Schwabe 1
HR: Terrell Huggins 1
RBI: James Dunlap 1 ; Terrell Huggins 4 ; Davis Hamilton 1 ; Will Busch 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cadyn Schwabe 3 ; Druw Sackett 1 ; Peter Brookshaw 2 ; James Dunlap 1 ; Terrell Huggins 1 ; Jack Steil 1
SB: Peter Brookshaw 2 ; James Dunlap 1
CS: Davis Hamilton 1
HBP: Peter Brookshaw 1
Batting:
2B: Merila, Boston 1 ; Hunt, Sam 1 ; Hokenson, Kris 1 ; Jurgella, Brady 1
HR: Larson, Jake 1 ; Neels, Weber 1 ; Mezzenga, Ike 1 ; Swenson, Riley 1
RBI: Larson, Jake 2 ; Perry, Jake 1 ; Neels, Weber 1 ; Mezzenga, Ike 1 ; Hunt, Sam 3 ; Hokenson, Kris 1 ; Swenson, Riley 3
SH: Larson, Jake 1 ; Jurgella, Brady 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Larson, Jake 1 ; Neels, Weber 1 ; Mezzenga, Ike 3 ; Merila, Boston 3 ; Hokenson, Kris 1 ; Swenson, Riley 1 ; Jurgella, Brady 2
