Senior Justin Thorsteinson was dominant on Sunday, striking out 11 High Point hitters over five innings of work to help power the Minnesota Golden Gophers over the Panthers 8-2.
In addition to his 11 strikeouts, Thorsteinson (1-1) tossed five shutout innings while giving up one hit and walking three for Minnesota (11-11). Senior Eli Sundquist also made an impact on the mound for the Golden
Gophers, throwing one shutout inning while allowing no hits, with no walks and one strikeout.
Offensively, the Golden Gophers were paced by junior Easton Richter, who went 2-for-4 on the day with a home run and two RBI. Senior Parker Knoll put together a noteworthy effort as well, going 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Junior Jake Elbeery also contributed for Minnesota, putting together two hits in four trips to the plate while adding a double and an RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Golden Gophers got on the scoreboard first, starting in the third inning. Minnesota got an RBI single from Knoll, scoring sophomore Charlie Sutherland from second base.
The Panthers failed to push any runs across before the Golden Gophers offense got back to their scoring ways the next inning. Minnesota brought home a pair, with one run driven in by senior Jake Perry’s single, which brought the score to 3-0 in favor of the Golden Gophers.
Minnesota kept High Point scoreless before building their lead to 4-0 the following inning. The Golden Gophers scored once on a run-scoring single off the bat of Richter.
Minnesota kept the Panthers scoreless before building on their lead in the seventh inning. The Golden Gophers scored twice on Richter’s two-run homer, bringing the score to 6-0 in favor of Minnesota.
High Point got within 6-2 until the Golden Gophers scored again in the eighth inning to stretch its lead to 8-2. Minnesota managed to push across two runs in the inning. The score remained 8-2 for the rest of the game, as the Golden Gophers coasted to the win.
GAME NOTES
» Knoll compiled three base knocks in the game for Minnesota.
» Thorsteinson struck out 11 Panthers hitters.
» Every Minnesota starter reached base safely in the win.
» The Minnesota pitching staff combined to strike out 15 High Point hitters.
» Minnesota’s highest scoring inning was the eighth, when it pushed two runs across.
» Minnesota grabbed the lead at 1-0 in the bottom half of the third and never lost that advantage.
» The Golden Gophers out-hit the Panthers at an 11-5 clip.
» Minnesota went 5-for-9 (.556) with runners in scoring position.
» Minnesota pitchers faced 35 High Point hitters in the game, allowing five ground balls and seven fly balls while striking out 15.
» Richter led the Golden Gophers at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI.
(info and photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)
