May 5, 2007
MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota's best hitter Mike Mee drove in the winning run in the final inning of game one of Saturday's doubleheader to defeat Northwestern 5-4. Senior Mike Kalina drove in three of NU's four runs, upping his season RBI total to 24. Lefty Dan Schwartz threw his second complete game in the loss.
The red-hot hitting Mike Kalina (Munster, Ind./Munster) hit a two-RBI single to centerfield in the top of the first inning. With the bases loaded, Kalina drove in Jake Owens (Stevens Point, Wis./Pacelli) and Antonio Mule (Lodi, N.J./Lodi). Owens singled to lead off the game and Mule was walked.
Minnesota quickly tied the game in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run home run off Wildcat starter Dan Schwartz (New York, N.Y./Northern Valley Regional). Schwartz struck out two in the first inning.
After a shaky first inning, Schwartz retired 11 straight hitters, before a single by Kyle Baran to start the bottom of the fifth inning. Of those 11 Gopher hitters, Schwartz struck out six.
In the fifth for the Gophers, three hits turned into a pair of runs as Minnesota took a 4-2 lead. Northwestern did commit an error in the inning.
Kalina went back to work in the top of the sixth inning, lining his sixth double off the right field wall. Second baseman Caleb Fields (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) scored on Kalina's double after singling to leadoff the inning.
Still in the sixth, shortstop Tommy Finn (Valparaiso, Ind./Andrean) tied the game 4-4 with a safety squeeze bunt that scored Kalina from third. Kalina moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by right fielder Max Mann (Los Angeles, Calif./Brentwood).
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Schwartz got a groundball for the first out before hitting a Gopher hitter. After a sacrifice bunt was botched to put runners on first and second and one out, Mee drilled a ball to right field to drive in the winning run.