University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
11-11, 1-1
Iowa
14-11, 3-2
Gophers Drop Game Two to Hawkeyes in Iowa City
3/30/2024 5:53:00 PM | Baseball
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The Golden Gophers put up six runs in game two of a three-game series, but could not hold the Iowa Hawkeyes at bay, and were bested 14-6 on Saturday.
Junior Will Semb (1-2) started and took the loss on the mound for Minnesota (11-11, 1-1). Freshman Will Whelan was a bright spot out of the bullpen, going three innings, surrendering one run without allowing a hit, walking one and striking out the first six batters he faced.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gophers got on the board immediately in the first. Junior Josh Fitzgerald stayed hot at the plate and drove in two runs for Minnesota with a single that scored Jake Perry and Ike Mezzenga.
The Hawkeyes then tied the ballgame at two before the 'U' came back to reclaim their advantage in the second inning. Minnesota scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Perry, which brought the score to 3-2 in favor of the Gophers.
Iowa went on to score nine unanswered runs over the next five innings before Minnesota scrated a run across in the top of the eighth to make it 12-4.
The Hawkeyes expanded their lead to 14-4 in the bottom of the eighth before Brady Jurgella hit his second home run of the year to make it 14-6 in favor of Iowa. The ballgame ended with that ninth inning rally falling short.
GAME NOTES
» Josh Fitzgerald stayed hot at the plate, going 2-4 with two RBIs and a walk.
» Ike Mezzegna extended his on-base streak to 21 games.
» Freshman Will Whelan punched out six straight batters.
» Brady Jurgella became the second Gopher this year to hit a pinch-hit home run with his two-run blast in the ninth.
UP NEXT
The Gophers and Hawkeyes will face off in the series finale on Sunday at 12:00 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Cade Obermueller (2-1)
L: Semb, Will (1-2)
Batting:
HR: Jurgella, Brady 1
RBI: Perry, Jake 1 ; Jurgella, Brady 2 ; Fitzgerald, Josh 2 ; Hokenson, Kris 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Perry, Jake 1 ; Taxdahl, Jack 1 ; Mezzenga, Ike 2 ; Jurgella, Brady 1 ; Bork, Kyle 1
SB: Counsell, Brady 1
HBP: Taxdahl, Jack 1 ; Merila, Boston 1 ; Larson, Jake 1
Batting:
2B: Kyle Huckstorf 1
3B: Kyle Huckstorf 1
HR: Andy Nelson 1
RBI: Andy Nelson 3 ; Raider Tello 2 ; Davis Cop 1 ; Kyle Huckstorf 1 ; Reese Moore 1 ; Gable Mitchell 1 ; Ben Wilmes 2
SF: Raider Tello 1 ; Reese Moore 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Andy Nelson 1 ; Ben Swails 1 ; Blake Guerin 1 ; Sam Petersen 2 ; Raider Tello 2 ; Davis Cop 1 ; Kyle Huckstorf 2 ; Cade Moss 1 ; Ben Wilmes 2 ; Michael Seegers 1
SB: Sam Petersen 2 ; Raider Tello 1
HBP: Sam Petersen 1 ; Raider Tello 1 ; Ben Wilmes 1
