Mee Delivers Game-Winning Hit in 5-4 Win Over Northwestern in Game One of Doubleader
Senior left fielder Mike Mee (Richfield, Minn.) delivered a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the seventh with one out to lift the Minnesota baseball team (32-9, 13-4) to a 5-4 victory over Northwestern (12-31, 4-18) in the first game of a doubleheader at Siebert Field on Saturday, May 5.
The two teams waited out a two-and-a-half hour rain delay. After the tarp was pulled off the field around 4 p.m., the Minnesota baseball program honored the 30th anniversary of the 1977 College World Series team, and presented a special bat to Dick Siebert Jr. in honor of his father Dick Siebert being named to the College Baseball Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Minnesota entered the bottom of the seventh inning deadlocked at 4-4. With one out, Derek McCallum (Shoreview, Minn.) got things started when he was hit by a pitch after fouling off several 0-2 pitches to keep the count alive. Matt Nohelty (Rothschild, Wis.) laid down a sacrifice bunt that was misplayed by the third baseman to allow it to be first and second. Mee crushed the first pitch he saw from Northwestern starter Dan Schwartz to right field for an RBI single to play McCallum to give Minnesota the one-run victory.
Mee reached base two times in the game, and was 1-for-3 with a run and two RBI. Nate Hanson also went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI. Hanson tied for the team lead with seven home runs in the game, and also extended his hitting streak to 14 games.
Nohelty also finished 1-for-3 with an RBI. Seven different Golden Gopher hitters collected hits in the game.
Junior Gary Perinar (Shorewood, Ill.) started and got a no-decision. Perinar went five and two thirds innings, gave up five hits, four runs, walked five and tied a season-high with eight strikeouts. Sophomore Kyle Carr (Linton, N.D.) pitched the final one and a third innings and did not allow a baserunner. Carr picked up the win to move to 4-1 on the season.
Schwartz started and gave up seven hits, five runs and struck out seven batters in six and a third innings. He took the loss to fall to 3-4 on the season.
Northwestern got on the board first with two runs in the top of the first inning to move ahead 2-0. Jake Owens led off with a single, and moved to second on a walk to Antonio Mule to make it first and second. The bases were loaded when Jake Goebbert reach on an error on attempted sacrifice bunt to load the bases.
After Perinar struck out Caleb Fields for the first out of the inning, Mike Kalina delivered a two-run single to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead. Perinar got out of the jam by striking out the final two batters to keep the score at 2-0.
Minnesota got both runs back in the bottom of the first to tie the game at 2-2. Mee got things going with a one-out walk. Hanson followed with a two-run homer to right field to tie the game at 2-2.
The Golden Gophers jumped ahead 4-2 with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Kyle Baran (Apple Valley, Minn.) and Jeff DeSmidt (Mahtomedi, Minn.) started things off with back-to-back singles to make it first and second. Both runners moved up on ground out by McCallum. Nohelty followed with an RBI single to right field to plate Baran to make it 3-2. Pinch-runner Tom Steidl (Alexandria, Minn.) came home when the Northwestern second baseman mishandled a ground ball that looked like a possible double play to give the Golden Gophers a 4-2 lead.
Northwestern cut the lead to 4-3 on a Kalina RBI double. Kalina moved up to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored when Tommy Finn bunted him home with the infield in to tie the game at 4-4.
The Wildcats were led by Mike Kalina who was 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI. Owens was also 1-for-3 with a stolen base and a run.
