University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
20-19, 0
USC
27-14, 0
Fitzgerald Homers Twice in Minnesota's 16-6 Loss to USC
4/25/2025 9:06:00 PM | Baseball
MINNEAPOLIS- Senior Josh Fitzgerald put together a stellar performance at the plate Friday, hitting two homers, but the Minnesota Golden Gophers fell to the USC Trojans 16-6.
Junior Joe Sperry (4-1) started and took the loss on the mound for Minnesota (20-19, ).
Fitzgerald went 2-for-4 at the plate, supplementing his two home runs with two RBIs. Junior Weber Neels added to Fitzgerald's awesome power-hitting performance by going 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. Junior Easton Richter also chipped in for the Golden Gophers, going 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Golden Gophers were trailing 1-0 in the first inning when they first put runs on the board. Minnesota's offense produced a three-run output that included home runs from both Neels and Fitzgerald.
The Trojans failed to push any runs across before the Golden Gophers offense got back to their scoring ways the next inning. Minnesota managed to push across two runs in the inning, which brought the score to 5-1 in favor of the Golden Gophers.
USC fought back to even the ballgame at five before Minnesota reclaimed a 6-5 advantage in the third inning. The Golden Gophers recorded a run on Fitzgerald's leadoff home run off junior Caden Hunter. The Golden Gophers were unable to hold the lead, as USC scored 11 times over the remaining six innings to grab the 16-6 win.
GAME NOTES
» Minnesota got a two-homer day from Fitzgerald.
» Minnesota's power output was led by Fitzgerald, who compiled two extra base hits in the ballgame.
» Minnesota's highest scoring inning was the first, when it pushed three runs across.
» Fitzgerald led the Golden Gophers at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two home runs and two RBI.
For more information on the Gopher baseball program, fans can continue to use GopherSports.com, as well as follow the team on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Johnson, Andrew (2-0)
L: Sperry, Joe (4-1)
Batting:
2B: Dowd, Brayden 1 ; Grudzielanek, Bryce 1 ; Lamb, Andrew 1
HR: Lopez, Adrian 1 ; Lamb, Andrew 1 ; Tejeda, Richard 1
RBI: Hedges, Ethan 1 ; Grudzielanek, Bryce 2 ; Lopez, Adrian 5 ; Lamb, Andrew 1 ; Tejeda, Richard 5
SH: Grudzielanek, Bryce 1
SF: Hedges, Ethan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Dowd, Brayden 3 ; Hedges, Ethan 2 ; Grudzielanek, Bryce 1 ; Lopez, Adrian 1 ; Lopez, Augie 1 ; Basseer, Jack 2 ; Lamb, Andrew 4 ; Tejeda, Richard 2
SB: Basseer, Jack 1 ; Tejeda, Richard 1
CS: Covarrubias, Abbrie 1
HBP: Dowd, Brayden 1 ; Lopez, Augie 1
Batting:
HR: Neels, Weber 1 ; Fitzgerald, Josh 2
RBI: Richter, Easton 1 ; Neels, Weber 3 ; Fitzgerald, Josh 2
SF: Neels, Weber 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Richter, Easton 1 ; Neels, Weber 1 ; Fitzgerald, Josh 2 ; Larson, Jake 1 ; Knoll, Parker 1
