University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
13-14
North Dakota State
8-20
Minnesota Never Trails in Tuesday Night Victory Over NDSU
4/9/2024 9:46:00 PM | Baseball
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The Minnesota Golden Gophers took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and never surrendered the advantage on the way to an 11-3 win over the North Dakota State Bison on Tuesday.
Freshman Sam Kennedy (1-0) got the win out of the bullpen for Minnesota (13-14). The right-hander went 2.2 shutout innings, giving up one hit, one walk and striking out one. Freshman Will Whelan closed out the game, allowing one hit, walking none and striking out two to seal the win.
In the batter's box, the Gophers were paced by sophomore Weber Neels who went 3-for-3 with a double, two walks and an RBI. Junior Brady Counsell knocked his sixth long ball of the year in a 1-for-3 performance with two walks and two RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Minnesota struck first by showing patience at the plate in the bottom of the first. The Gophers walked four times in the inning, capped off by senior Boston Merila, to plate their first run.
After holding the Bison scoreless in the top of the second, the Minnesota offense exploded for six runs, highlighted by a two-run single off the bat of senior Kyle Bork and a two-run single from junior Jake Perry, which brought the Golden Gophers lead to 7-0.
North Dakota State narrowed Minnesota's lead to 7-2 before the Golden Gophers stretched the advantage to 9-2 in the fifth inning with Counsell's two-run homer.
The 'U' got back to work in the sixth and recorded two runs, punctuated with an RBI triple off the bat of Drew Berkland, bringing the Minnesota advantage to 11-2. North Dakota State put one run on the scoreboard before the game was over, but the Golden Gophers still coasted to the 11-3 win.
GAME NOTES
» Neels had three base hits in the game for the second time this season.
» Both Counsell and Merila stole two bases in Tuesday's game.
» Minnesota pitchers limited North Dakota State to just 1-for-13 (.077) with runners in scoring position.
» Jake Perry extended his on base streak to 10 games.
» Ike Mezzenga's on base streak was snapped after reaching for the first 25 games he played in.
» Sam Kennedy picked up his first career win in the game.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kennedy, Sam (1-0)
L: Julien Hachem (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Colten Becker 1 ; Davis Hamilton 1
3B: Cadyn Schwabe 1
RBI: Cadyn Schwabe 1 ; Colten Becker 1 ; Will Busch 1
SH: Will Busch 1
SF: Will Busch 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jake Schaffner 1 ; Cadyn Schwabe 1 ; Davis Hamilton 1
Batting:
2B: Neels, Weber 1
3B: Berkland, Drew 1
HR: Counsell, Brady 1
RBI: Counsell, Brady 2 ; Perry, Jake 2 ; Neels, Weber 1 ; Fitzgerald, Josh 1 ; Merila, Boston 1 ; Berkland, Drew 1 ; Bork, Kyle 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Counsell, Brady 3 ; Perry, Jake 1 ; Neels, Weber 1 ; Fitzgerald, Josh 1 ; Merila, Boston 2 ; Berkland, Drew 1 ; Bork, Kyle 1 ; Spanier, Jack 1
SB: Counsell, Brady 2 ; Merila, Boston 2 ; Spanier, Jack 1
HBP: Merila, Boston 1
