Frustrating weekend that reminded me of the Saturday game in the Oregon State super regional last year. It is hard enough to beat a good team on the road but when you also have to battle a changing strike zone from half inning to half inning in the last 2 games of the series it makes it near impossible. Sam Thoresen didn't have great command at all times but you could also see the frustration from him that he wasn't getting the same calls the DBU pitcher was. Sam was able to escape a bases loaded nobody out jam in the 2nd with 3 straight swinging strikeouts. In the top of the 3rd the Gophers took a 2-0 lead on Jack Wassel single and Andrew Wilhites first career hit a 2 run homerun. Even with the umping it was just one bad inning that did the Gophers in as DBU got 5 runs in the 4th. The inning started with a walk, a strikeout, and an error from Eli Wilson on a swinging bunt set up 1st and 3rd with 1 out and another walk loaded the bases. Thoresen got another strikeout to put 2 outs on the board but followed that up with a wild pitch that scored DBU's first run. After another walk Jake Stevenson replaced Thoresen to face DBU's top hitter and with a 1-2 count Stevenson just left a curveball up a little and the hitter served it into right field to score 2. It looked like the Gophers would get out of the inning at just 3-2 with a routine groundball up the middle to Jordan Kozicky but he bobbled it a little and then kinda panicked and runner was safe at 2nd to score another run. DBU would get 1 more on a single before a groundout ended things. The Gophers had a couple runners on in both the 7th and 8th but couldn't score them. The Gophers built a 2 out rally in the 9th to get back into it. They trailed 7-2 entering the inning and the first 2 batters struck out. Zack Raabe drew a full count walk, Ben Mezzenga reached on a soft grounder to 2nd that the 2nd baseman bobbled woulda been a close play anyway, Max Meyer singled to score Raabe, and Eli Wilson singled to score Mezzenga. With Wilson the tying run at 1st Cole McDevitt came up and was rung up to end the game on a full count pitch that was over the white line of the left handed hitters batters box. This was a pitch the Gopher hitters got called against them far too often Saturday and Sunday while Gopher pitchers maybe got that call 1 outta 10 times they threw it there. Guys clearly were frustrated with the crew this weekend and rightfully so. They missed an obvious runners interference call on a runner running inside the line yesterday and Ty McDevitt was on them about it but they acted like they didn't do anything wrong. Now the Gophers still got the out on that play but the rule is in their for safety so the umps should care about it and be on top of it. Part of the reason the Gophers were so upset with the no call was at Ohio State last year it cost them game 3 and Cole McDevitt took a hard collision that could've injured him. Eli Wilson was called out on strikes on a curveball in the other batters box in the 1st today and let the ump hear about it and the ump followed him to the dugout almost looking for a confrontation, very unprofessional by the umpire. Wilson knew the pitch wasn't a strike and then he was even more upset because the Gophers didn't get the same pitch. John Anderson and Ty McDevitt were both seen yelling at the umps numerous times. Pat Casey was the maddest I've ever seen him on the McDevitt call to end the game today and was yelling at the ump and then the ump came back to Casey and went basically nose to nose with him. Anderson got Casey out of there and then had his own conversation with the umps. The game is over there is no need for the ump to come back and engage in the confrontation most of the time the umps run off and don't look back. These umps proved this weekend they aren't up to the job.
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