MINNEAPOLIS – Milwaukee baseball was unable to hold onto an early 3-0 lead as the host Minnesota Golden Gophers coasted to a 16-4 victory on Tuesday evening at US Bank Stadium.
 
The Gophers' offensive output including a five-RBI evening from Easton Richter, while Derek Berland added three RBIs of his own. Minnesota had 12 hits and drew seven walks against Milwaukee pitching, while also taking advantage of four Panther errors defensively.
 
 "We showed up with good energy and excitement from the beginning," said Milwaukee skipper Shaun Wegner. "We had a good baseball game through five innings … however, we let the level of our play bury that energy, you don't win with that brand of defensive play."
 
Six pitchers took the mound for Milwaukee including the first Panther start for Aric Ehmke, who went the first 4 1/3 innings before Aiden Fishnick finished the fifth.
 
The Gophers scored 12 runs between the fifth and seventh innings, increasing their lead from 4-3 to a 16-4 advantage.
 
Cole Spitzer came in during the seventh inning and did not allow an earned run during his outing. Tyler Andrews had a strong effort in the eighth without allowing a hit and striking out the side.
 
Offensively the Panthers collected eight hits, including a pair from Q Phillips. Gabe Roessler had a two-run double in the second inning for Milwaukee, while Tristan Ellis got the scoring started with a bases-loaded walk. Tate Schmidt added a late run on a base knock in the top of the seventh.
 
"Minnesota impacted the baseball with their hits, and we didn't slug when we were able to find the barrel," added Wegner on the offense. "Offensively we just need that bust-out game where we see cleats touching the plate repeatedly."
 
The Panthers drew six walks as a team including four off starter Nick Argento, who allowed the first three Panther runs. Noah Rooney pitched through the fourth inning and earned his first win of the season with a team-best four strikeouts. Four other relievers allowed just the late seventh-inning run for the Panthers.
 
Milwaukee will continue its road trip this week to the University of Kansas to open a four-game series. The Panthers and Jayhawks will meet on Thursday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. at Hoglund Ballpark.