Washington baseball splits doubleheader with Minnesota after 12-6 loss

The Washington Huskies split their doubleheader with the Minnesota Golden Gophers on the road on Friday, falling 12-6 in their second game of the day.

After falling behind early, coach Eddie Smith's team was never able to catch up. Catcher Colton Bower went 2-for-5 with a home run and a pair of runs scored, while third baseman Blake Wilson went 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored and a stolen base.

While the Huskies hung around for the majority of the contest, things fell apart late as the Golden Gophers scored 2 runs in the sixth inning and 5 more in the seventh to give themselves plenty of breathing room. The five-run seventh was boosted by a pair of two-run home runs off the bats of left fielder Ty Allen and designated hitter Jackson Akin, as Minnesota hit three long balls on the day, with catcher Weber Neels also leaving the yard by way of a solo shot in the third inning.

Washington's pitching staff struggled on a bullpen day, as Smith called on five different pitchers in the loss. Liam Lierman took the loss after working the first 2 innings and letting up 3 runs (2 earned) on a hit and 4 walks with a strikeout. Bryce Johnson also struggled over 2 1/3 frames, allowing 5 runs on 4 hits with a pair of strikeouts and hit batters.

Brandon Jaenke earned the win in relief for Minnesota after surrendering 2 runs on 2 hits with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings.

With the loss, the Huskies dropped to 16-19 on the year and 7-7 in Big Ten play. With inclement weather expected on Sunday, the two teams will play the rubber match of their three-game series on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. PT.

This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington, Minnesota split doubleheader after Huskies fall 12-6