The Gophers trailed Northern Illinois by a run heading into the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday.
Minnesota’s heart of the order had one last chance to save the team from a weekend-ending defeat, but Huskies starter Alex Klonowski wouldn’t have it.
Klonowski retired Dan Olinger, Michael Handel and JT Canakes in order, sending Minnesota to a 2-1 defeat, its second in three days at the four-team Dairy Queen Classic.
The Gophers (6-5) lost 10-3 on Friday to eventual tournament champion Dartmouth but rebounded Saturday with a 4-1 win over Utah.
Minnesota was at Klonowski’s mercy all afternoon Sunday. Klonowski allowed one run on two hits in a complete-game gem.
“We couldn’t get a rhythm going against him. He mixed it up pretty well,” Olinger said.
Minnesota’s lone run came on third baseman Ryan Abrahamson’s solo home run in the third inning, which tied the game at 1-1.
Sophomore Jordan Jess started for the Gophers and surrendered only one run. He escaped a couple of jams, too, but his afternoon was done after five innings.
He allowed five hits, walked two and struck out two.
“We pitched good enough; there’s no question,” Minnesota head coach John Anderson said.
Freshman Lance Thonvold took over for Jess and allowed the go-ahead run in the sixth inning. Thonvold settled down after that, and Minnesota had runners in scoring position a couple of times down the stretch.
But Klonowski held his ground and got the big outs when he needed them.
“If you’re going to lose, you might as well get beat and not beat yourself,” Canakes said.
Canakes and catcher Kurt Schlangen were named to the All-Tournament team.
Anderson said he was impressed with how Jess worked through jams early in the game.
He also spoke highly of sophomore Ben Meyer’s performance Saturday.
Meyer, an All-Tournament honoree, allowed one unearned run in eight innings of three-hit ball in Minnesota’s 4-1 victory over Utah.
Schlangen was 1-for-3 with a pair of RBIs, and Olinger and left fielder Andy Henkemeyer each drove in a run.
Henkemeyer’s RBI came at a cost. After rounding first base, the senior dove back into the bag and injured his shoulder.
Anderson said Henkemeyer’s injury is not short term.
Junior catcher Matt Halloran also dinged up his shoulder. He’ll have a chance to return by the end of this week, Anderson said.
The Gophers dropped their first game of the tournament an unimpressive fashion.
The Mean Green roughed up Minnesota ace Tom Windle for five runs in the fifth inning and coasted the rest of the way.
“You’re going to have some of those [losses] in a 56-game schedule,” Anderson said.
