2018 Gopher Baseball

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Gophers continue to struggle a little bit. Some puzzling decisions in the field and an absolutely terrible day at the plate. Lot of lazy fly balls today and I don't know if guys just aren't seeing the ball real well or what but the offense has really struggled for a few games in a row now. Gophers led 2-0 in the 3rd and had 2 outs and an 0-2 count and the batter leaned into the pitch a little and got the call. Creighton followed with a double a balk and a wild pitch and the game was tied mostly because of self inflicted mistakes which has been way too common lately. The umpiring was absolutely terrible and the Gophers got the worse of it by far. At least 2 or 3 times the ump gave Creighton a automatic strike 1 call on a 3-0 count event though the ball was in the opposite batters box and all those times the Gophers ended up making an out so the ump effectively took away base runners. Another blown call was in the 8th with a 3-3 game Creighton Jackson Rose struck out Creighton's top hitter but a double and a wild pitch followed to put the runner on 3rd with 1 out. Creighton got what looked like a sac fly to right but the ump ruled Toby Hanson dropped the ball. It was clearly caught and dropped on the exchange even the Creighton runner had already took a couple steps back to the dugout and had to scramble back to 1st base. That runner would eventually score on a stolen base and a double so a gift run for Creighton. Just a ridiculous call that I'm not sure how a division 1 ump can miss. It looked like the umps missed another one in the 9th on a ground ball to Terrin Vavra he tried to get the lead runner at 3rd with 1 out and it was a close play. I believe Cole McDevitt got thrown out by the homeplate ump arguing it and I can understand as he was one of the guys who had a couple of walks took away from him by the homeplate ump on terrible strike calls so I'm sure the frustration had built up. I'm surprised Coach Anderson wasn't tossed as he was out at least 3 or 4 times arguing what looked like pretty obvious calls. Announcers also said that you could see Toby Hanson yelling at the ump after the no catch call which if I were him I would've done the same thing. The Gophers did put together a couple hits and a walk to load the bases with 2 outs in the 9th as Micah Coffey came up as the tying run but a hard grounder to short ended it. Gophers need to get back to making teams earn everything they get and really grinding out at bats and winning the battles at the plate. I'm sure this is a very frustrated group right now so hopefully they can get some of that frustration out tomorrow in a much needed win over Creighton.

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Gophers got back on track and really let out their frustrations on Creighton today before taking off for a week in Texas. Really nice start from Patrick Fredrickson going 6 innings 1 run 2 hits 2 walks and 6 strikeouts. Sam Thoresen had 2 solid innings walking 2 but striking out 4 and Danny Kapala made his debut pitching a perfect 9th striking out 2 batters. At the plate it was a big day for the Gophers. Micah Coffey led the charge going 4-6 with a homerun a double and 3 RBI. Ben Mezzenga had 3 hits including 2 doubles, Terrin Vavra had 2 doubles, and Toby Hanson, Jordan Kozicky, Eli Wilson, and Riley Smith(first start in a while returning from injury) each had 2 hits.

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Good rebound game. They need to steal one from TCU this weekend to help their RPI.

Way OT: Watching the Oregon State/Cal Fullerton series and a reliever for Fullerton is the son of
"Biff" from Back to the Future. Pretty good pitcher. The announcers were calling his fly balls McFly balls LOL.
 

I don't have a good feeling about this week!

I think we will struggle this week in Texas. I hope, I'm wrong, but 0-5 is not out of the realm of possibility (maybe 2 wins and anything over 3 would be a miracle). Our hitting and fielding have been too inconsistent this year. I also don't think our starting pitching is good enough for us to do well in Texas.

I would be elated if our team proves me wrong, but time will only tell!
 

I hope you are wrong too. If they lose the first 2 games against GW and UT-Arlington it could be a long season. Both are very mediocre this year.
 


I hope, I'm dead wrong. I just don't think our starting pitching (1 thru 5) is good enough this year to get that elusive one seed in regions. Plus, when starting pitchers in the past have struggled, Anderson has been way too slow in giving someone else a shot. Adding to the pitching concern, inconsistencies on offense and defense make for a tough road trip, and season.
 

Golden04 said:
I hope, I'm dead wrong. I just don't think our starting pitching (1 thru 5) is good enough this year to get that elusive one seed in regions. Plus, when starting pitchers in the past have struggled, Anderson has been way too slow in giving someone else a shot. Adding to the pitching concern, inconsistencies on offense and defense make for a tough road trip, and season.
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3-2 would be a success. I don't see them winning more than one against TCU, but CBB is crazy and you never know when a pitching meltdown can happen.
 

Gophers fell behind 2-0 before they got to hit but answered right away and continued to tack on runs throughout the game. Gophers came through in some situations and really made George Washington pay for their control issues. Jake Stevenson got the start and went 3+ innings allowing 4 runs(2 earned) on 5 hits while walking 3 and hitting a batter. Jeff Fasching got the win going 4 innings 4 hits 1 run and striking out 3. Bubba Horton went the final 2 innings walking 2 and striking out 3. To go along with the 10 hits today the Gophers drew 10 walks. Toby Hanson had the big day going 3-4 with 2 doubles and 4 RBI. Luke Pettersen and Ben Mezzenga also had multi hit games for the Gophers.
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Really didn't see this loss coming tonight. Arlington did beat Texas A&M last night but they had to play 18 innings to do so and got home in the early hours of the morning. While the Gophers had played pretty well the last couple games coming in so I kind of thought they would roll tonight. Things started well with the Gophers using a leadoff single, a error, and a sac fly to take a 1-0 lead and then a 1,2,3 bottom of the inning. Arlington took the lead in the 2nd via a single and a 2 run homerun but the Gophers answered right away with a walk, a single, and a sac fly. Things stayed that way until the 4th when things turned ugly for the Gophers. A leadoff 4 pitch walk, a fly out, a wild pitch, a hopper that went under Vavra's glove, a walk, another wild pitch, and a soft liner to short gave Arlington a 3-2 lead with 2 outs and Culliver left the game and if not for a misplay would've ended the inning. Sam Bridges entered and things got worse. He walked the first batter and ball 4 was a wild pitch to score another run. A single, a triple, and a homerun followed before a groundout ended the inning with the score 9-2. Gophers looked like they were gonna get right back in the game in the 5th as they loaded the bases with a couple singles and a walk. Another walk scored a run before Arlington changed pitchers with Toby Hanson coming up Hanson drilled a hard 1 hopper but it was right at the 2nd baseman and turned into a double play. Another groundout ended the inning and the while the Gophers did build a couple more minor threats they really needed a big inning there to get back in the game. Kind of the same story as a number of the other losses Gophers gave up too many free bases via walks, hit by pitches, errors, wild pitches/passed balls, and misplays. Josh Culliver got the loss going 3.2 innings allowing 5 runs(4 earned) 3 hits 3 walks and striking out 2. Sam Bridges went 1/3 of an inning allowing 4 runs on 3 hits and walking 1. Fred Manke pitched 1 inning and gave 2 runs on 3 hits 1 walk 1 hit batter and 2 strikeouts. Jackson Rose went 2 innings walking 1 and striking out 2. Danny Kapala pitched 1/3 of an inning and allowed 2 runs on 2 hits while walking 3 and striking out 1. Drew Hmielewski pitched 2/3 of an inning getting a flyout and a groundout. Some good news Alex Boxwell returned to the lineup tonight and had 3 hits Micah Coffey also had 2 hits on the night. If this team is going to reach the expectations that they have for themselves and most that follow the program have for them they need to get the job done this weekend and at minimum take a game from TCU. I know TCU is one of the top programs in the country and has a bunch of talent but they've been struggling a little bit losing their last 2 coming in including dropping a midweek game to Rice. Now is as good of time as any to get a win or 2 against a program like TCU and really start to turn the corner.
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It does not surprise me. Arlington beat us bad last time we played them. 23 games in five weeks is a lot of games. Really tests your pitching staff. Even though we are stretched to the limit in pitchers with all these games, you get important data on all your pitchers.
 

I don't have a good feeling about this series at TCU which is ranked in top 10. There's still a lot to be concerned about for our baseball team. Against TCU, I'm going to predict a clean sweep for the Gophers!
 

Gophers got going right away. Infield hit from Luke Pettersen to lead off the game followed by a steal of 2nd, a throwing error by the catcher to move him to 3rd, and a groundout from Alex Boxwell would put the Gophers on the board. A Micah Coffey single, Cole McDevitt double, and Ben Mezzenga single would give the Gophers another run in the 2nd. Cole McDevitt was out on the single on a close play at the plate. Probably should've just held him with nobody out in the inning. TCU answered on a double, a balk, and a fielding error. TCU would tie it in the 3rd on a leadoff single, groundout, and a bullet off the wall from Luken Baker. Gophers bounced right back though with a solo homerun from Toby Hanson in the 4th. TCU tied it again in the 7th with a leadoff single, a very questionable balk call, and a couple groundouts. Gophers again had an answer though with a leadoff double from Toby Hanson, a single from Micah Coffey, a double from Cole McDevitt, and a sac fly for a 5-3 lead. TCU had a threat in the 8th with back to back leadoff walks before Max Meyer entered for the Gophers and got a flyout, groundout, and strikeout to end the inning. Gophers tacked on a run in the 9th with a leadoff walk, single, sac bunt, and sac fly. Gophers were good at the plate but did fail to convert on a few different chances to really open the game up like bases loaded and 1 out and they had back to back strikeouts. Pitching was good for the Gophers tonight too. They used 3 guys Reggie Meyer went 6.2 innings allowing 3 runs(2 earned) on 8 hits 1 walk and 1 strikeout. Brett Schulze got the win getting 1 out with a big strikeout to finish the 7th inning and then walked 2 batters to start the 8th. Max Meyer then was called upon and went the final 2 innings for the save walking 1 and striking out 2.

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Very big win tonight. One more win this weekend will good on the resume come tourney time.
 




Game 2 has been suspended until 10:00 Sunday morning and the series finale will be played 25-30 minutes after game 2 finishes. Game 3 was scheduled to be on FSN+ at 12:30. Rain had already pushed the game back to a 7:30 start, not sure why they didn't move todays game to the afternoon with rain in the forecast for tonight and it was nice all day until about 4:30-5:00 when the rain came. TCU has 4-0 lead with 2 outs in the top of the 3rd when the game resumes tomorrow. Gopher looked like they would jump out to the lead back to back singles from Luke Pettersen and Riley Smith to start the game and then a passed ball moved them up to 2nd and 3rd with nobody out and 2 strikes on Terrin Vavra. TCU escaped though as Vavra was called out on strikes, Toby Hanson grounded one back to the pitcher and he caught Pettersen off 3rd base, and then Cole McDevitt struck out. TCU built a threat with a 2 strike single and a walk. Nick Lackney got a big strikeout of one of the most dangerous hitter in the nation Luken Baker for the 1st out. TCU then got a single to score one and the Gophers cut the throw with the runner caught between 1st and 2nd but the Gophers didn't execute it well at all as TCU sent the runner from 3rd and waiting a little to long to check that runner and a bad throw allowed him to score as well as the other runner to reach 2nd. TCU would add another single to score the 3rd run of the game. TCU got another run in the 2nd via a triple off the wall and a wild throw from the outfield that ended up in their dugout. No way either starting pitcher returns tomorrow and the Gophers are probably happy about that as Nick Lodolo struck out 5 batters in his 2.2 innings. He showed why he is a projected 1st round pick next summer and was the 41st overall pick in 2016.
 

Gophers battled back to tie it at 4 but TCU ends up winning it 5-4 in 13 innings. Great job by the Gophers bullpen today. Sam Thoresen went 3 innings 1 hit 3 walks 2 strikeouts. Bubba Horton went 3 innings 1 hit 1 walk 4 strikeouts. Jackson Rose 2 innings 1 hit 2 walks 1 strikeout. Max Meyer was tagged with the loss going 2 good innings but maybe running out of gas in his 3rd inning of work as he got 1 out but then walked 2. Meyers final numbers were 2.1 innings 1 run 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. Patrick Fredrickson came in and struck out a batter and then walked a batter before a blooper into shallow right field ended things. While the pitching was very encouraging in the game and gives me a lot of confidence heading into conference play I was disappointed we didn't get the job done offensively to push another run across and get the win. Gophers left 17 guys on base today and had multiple chances with runners in scoring position and less than 2 outs to take the lead but just didn't execute. Game is supposed to be on FSN+ not sure what the travel situation is for the Gophers but might be hard to get an official game in.

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Tough one to lose after tying it up, but you are right they had numerous chances to win this game and couldn't get the clutch hit. There is a time issue. No inning can start after 5:30, at least according to Gopher baseball tweets.
 


Really good start from freshman Patrick Fredrickson getting the win going 5 innings allowing no runs on 4 hits 1 walk and 5 strikeouts. Brett Schulze pitched 3 innings and was a little wild at times walking 3 but only gave up 1 hit and struck out 1. Jeff Fasching finished things out going a inning only allowing 1 baserunner who reached on an error. Offensively it was a bit of slow start but Gophers took advantage of a Terrin Vavra infield hit, a groundout and wild pitch moved the runner to 3rd and Cole McDevitt drove him in with a single. Gophers took advantage of TCU mistakes in the 5th with a Ben Mezzenga single, Luke Pettersen bunt single, and then a Jack Wassel sac bunt was thrown to 3rd even though Mezzenga was gonna beat the throw but the throw from the TCU pitcher ended up way over the 3rd baseman and in the left field corner to score both Mezzenga and Pettersen. Gophers added 3 more in the 6th as it seemed at that time the Gophers were really hitting the ball hard even the outs were drilled. Gophers would add 2 in the 9th one on a long homerun from right field from Terrin Vavra and the other on 4 walks. I know TCU hasn't been great with the bat this year but Gopher pitching was very impressive this week and adds to my confidence in this team. If there was one thing I would like to see improve from this weekend it would be just a little better situationally at the plate. Gophers left 9 men on base Friday, 17 in the second game of the series, and another 11 in the series finale. The guys should be feeling good about themselves and have some momentum rolling into conference play at Nebraska next weekend.

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DarrenTheGreek said:
Great series! Now let's beat the Huskers.
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That would be huge if the Gophers could win the series in Lincoln. Since joining the B1G, the Huskers have owned the Gophers. I for one am tired of that fact. The Huskers are struggling, so time to take it to them. Going to at least 2 of the games this weekend.
 

Good win for the Gophs in beating TCU. Can the Gophers find 4 consistent starting pitchers? I think our starting pitching is our achilles heel. Relief pitching this year has been stellar but not perfect. Might have to give some guys in the bullpen a shot at starting pitching and see what they can do.
 

Golden04 said:
Good win for the Gophs in beating TCU. Can the Gophers find 4 consistent starting pitchers? I think our starting pitching is our achilles heel. Relief pitching this year has been stellar but not perfect. Might have to give some guys in the bullpen a shot at starting pitching and see what they can do.
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After this weekend I feel pretty confident in our weekend rotation of Meyer, Lackney, and Fredrickson. Our midweek starts have been a little up and down but I think Culliver will settle into that role a little more as the season goes along here.
 

I think this year for starting pitching what we are missing is an ace like Gilbreath was last year. I would not say Fredrickson is there even though he has a low ERA, because a lot can change for a freshmen in a season. I would say no starter right now is at that level of being an ace. Is there anyone in the bullpen that can perform close or at that level? I'm sure the coaches have a better idea than I do, I'm just being an arm chair baseball coach. I just think sometimes you need to take a risk if the reward can be great.
 

Friday's game has been moved up to 4:00. Weather is going to be an issue this weekend.
 

Gophers take game 1. Reggie Meyer got the win with a strong start. 8 innings 8 hits 1 run 5 strikeouts and no walks. Jackson Rose pitched the 9th and walked 1 but didn't allow anything else. Alex Boxwell led the way at the plate with 2 hits and 4 RBI. Toby Hanson also had 2 hits and drew 2 walks. To go along with the 9 hits the Gophers drew 7 walks. Really a pretty nice job at the plate as the Gophers saw a lot of pitches and had a lot of long at bats against Nebraska's ace.
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Went to the game today. Solid game for the Gophers. It was cold, 20 mph winds blowing directly in. Sat with a few Gophers fans, a handful of parents that made the trip.
 

Great win. Now get the sweep. Huskers pitchers looked suspect in Surprise, AZ.
Two siblings are Huskers, so there is no team I llke beating more.
 

Lincoln gopher said:
Went to the game today. Solid game for the Gophers. It was cold, 20 mph winds blowing directly in. Sat with a few Gophers fans, a handful of parents that made the trip.
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Brrrr. Today doesn't look much better. 40 degrees with 15mph wind.
 

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