Gopher Baseball 2019

Gophers lose in game 2 6-4. Patrick Fredrickson again was pretty shaky with his control and so was the defense behind him as they had 4 errors and I believe they were all on throws. Gophers just couldn't come through with a big hit and take advantage of their opportunities. Had guys on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out in the 1st and already up 1-0 and didn't score another run as a strikeout, a flyout, and a runner thrown out at the plate followed. To be fair the runner at the plate should've been called safe and it was pretty clear. The ball beat the runner by a few steps but the tag was high and the catcher didn't get in front of the plate allowing the foot to get in. 14 was thrown out on a clear interference play at 2nd base that should've been a double play and kept the score 5-4 but the ump missed it and then wouldn't even ask for help. Anderson was really pretty calm and didn't do near enough to be tossed. Gophers tried to rally putting the leadoff man on in the 8th but a double play followed. Again in the 9th the Gophers got the leadoff man on and eventually loaded the bases with 2 outs but the home plate ump decided a pitch low and off the plate was good enough to end the game with and called it strike 3.
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Watched the game online last night, horrible umpiring....especially that last strike. The catcher was a foot off the plate.
 

Gophers lose in game 2 6-4. Patrick Fredrickson again was pretty shaky with his control and so was the defense behind him as they had 4 errors and I believe they were all on throws. Gophers just couldn't come through with a big hit and take advantage of their opportunities. Had guys on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out in the 1st and already up 1-0 and didn't score another run as a strikeout, a flyout, and a runner thrown out at the plate followed. To be fair the runner at the plate should've been called safe and it was pretty clear. The ball beat the runner by a few steps but the tag was high and the catcher didn't get in front of the plate allowing the foot to get in. 14 was thrown out on a clear interference play at 2nd base that should've been a double play and kept the score 5-4 but the ump missed it and then wouldn't even ask for help. Anderson was really pretty calm and didn't do near enough to be tossed. Gophers tried to rally putting the leadoff man on in the 8th but a double play followed. Again in the 9th the Gophers got the leadoff man on and eventually loaded the bases with 2 outs but the home plate ump decided a pitch low and off the plate was good enough to end the game with and called it strike 3.
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Fredrickson looked a lot bigger in person down in AZ. I wonder if the added muscle has messed him up or if it is the dreaded Soph. slump following great success as a frosh. That does seem to happen a fair amount. I hope they can get it figured out, or this will be a long season.
 

Gophers take the series with a big win 19-6 over Long Beach today. Gophers had 11 doubles on the day. Jordan Kozicky had another big day with his 2nd homerun of the weekend and 3 hits and 6 RBI on the day.
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Gophers made a big comeback in the last couple innings but couldn't finish things off for the win in the dark.
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Estrada showing some real power. He must just really be a defensive liability. You would think his power would get him in the lineup more.
 

Estrada showing some real power. He must just really be a defensive liability. You would think his power would get him in the lineup more.

He does have power, but I am guessing, his career BA can't be much over .200.
 

He does have power, but I am guessing, his career BA can't be much over .200.
Gophers have also been on a run of facing left handed starters and Estrada never has had much success against lefties and 14 usually wants to load his lineup with as many righties as he can and play the matchup game as well.
 

Ugly game especially from the Gopher bats but they find a way to get it done. Gophers struck out 17 times today and really just took advantage of some Penn State mistakes for one big inning to carry them to the victory. Max Meyer got the win and he was a little shaky early having to throw a lot of pitches through the first two innings but minimizing damage to just 1 run and then settling down and getting through 6 solid innings. Nick Lackney finished things off with 3 hit less innings to nail down the win.
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Gophers complete the sweep with 2 wins today. In the first game Patrick Fredrickson was only able to record 1 out but Jeff Fasching and Jake Stevenson did a nice job getting the game to the 9th and then Brett Schulze finished things off to pick up the save. The Gophers got a solo homerun from Easton Bertrand in the top of the 9th to take the lead for good.
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In the 2nd game Josh Culliver pitched 6 solid innings allowing just 3 runs and 2 of them came to the second to last batter he faced on a 2 run homerun. Nolan Burchill pitched 2.2 solid innings but ran into some trouble in the 9th and Brett Schulze had to come in a get the final out. The big inning was the 4th as the Gophers struck for 5 runs. Jack Wassel and Andrew Hmielewski both picked up their 1st career homeruns in the inning and Jordan Kozicky came through with a 2 out bases loaded double to score 3 more.
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Good to sweep Penn State. That is 15 in a row against them. Worried about Fredrickson, arm ok? Hasn't really looked good all year.
 

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Fredrickson was wild in the fall and the wildness continues to hurt him this spring. His freshman year he had the advantage of nobody having a book on him. The best pitch he threw his first year was strike one. This season he has been having to work from behind in the count which leads to long innings. Thoreson has also struggled with his control problems. Thoreson will have to develop another pitch or learn how to change speeds because these the hitters are too good to just throw hard stuff and hope to get them out. Meyer and Schulze are usually working ahead in the count and don't put many batters on base with walks.
 



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Gophers win the series opener over Nebraska 5-2 in 10 innings. Max Meyer allowed 7 hits but 3 of those came in the 1st inning including a home run to start the game. Meyer then settled in and was dominant going 8 innings striking out 11 and walking just 1. The other Nebraska run came on a infield single, steal, and 2 out single combined with a error from a bobble on the relay throw that would've got the Nebraska player at the plate by quite a bit. Eli Wilson had a huge day going 4-5 with 4 RBI a double and the homer. Riley Smith and Andrew Hmielewski each had 2 hits as well.
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Big win today. Until Phil can figure things out, Friday's are pretty much must wins with this club.
 

Another great start by Meyer and another excellent outing for Brett Schulze as he continues to dominate in the late innings. Both Meyer and Schulze have had great control to go along with overpowering heat and nasty sliders, change ups and curves that have a hard bite at the end. These two are lethal back to back. Hope to see Fredrickson have a good start Saturday.
 

Gophers win the series splitting the day with an ugly game 1 and a pitchers duel in game 2 with the win coming via the walk off wild pitch strikeout. Jordan Kozicky has really been hitting well at the plate and he had a home run in game 1 and a couple hits in game 2 including the 2 out single that scored the 2 runs in the 1st inning. Josh Culliver went 5 solid innings in game 2 and Nick Lackney pitched 3.2 scoreless innings while Brett Schulze got the final out in the top of the 9th escaping a little trouble.
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Starting to get concerned about Fredrickson. Can't find the zone and then gets drilled when he does.
 



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1300 and only tied for 26th? Wow. He has coached a long time and been pretty successful.
 

Big win against a very good Michigan team. Max wasn't at his best and gave up a few hits in the 1st inning including a 2 run home run that even the hitter really didn't think it would be a home run. After the 1st Max only surrendered 1 more run in 7 innings of work getting the big pitch when he needed it. The Gophers got a solo homerun from Easton Bertrand, a couple runs in the 4th via a couple walks, a hit batter, a infield single, and a sac fly, and 3 more in the 5th via a couple walks a 3 run home run from Jordan Kozicky. The biggest thing we need to see tomorrow to really build off a big win like this and solidify some things moving forward is a good outing from Patrick Fredrickson.
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Defense was definitely much better. Wassel looked comfortable at theirs. I love how the announcers called Henry the best pitcher in the conference right before he got lit up by Kozicky. Need a big outing from Phil today.
 

Gophers lose game 2 5-3. Too many free passes from Gopher pitching today like 10 or 11 and just too many missed opportunities at the plate that you have to convert on against good teams. Think the Gophers had a runner on 3rd with 1 out in the 5th and 2nd and 3rd and nobody out in the 6th but failed to score a run in either situation.
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What is the story with Fredrickson not pitching, didn't read or hear any info on that. I didn't listen to the game today, was on a airplane. Was anything said?
 


What is the story with Fredrickson not pitching, didn't read or hear any info on that. I didn't listen to the game today, was on a airplane. Was anything said?
They didn't mention anything about it. Don't think it was injury as I noticed Patrick in the dugout Friday and celebrating with the guys. He was listed in the game notes as the Saturday starter though. Maybe just skipping him this weekend and trying to let him clear his head? Maybe a move to the bullpen?
 




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