After a four-year break, the Dairy Queen Classic returned to Minnesota, and the host Gophers went 2-3 over the weekend.
They started the weekend with a thrilling 4-3 extra-inning victory over Oral Roberts.
The Gophers quickly loaded the bases in the bottom of the 13th, and Cole McDevitt stepped up with no outs.
McDevitt hit a fly ball to center, deep enough for Alex Boxwell to tag up and score the winning run.
The game got to extras after Matt Whatley hit a solo home run off of Brian Glowicki in the top of the ninth.
Whatley was the first Golden Eagle to reach base since the top of the third inning, as Lucas Gilbreath and Jackson Rose had combined to retire 16 straight batters.
Minnesota head coach John Anderson said that the pitching performance was “awesome” by his team, highlighting the confidence that all four pitchers — Gilbreath, Rose, Glowicki and Nick Lackney — showcased in their outings.
“It was good to see our pitching staff rebound and really pitch the way that we hope they will as the year goes along,” Anderson said.
The Gophers couldn’t find any offensive production Saturday night against Hawaii, as they lost 4-0.
Hawaii’s starter, Neil Uskali, threw a complete-game shutout and allowed only five hits.
Despite the lack of run production, junior Micah Coffey said that the team put together plenty of good at-bats against Uskali.
“Our approach and the way we hit the ball was a lot better tonight than it has been the last couple of games,” Coffey said. “Just didn’t end up working out.”
Alex Fitchett and Jacob Sniffin both hit solo homeruns against the Minnesota bullpen late in the game, and gave Uskali two more runs to work with as he shut down the Gophers lineup.
The Gophers dug themselves into a hole Sunday afternoon against Iowa, as the Hawkeyes scored three runs before the Gophers could record an out.
After allowing a hit and a walk, Toby Anderson gave up a three-run home run to Robert Neustrom to give the Hawkeyes the early 3-0 lead.
Anderson responded well though and gave up only one more hit in the six innings he pitched.
The Gophers tied the game in the bottom of the third thanks to an RBI single from Luke Pettersen and a two-run double from Coffey.
The game wasn’t tied for long, as Jordan Smith led off the bottom of the fourth with an opposite-field homerun to put the Gophers ahead 4-3.
Ben Mezzenga added some insurance in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run single and extended Minnesota’s lead to 6-3.
The three-run lead was enough for Glowicki to secure his fourth save of the season and seal the victory.
Mezzenga said this game meant more considering it came against a conference rival.
“Before the game we were saying, ‘We haven’t had the best week, but we all hate Iowa’,” Mezzenga said. “We were really motivated to get this win.”
