University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
9-10
San Francisco
14-9
Minnesota Fights Back from Late Deficit to Defeat Dons
3/23/2024 7:38:00 PM | Baseball
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- The Minnesota Golden Gophers rallied from down 9-6 in the seventh inning to beat the San Francisco Dons 12-10 Saturday.
Senior Thomas Gross (3-2) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Minnesota (9-10). The right-hander went 1.2 shutout innings without giving up a hit, allowing one walk and striking out one. Junior Seth Clausen also made an impact on the mound for the Gophers, throwing one scoreless inning while allowing one hit, with no walks and two strikeouts to pick up the save.
Offensively, the Golden Gophers were led by junior Josh Fitzgerald, who went 3-for-5 on the day with a double, a home run and an RBI. Senior Boston Merila compiled a standout effort as well, going 4-for-6 with a double and two RBI. Junior Brady Counsell also helped out for Minnesota, putting together three hits in six trips to the plate while adding an RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gophers jumped out to an early lead for the second straight day when they went up 1-0 in the top of first. The Dons answered in the bottom of the frame, but the Gophers came back in the second with a run of their own.
Fitzgerald stole home in the top of the fourth inning to extend the Minnesota lead, but San Francisco answered with three runs of their own to take a 5-3 lead.
Both teams exchanged runs in the sixth and seventh innings before the Gophers took the lead for good in the top of the eighth inning by putting up six runs.
GAME NOTES
» Merila collected four hits on the day for Minnesota.
» Junior Will Semb struck out five Dons hitters in three innings.
» Every Minnesota starter reached base safely in the win.
» Five Golden Gophers had multiple hits in the ballgame.
» The Gophers had a total of 18 hits, tying their most this season.
» Minnesota went 8-for-23 (.348) with runners in scoring position.
» Ike Mezzenga extended his on base streak to 19 games.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gross, Thomas (3-2)
L: JONES, Max (2-1)
S: Clausen, Seth (1)
Batting:
2B: Merila, Boston 1 ; Fitzgerald, Josh 1
HR: Fitzgerald, Josh 1
RBI: Counsell, Brady 1 ; Perry, Jake 1 ; Neels, Weber 1 ; Mezzenga, Ike 1 ; Merila, Boston 2 ; Fitzgerald, Josh 1 ; Bork, Kyle 2 ; Sutherland, Charlie 2
SF: Bork, Kyle 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Counsell, Brady 2 ; Perry, Jake 1 ; Neels, Weber 1 ; Merila, Boston 2 ; Fitzgerald, Josh 3 ; Hokenson, Kris 1 ; Bork, Kyle 2
SB: Counsell, Brady 1 ; Fitzgerald, Josh 1 ; Hokenson, Kris 1
CS: Mezzenga, Ike 1
HBP: Neels, Weber 1 ; Fitzgerald, Josh 1 ; Spanier, Jack 1
PO: Mezzenga, Ike 1 ; Merila, Boston 1
Batting:
RBI: CAMPAGNA, Michael 2 ; FUNG, Matty 2 ; ROGERS, TJ 3 ; THOMAS, Mattie 1
SH: FUNG, Matty 1
SF: CAMPAGNA, Michael 1
Base Running:
RUNS: WATANABE, Kody 4 ; AMARAL, JT 1 ; KEIGHRAN, Patrick 3 ; CAMPAGNA, Michael 1 ; FUNG, Matty 1
SB: WATANABE, Kody 2
CS: ROGERS, TJ 1
HBP: WATANABE, Kody 2 ; AMARAL, JT 1 ; KEIGHRAN, Patrick 2 ; CAMPAGNA, Michael 1 ; PELLETIER, C.E. 1
