St. Thomas beats D-I Minnesota
By Doug Hennes
After Tuesday’s close doubleheader losses to Hamline, a
struggling St. Thomas baseball team limped into Siebert Field on
Wednesday facing a rather considerable task: a game against the
Division I Minnesota Gophers.
So how did the 8-13 Tommies fare?
| Senior Matt McQuillan had a hit and threw out a
runner from centerfield in the Tommies win over
Minnesota. St. Thomas photo by Greg Smith |
They won handily 8-3. Second baseman Charles Bruchu, who led the
Tommie offense with two doubles and two singles, called it a
“big pick-us-up game” and coach Chris Olean saw
encouraging signs that the 2011 season can be salvaged.
“The big thing I told them before the game was that
yesterday (and the 4-2 and 8-7 losses to Hamline) was over,”
Olean said “Everybody was upset and angry, but I told them
the MIAC is still up for grabs, and that they should have relax and
have fun today.”
They had a lot of fun, jumping out to a 7-0 lead after four
innings. Starter Nick Gervais shut out Minnesota for the first four
innings but ran into trouble in the fifth, when the Gophers scored
three runs. Junior John Licht took the mound in the sixth and
blanked the Gophers over the final four innings.
Olean had used two of his top starters -– Chris Edwards and
Tony Eicher -– on Tuesday. He chose Gervais to start against
the Gophers because he thought the lanky sophomore from
Totino-Grace might stymie them with his assortment of off-speed
pitches. It was Gervais’ first game since a relief appearance
three weeks ago against UW-Stevens Point in Florida.
“ I just wanted to keep everything low,” said Gervais,
whose knuckleball was effective. “I knew if I left anything
up to those hitters it would be out of the yard.”
Licht Locks in
Licht’s last outing was April 2 against Carleton when he
lasted only 2 1/3 innings and took the loss. He felt he had better
commanded of his fastball, curve and changeup against the Gophers,
giving up only two hits and inducing eight fly balls or infield
pop-ups.
“I tried to throw strikes, stay ahead of the hitters and not
leave any balls over the plate,” he said. “If I missed,
I missed outside.”
The Tommies gave Gervais a 1-0 lead in the first and added four
runs in the fourth when nine batters went to the plate.
Centerfielder Matt McQuillan led off with a double and scored on a
one-out wild pitch. Bruchu hit a double, followed by a RBI-single
from catcher J.D. Dorgan and a walk to left fielder Tayler Rahm.
First baseman John Means followed with a two-RBI single and Rahm
scored the last run of the inning on a single by shortstop Tim
Kahle.
Dorgan, Rahm and Means teamed up for two runs in the fourth to
extend the lead to 7-0. Dorgan walked with two outs and Rahm and
Means hit back-to-back doubles. The Tommies’ final run came
when Rahm knocked in right fielder Tim Kuzniar with a sacrifice fly
in the ninth.
Three Tommies had multiple hits, led by Bruchu’s 4-for-5
day. Dorgan added three singles, and Means had two hits and three
RBI.
“Chuck is one of our streakiest hitters,” Olean said
of Bruchu. “When he’s locked in, he’s tough to
get out. You just let him go after the ball.”
St. Thomas beat Minnesota 6-3 in 2009 at Siebert Field to
end a 16-game losing streak to the Division I Gophers. Minnesota
won last year's meeting in the Metrodome over UST 5-4 in 12
innings.
