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College  | Story | 6/2/2018

Gophers edge Bruins in thriller

Patrick Ebert
Photo: Terrin Vavra (Minnesota Athletics)

Minneapolis Regional Day 1 | 2018 College Baseball Regional Preview

MINNEAPOLIS – Prior to the beginning of the Minneapolis Regional one had a sense that the host Gophers would be playing the second-seeded Bruins before the weekend was through. That game began on Saturday night, and ended early Sunday, although at one point in time it seemed as though Mother Nature was doing her best to prevent it from happening.

The first game of the day between Gonzaga and Canisius was delayed by two hours due to heavy rain, which pushed back the start of the highly anticipated Minnesota/UCLA contest back by one hour. When the game finally did get underway it didn’t take long before it was halted, as the homeplate umpire stopped the game when a bolt of lightning was spotted, a flash of energy quicker than a blink of the eye that caused the crowd at Siebert Field to wonder if anyone other than the umpire had seen it.

When the game did resume the patient fans in attendance had the opportunity to witness two talented freshmen righthanders exchange blows in this proverbial boxing match, a bout that saw Minnesota eventually win 3-2 in 10 innings.

It was well worth the wait.

The game offered a little bit of everything from big pitches to clutch hits, the lightning strike that may or may not have even happened, a dash of rain and a handful of fabulous defensive plays.

In the end it came down to two of Minnesota’s more tried and true players, shortstop Terrin Vavra and third baseman Micah Coffey. Vavra, who scored the game-tying run in the top of the eighth after leading off the frame with a hard-hit double down the left field line, scored the go-ahead run in the 10th after leading off that inning with a hard hit single. He moved to second on a sac bunt by Eli Wilson and came around to score on a double roped down the right field line by Coffey.

You wouldn’t have known that the clock had ticked past midnight at that point in time as the stadium erupted with a burst of energy that would rival any bolt of lightning.

The double was the only hit for Coffey, his second in as many days, and as a senior with a career .311 batting average he has produced more than his fair share of game-deciding hits during his career at Minnesota.

“It felt really good to come through,” Coffey said after the game. “I was just trying to head up there and find a pitch up in the zone that I could hit. I ultimately found a pitch up and I was able to put a good enough swing on it. I felt like I had seen (ULCA pitcher Kyle Mora) pretty well the at-bat before; I was trying to slow the game down and do my best to get a pitch I could hit.”

From there freshman closer Max Meyer continued what he had done the previous two innings: mow the UCLA hitters down. It didn’t even seem fair to have Meyer – whose arm strength defies his smaller stature – come on in the eight inning on a cool night throwing 92-94 mph gas to go along with an absolutely filthy mid- to upper-80s slider.

“The bullpen came through like it has all year,” Minnesota head coach John Anderson said. “Brett Schulze did his part, and then we got to Max (Meyer) finally. I just kept telling the guys the last few innings: Siebert Field. Siebert Field magic. We’ve won a lot of games this way in my career here, at the old Siebert Field and now here. Just keep believing in Siebert Field magic. Give ourselves chances to win and we’ll find a way.”

The late inning heroics followed a battle in the middle innings by the game’s two starting pitchers, Minnesota’s Patrick Fredrickson and UCLA’s Zach Pettway. Both pitchers showed impressive poise and full three-pitch arsenals, and both did a good job pitching themselves out of a few jams almost as quickly as they put themselves into them.

Fredrickson, who was named the Big Ten Pitcher and Freshman of the Year, was in line for the loss, which would have been his first of the year, had it not been for his teammates picking him up later in the game. He gave up single tallies in each of the first two innings, one on a sac fly and the other on an RBI groundout.

From there he settled down, and while he struggled with command he managed to make his pitch when he needed it most, ending the third, fourth and sixth innings with key strikeouts and the fifth with a big double play.

“I thought Patrick Fredrickson hung in there pretty good,” coach Anderson said of his starter. “He was a little wound up. I thought he didn’t have the same sink in his fastball. His velocity was up, but his ball was a little straighter and he walked more people than he has probably all year long. He found a way once again to make the big pitch for us and kept the game in balance.”

Pettway was a little better than his starting counterpart, throwing one extra inning (seven as compared to six) and giving up one less run. That run was a loud one, a solo home run off the bat of Minnesota center fielder Alex Boxwell, the third batter he faced after the length lightning delay, in the second inning.

After that things seemed to get easier for Pettway until he had reached seven innings of work, needing 100 pitches to get him to that point. From there UCLA head coach turned to his closer, curveball specialist Kyle Mora, who promptly gave up the double to Vavra that changed the momentum in the game to Minnesota’s favor.

“Well, it was playoff baseball at its best,” UCLA head coach John Savage said of the game. “There were a lot of exciting defensive plays, big pitches, big at-bats; they just had a couple more big at-bats than we did. I’m very proud of our guys. There is still some baseball to be played, no one has won anything, and I would have said that even if we would have won.

“I’ve been here before, we have been down this road. It was just a terrific game, I thought both teams really played well.”

With the loss UCLA now faces the possibility of elimination against Gonzaga, the team they beat in dramatic fashion on Friday. The two teams will square off early on Sunday afternoon.

The winner from that game moves on to face Minnesota – the No. 14 overall seed in the 2018 NCAA postseason that appears to be firing on all cylinders – and maybe a little more Siebert magic early Sunday evening for the opportunity to advance to the Super Regional round.

“Both teams played outstanding,” Anderson said. “I said before the Regional started that there would be pitching and defense in this Regional. UCLA, they can really pitch and play defense. You saw that tonight. It’s hard to score runs. Both teams did the same thing.”


Scouting Notables

Fredrickson, who looks every part of his listed 6-foot-6, 210-pound stature, sat in the 86-89 mph range for most of the game, regularly reaching back to peak at 90-91. His velocity is complemented by a lower three-quarters arm angle that somewhat resembles Brady Singer’s slinging approach, although without the dynamic arm speed. Fredrickson threw a couple of low-80s changeups early in the game that show considerable promise, and went to his upper-70s two-plane slider more and more as the game progressed that hitters frequently swung over the top of. He did struggle with command but really battled and did a nice job minimizing the damage to keep his team in the game. It’s exciting to think about where Fredrickson could be in two years when he’s once again draft eligible given his size and current stuff. He finished the game giving up two runs, one earned, on four base hits and five walks while striking out seven.

Sophomore righthander Brett Schulze, who pitched the seventh inning for Minnesota, came out firing 91-93 mph bullets. He also threw a sharp 78 mph slurvy breaking ball, and while he too pitch himself into some trouble – he gave up a ground-rule double to Chase Strumpf, walked Michael Toglia and hit Jake Pries – he ended the inning by getting Daniel Amaral to swing through a 91 mph fastball up in the zone. Schulze tossed one innings, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out two.

The star of the game from a prospect perspective was closer Max Meyer. Listed at 6-foot, 165-pounds, Meyer was a talented two-way player in high school who also had promise as a hard-hitting middle infielder. In this game he went three innings, allowing just one base hit and a walk while striking out six. The ball exploded out of his hand at 92-94 mph. The equalizer was his 85-87 mph slider, with one that recorded 88 to end the eighth inning with a strikeout of Jeremy Ydens. The pitch comes out of his hand the same as his fastball before diving hard down and away from righthanded batters, a pitch that is virtually impossible to square up, much less hit at all. Meyer struck out six of the 11 batters he faced in his three innings of work.

Vavra, a lefthanded hitter, is so quick and compact to the ball that it’s easy to see him continue to hit for a high average at the next level. He displays a very patient approach with a knack for squaring up the baseball consistently hard. He’s more of a gap-to-gap alley hitter at this point in his career, although he does have 10 home runs on the season, more than enough proof that he can knock the ball out of the ballpark. Physically Vavra resembles former PG All-American Gavin Lux for his slender yet wiry strong build and loose middle infield actions. He finished the game going 2-for-5 with the two big runs scored after his three-hit, three-RBI performance on Friday night.

Pettway doesn’t look like his 6-foot-1, 206-pound listed build would lead you to believe without seeing him in person, but he is well put together with obvious strength well-proportioned throughout his frame. And while he peaked at 92 mph at the WWBA World Championship in Jupiter just two years ago, he does not approach that velocity as a starter for UCLA. In this game he sat at 84-86 mph, commanding the pitch well, for the most part, while mixing in a low-80s changeup that fell off the table and a big, slow low-70s curveball. The curveball is a pitch he drops in nicely for strikes while the changeup is already a plus offering. Pettway gave up just the one run on four hits and a walk with four strikeouts.

Strumpf stands out on a baseball field for his visible athleticism and strong-limbed frame. He continued to impact the ball while stringing together productive at-bats, peppering the opposite field with hard-hit lasers, including a pair of hard-hit doubles in this game. One was hit to center field off of Fredrickson and the other hit to right field off of Schulze as Strumpf frequently looks to drive the pitch the opposite way as a righthanded hitter. He added a highlight defensive play as well, ranging far to his left to scoop, spin and throw the ball to first base, all in seemingly one motion, to get the runner just in time. A sophomore, Strumpf is a name to keep an eye on for the 2018 draft. Strumpf went 2-for-5 in this game after going 3-for-5 on Friday.


Gonzaga lives to play another day

MINNEAPOLIS – After losing their first game in heart-breaking fashion, it didn’t take long for the Gonzaga Bulldogs to get on track on Saturday in an elimination game against the Canisius Golden Griffins. In a game that started two hours late due to heavy rain in the area, the Zags put two runs on the board in the first and two more in both the third and fourth innings in what turned into an 8-2 win over the Griffs.

Shortstop Gunnar Schubert, who has looked fantastic defensively in Gonzaga’s first two games, had himself a big day at the plate, falling a double short of the cycle in a 3-for-6, two-RBI performance. Catcher Austin Pinorini also enjoyed a three-hit day offensively, plating three runs, including the first two on a first-inning, two-run single.

“I’m proud of the way our team came out and scored two in the first inning after a tough loss,” Gonzaga head coach Mark Machtolf said. “I think we gave a good response. Yesterday their guy was good – I think we only had six hits – but hit the ball much better than that. We did a good job with two strikes, and that kind of continued on today.”

In a recurring theme from Siebert Field on Saturday, another freshman took the mound and enjoyed a strong pitching performance. Alek Jacob, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound side-arming righthander, went eight innings, allowing both Canisius runs on seven hits and a pair of walks, striking out five.

“I tried to treat it like any other game,” Jakob said of his preparation going into the game. “I didn’t want to treat it like this was a must-win game. I didn’t want to get too much adrenaline going. At the same time I knew I had to go out there and give my teammates a chance to win.

“That was my goal, get my team eight innings and save the bullpen a little bit, and just battle through it.”

With the win Gonzaga will face UCLA in an elimination game on Sunday after the Bruins lost their game against Minnesota on Saturday evening.

For the Golden Griffs it put an end on their inspiring season, finishing the year with a 35-22 record, a MAAC championship and a berth in the 2018 NCAA postseason.

“We set out on a mission at the beginning of the year to reach this point,” first-year head coach Matt Mazurek said after the game. “We know we were deserving and had the talent to get here. We put it to action and earned our opportunity. We didn’t quite get over the hump and get to the next chapter of Canisius college baseball, but the pride and the emotion I have for these 12 seniors that will be leaving this program is indescribable.”
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