Gopher baseball beats No. 7 Oregon State to cap weekend in Texas

The Gophers hit three home runs and cruised to a 10-4 victory over No. 7 Oregon State on Sunday, ensuring they didn't leave their weekend in Round Rock, TX empty-handed.

After opening their season last weekend with a big win and then two narrow losses against Houston, Minnesota battled with some powerhouses in the Karbach Round Rock Classic over the last few days. They lost 3-2 to Oklahoma on Friday and then 4-2 to No. 2 Virginia on Saturday, which marked their fourth consecutive defeat by one or two runs. On Sunday, their bats woke up in a big way, and the Gophers (2-4) picked up their first win over the Beavers (5-2) since 1999.

In the fourth inning, with Minnesota down 1-0, Wayzata native Drew Berkland swatted an opposite-field two-run home run to give his team the lead. The Gophers then broke it open in the sixth. Josh Fitzgerald hit a two-run single, and one batter later, freshman Jameson Martin launched a three-run moonshot to make it a 7-1 game. All five runs in the inning were unearned due to an Oregon State error.

Jameson Martin with the three run shot to the upper deck! pic.twitter.com/9p43GJqdD9
— Minnesota Baseball (@GopherBaseball) February 23, 2025

Gophers starter Justin Thorsteinson went 4.2 innings with one run allowed and five strikeouts. Seth Clausen gave up three runs in the seventh as Oregon State cut the deficit in half, but Minnesota's offense responded with three runs in the eighth and Joe Sperry struck out four over two scoreless innings to earn the win. Fitzgerald hit the third home run of the day for the Gophers in the eighth.

Minnesota heads to Tempe, AZ to take on Arizona State (6-1) in a three-game series next week. The Gophers' first game at U.S. Bank Stadium is on Tuesday, March 4 against Milwaukee, followed by a weekend home series against Purdue.

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