University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Hosts 21st Annual Dairy Queen Classic
3/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The tournament, which was established in 1985, is in its 21st season and has developed into one of the most competitive collegiate tournaments in the nation. In fact, in the 2005 Baseball America college preview, the magazine ranked the Dairy Queen Classic as one of the top college tournaments in the nation. The tournament consistently draws the top teams in the nation to the Twin Cities and provides them with the opportunity to display their talents in a major league facility.
Throughout its history the tournament has received outstanding support from the Twin Cities community through sponsorship. Companies like General Mills, Pillsbury, Oscar Meyer, Hormel and Dairy Queen have played a big part in the growth and success of the event.
Since its inception the tournament has grown considerably in many ways, and that growth would not have been possible without the support of its sponsors.
The 2005 event will feature its annual on-field clinic for youths ages 7 to 17 and their coaches. The clinic will be conducted by coaches and players participating in the competition. A very popular part of the tournament in the past, it provides an opportunity for today's college stars to give something back to the community.
Though Dairy Queen is the lead sponsor of the tournament, organizations like the Sheraton Hotel Minneapolis Metrodome, Rawling Baseballs, Lee Lines, Easton Sports and many others help make the Dairy Queen Baseball Classic possible each year.
This year's tournament features another strong field as two NCAA participants from 2004 join Minnesota who also competed in last year's NCAA Tournament. The Golden Gophers are joined by No. 5 South Carolina, who was one of the final four teams remaining in last year's College World Series. Minnesota will also be joined by Pepperdine, who has been in the past two NCAA Regional fields (in Long Beach, Calif. and Fullerton, Calif.) with the Golden Gophers. New Orleans will also join the Golden Gophers in this year's Dairy Queen Classic. Last year Minnesota won the tournament, as it went undefeated against a field that featured No. 22 Florida State, No. 14 Nebraska and West Virginia. Minnesota will get a chance to defend its tournament title for the first time since 1994. No team has won the Dairy Queen Classic two years in a row.
University of Minnesota The Golden Gophers are coming off a five-year span that has seen them win four regular season titles (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004) and two Big Ten Tournament titles (2001, 2004). Last season, Minnesota became the first team since 1995 to win both the regular-season and tournament titles in the Big Ten. The Golden Gophers finished 21-10 in Big Ten play. Minnesota also advanced to its sixth NCAA Tournament in the last seven seasons. The past two seasons, the Golden Gophers set a Big Ten record for most conference wins in a two-year period with 45.
Minnesota returns six all-conference players to this year's squad. First-Team All-Big Ten first baseman Andy Hunter returns along with Second-Team All-Big Ten catcher Jake Elder and designated hitter Mike Mee. The Golden Gophers also return a trio of Third-Team All- Big Ten players in senior third baseman David Hrncirik, junior shortstop Matt Fornasiere and junior second baseman Luke MacLean.
Hunter led the Big Ten in RBI in 2004 with 66. He also was second on the team with a .366 batting average and had a team-high 10 home runs last season. Hunter also led the team in Big Ten batting average last year at .394. In his first two seasons, Hunter has accumulated 110 RBI, which is the second-highest total in a Minnesota's players first two years, trailing only Terry Steinbach who had 116 in his first two seasons.
Mee became the first freshman to knock in 50 or more runs since Steinbach did so in 1981. Mee finished with a .319 batting average with six home runs and 53 RBI. The 53 RBI was a school record by a Golden Gopher freshman (since 1962).
Elder led the team in home runs in conference play with six. He also batted .317 with seven home runs and 32 RBI. Elder cut down 33 percent of the runners who tried to steal against him, and 39 percent in Big Ten play.
Fornasiere batted .353 as a sophomore, and was second on the team in stolen bases with 14. He also had six home runs, 45 RBI and tied for the team lead with a .441 on-base percentage. MacLean was third on the team in stolen bases with, and finished with a .341 batting average in 2004. He was also second on the team in runs at 49.
Hrncirik batted .283 with 32 runs and 29 RBI. He ended up second on the team with 19 two-out RBI in 2004. Hrncirik took his play at third base to the next level in 2004, and was one of the best fielding third baseman in the nation.
Minnesota also returns two of its starting outfielders in Tony Leseman and Sean Kommerstad. Leseman led the team in walks with 33, and batted .283 with 38 runs and 29 RBI. Kommerstad had four home runs and 20 RBI as a true freshman. Three of his home runs came after May 16.
Anchoring the starting rotation are a pair of seniors in Josh Krogman and Matt Loberg. Krogman leads all returnees in starts with 12, and was 3-1 with a 4.39 ERA in 2004. He also was the starter when Minnesota defeated Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament championship, as he went six innings and gave up only two runs. Loberg was a 2003 Third-Team All-Big Ten selection, and was 2-1 with a 2.60 ERA in non-conference play.
Minnesota also returns closer John Gaub to the mix. Gaub set a school record (since 1962) with 13.69 strikeouts per nine innings (minimum 20 IP) with 37 strikeouts in 24.1 innings. Gaub also posted the lowest ERA (minimum 20 IP) since 1992 at 1.85.
The Golden Gophers also return juniors Brian Bull and Andy Peters who tied for third on the team in appearances. Bull led the team in wins out of the bullpen with three.
Sophomores Josh Oslin (1-1, 5.06 ERA, 16 SO, 16 IP) and Cole Devries, who posted a 3.56 ERA in the Northwoods Summer League, each return to compete for spots in the starting rotation.
Reid Mahon also returns to the staff after redshirting the 2004 season. Mahon was 4-2 with a 2.09 ERA in the Northwoods League this summer.
Minnesota welcomes a pair of transfer pitchers in sophomore Marcus McKenzie and sophomore John Mueller. McKenzie, who went 7-0 with a 3.05 ERA this past summer in the Northwoods League, is a transfer from New Orleans, while Mueller is a transfer from Butler.
The Golden Gophers also welcome in a talented trio of freshman in Tom Buske, Dustin Brabender and Gary Perinar.
Minnesota has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in six of the past seven seasons, and is 102-42 in Big Ten play over the last five seasons. The Golden Gophers look to continue its wave of recent success with a return to NCAA Tournament play, and will also attempt to become only the second program in 102 years of non-divisional play (1896-1980, 1988- present) to win four straight Big Ten regular-season titles.
New Orleans
The Privateers are coming off a season that saw them finish 27-28, and third in the Sun Belt with a record of 13-10. New Orleans hired Tom Walter as the head coach this past offseason.
Leading the way offensively for the Privateers in 2004 is outfielder Tony Gonzalez who batted .273, with nine home runs and 37 RBI in 2004. Outfielder Ryan Meyer, who batted .252 with 18 runs in 2004, also returns to the team.
New Orleans also welcomes several transfers to the program in Brandon Bowser (from James Madison), Mike Constantino (from Maryland), Michael Epping (from TCU) and Martin Vergara (from Notre Dame).
The pitching staff is led by Grant Birely who was 6-7 with six saves, a 4.42 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 55 innings pitched. Lefthanded starter Matt Crockett also was 5-4 with a 5.66 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 84.1 innings in 2004.
New Orleans was picked to finish seventh in the Sun Belt in the Baseball America Preseason Magazine. The Privateers will become the first team from the Sun Belt Conference to make an appearance in the Dairy Queen Classic.
South Carolina
The Gamecocks are coming off a season in which they went 53-17 and advanced to the College World Series. South Carolina was the last team to be eliminated from College World Series, before Texas and Cal State Fullerton played for the national championship. The Gamecocks finished 17-13 in SEC play, and were second in SEC East division in 2004.
South Carolina returns six position players from last year's College World Series team. Third baseman Steve Pearce leads the way after batting .346 with 21 home runs and 70 RBI in 2004. Senior outfielder Brendan Winn also returns from last year after batting .305 with 19 home runs and 69 RBI. Pearce was named to the Baseball America preseason All- Conference team, along with outfielder Michael Campbell.
Aaron Rawl returns to the pitching staff after going 13-4 with a 4.28 ERA and striking out 98 batters in 122.0 innings. Zac McCamie also returns to the pitching staff for South Carolina. McCamie was 7-0 with a 3.10 ERA, and had 49 strikeouts in 58 innings for the Gamecocks. South Carolina returns nine pitchers from its staff that helped guide them to the 2004 College World Series.
Over the 20 years of the Dairy Queen Classic six different SEC teams have appeared in the tournament. Mississippi State (1992), Arkansas (1993 & 2002), LSU (1995), Tennessee (1996 & 2002), Georgia (2000) and Alabama (2002). LSU and Tennessee each won the tournament with undefeated records, as the Tigers won in 1995 and the Volunteers won in 1996. Tennessee and Alabama tied at 2-1 in 2002, and the Volunteers won it on the tiebreaker of run differential. This will be South Carolina's first appearance in the Dairy Queen Classic.
Baseball America picked South Carolina as the preseason favorite to win the SEC East and had them No. 7 in the preseason national rankings.
Pepperdine
The Waves are coming off a 2004 season that saw them get within a game of advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals. Pepperdine was in Minnesota's NCAA Regional, and defeated Arizona State and eventual national champion Cal State Fullerton to get within one game of the Super Regionals. The Titans defeated Pepperdine twice on the final day to advance out of the region. The Waves finished the regular-season 30-32, but won WCC West Division with a 19-11 record, and won the conference play-in series to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
Offensively the Waves are led by senior designated hitter Steve Kleen who batted .373 with seven home runs and 56 RBI in 2004. Sophomore catcher Chad Tracy also batted .320 with 12 home runs and 47 RBI last year for the Waves. Pepperdine has eight of its nine position players returning from last year's squad.
The pitching staff is led by senior righthander Kea Kometani who was 8-6 with a 4.05 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 120.0 innings. Kleen also was a reliever for the team last year and went 4-3 with eight saves, a 4.07 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 42 innings.
Pepperdine was ranked No. 31 in the Baseball America Preseason Top 50. The Waves were also picked as the preseason favorite to win the West Division of the WCC. Pepperdine will be the first WCC team to compete in the Dairy Queen Classic.
The Waves have appeared in the same NCAA Regional as Minnesota the past two seasons. Pepperdine joined Minnesota in Long Beach in 2003, and in Fullerton in 2004. The International Dairy Queen Corporation enters its third year as the title sponsor of the University's annual spring baseball tournament held at the Hubert Humphrey Metrodome.
The tournament, which was established in 1985, is in its 21st season and has developed into one of the most competitive collegiate tournaments in the nation. In fact, in the 2005 Baseball America college preview, the magazine ranked the Dairy Queen Classic as one of the top college tournaments in the nation. The tournament consistently draws the top teams in the nation to the Twin Cities and provides them with the opportunity to display their talents in a major league facility.
Throughout its history the tournament has received outstanding support from the Twin Cities community through sponsorship. Companies like General Mills, Pillsbury, Oscar Meyer, Hormel and Dairy Queen have played a big part in the growth and success of the event.
Since its inception the tournament has grown considerably in many ways, and that growth would not have been possible without the support of its sponsors.
The 2005 event will feature its annual on-field clinic for youths ages 7 to 17 and their coaches. The clinic will be conducted by coaches and players participating in the competition. A very popular part of the tournament in the past, it provides an opportunity for today's college stars to give something back to the community.
Though Dairy Queen is the lead sponsor of the tournament, organizations like the Sheraton Hotel Minneapolis Metrodome, Rawling Baseballs, Lee Lines, Easton Sports and many others help make the Dairy Queen Baseball Classic possible each year.
This year's tournament features another strong field as two NCAA participants from 2004 join Minnesota who also competed in last year's NCAA Tournament. The Golden Gophers are joined by No. 5 South Carolina, who was one of the final four teams remaining in last year's College World Series. Minnesota will also be joined by Pepperdine, who has been in the past two NCAA Regional fields (in Long Beach, Calif. and Fullerton, Calif.) with the Golden Gophers. New Orleans will also join the Golden Gophers in this year's Dairy Queen Classic. Last year Minnesota won the tournament, as it went undefeated against a field that featured No. 22 Florida State, No. 14 Nebraska and West Virginia. Minnesota will get a chance to defend its tournament title for the first time since 1994. No team has won the Dairy Queen Classic two years in a row.
University of Minnesota The Golden Gophers are coming off a five-year span that has seen them win four regular season titles (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004) and two Big Ten Tournament titles (2001, 2004). Last season, Minnesota became the first team since 1995 to win both the regular-season and tournament titles in the Big Ten. The Golden Gophers finished 21-10 in Big Ten play. Minnesota also advanced to its sixth NCAA Tournament in the last seven seasons. The past two seasons, the Golden Gophers set a Big Ten record for most conference wins in a two-year period with 45.
Minnesota returns six all-conference players to this year's squad. First-Team All-Big Ten first baseman Andy Hunter returns along with Second-Team All-Big Ten catcher Jake Elder and designated hitter Mike Mee. The Golden Gophers also return a trio of Third-Team All- Big Ten players in senior third baseman David Hrncirik, junior shortstop Matt Fornasiere and junior second baseman Luke MacLean.
Hunter led the Big Ten in RBI in 2004 with 66. He also was second on the team with a .366 batting average and had a team-high 10 home runs last season. Hunter also led the team in Big Ten batting average last year at .394. In his first two seasons, Hunter has accumulated 110 RBI, which is the second-highest total in a Minnesota's players first two years, trailing only Terry Steinbach who had 116 in his first two seasons.
Mee became the first freshman to knock in 50 or more runs since Steinbach did so in 1981. Mee finished with a .319 batting average with six home runs and 53 RBI. The 53 RBI was a school record by a Golden Gopher freshman (since 1962).
Elder led the team in home runs in conference play with six. He also batted .317 with seven home runs and 32 RBI. Elder cut down 33 percent of the runners who tried to steal against him, and 39 percent in Big Ten play.
Fornasiere batted .353 as a sophomore, and was second on the team in stolen bases with 14. He also had six home runs, 45 RBI and tied for the team lead with a .441 on-base percentage. MacLean was third on the team in stolen bases with, and finished with a .341 batting average in 2004. He was also second on the team in runs at 49.
Hrncirik batted .283 with 32 runs and 29 RBI. He ended up second on the team with 19 two-out RBI in 2004. Hrncirik took his play at third base to the next level in 2004, and was one of the best fielding third baseman in the nation.
Minnesota also returns two of its starting outfielders in Tony Leseman and Sean Kommerstad. Leseman led the team in walks with 33, and batted .283 with 38 runs and 29 RBI. Kommerstad had four home runs and 20 RBI as a true freshman. Three of his home runs came after May 16.
Anchoring the starting rotation are a pair of seniors in Josh Krogman and Matt Loberg. Krogman leads all returnees in starts with 12, and was 3-1 with a 4.39 ERA in 2004. He also was the starter when Minnesota defeated Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament championship, as he went six innings and gave up only two runs. Loberg was a 2003 Third-Team All-Big Ten selection, and was 2-1 with a 2.60 ERA in non-conference play.
Minnesota also returns closer John Gaub to the mix. Gaub set a school record (since 1962) with 13.69 strikeouts per nine innings (minimum 20 IP) with 37 strikeouts in 24.1 innings. Gaub also posted the lowest ERA (minimum 20 IP) since 1992 at 1.85.
The Golden Gophers also return juniors Brian Bull and Andy Peters who tied for third on the team in appearances. Bull led the team in wins out of the bullpen with three.
Sophomores Josh Oslin (1-1, 5.06 ERA, 16 SO, 16 IP) and Cole Devries, who posted a 3.56 ERA in the Northwoods Summer League, each return to compete for spots in the starting rotation.
Reid Mahon also returns to the staff after redshirting the 2004 season. Mahon was 4-2 with a 2.09 ERA in the Northwoods League this summer.
Minnesota welcomes a pair of transfer pitchers in sophomore Marcus McKenzie and sophomore John Mueller. McKenzie, who went 7-0 with a 3.05 ERA this past summer in the Northwoods League, is a transfer from New Orleans, while Mueller is a transfer from Butler.
The Golden Gophers also welcome in a talented trio of freshman in Tom Buske, Dustin Brabender and Gary Perinar.
Minnesota has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in six of the past seven seasons, and is 102-42 in Big Ten play over the last five seasons. The Golden Gophers look to continue its wave of recent success with a return to NCAA Tournament play, and will also attempt to become only the second program in 102 years of non-divisional play (1896-1980, 1988- present) to win four straight Big Ten regular-season titles.
New Orleans
The Privateers are coming off a season that saw them finish 27-28, and third in the Sun Belt with a record of 13-10. New Orleans hired Tom Walter as the head coach this past offseason.
Leading the way offensively for the Privateers in 2004 is outfielder Tony Gonzalez who batted .273, with nine home runs and 37 RBI in 2004. Outfielder Ryan Meyer, who batted .252 with 18 runs in 2004, also returns to the team.
New Orleans also welcomes several transfers to the program in Brandon Bowser (from James Madison), Mike Constantino (from Maryland), Michael Epping (from TCU) and Martin Vergara (from Notre Dame).
The pitching staff is led by Grant Birely who was 6-7 with six saves, a 4.42 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 55 innings pitched. Lefthanded starter Matt Crockett also was 5-4 with a 5.66 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 84.1 innings in 2004.
New Orleans was picked to finish seventh in the Sun Belt in the Baseball America Preseason Magazine. The Privateers will become the first team from the Sun Belt Conference to make an appearance in the Dairy Queen Classic.
South Carolina
The Gamecocks are coming off a season in which they went 53-17 and advanced to the College World Series. South Carolina was the last team to be eliminated from College World Series, before Texas and Cal State Fullerton played for the national championship. The Gamecocks finished 17-13 in SEC play, and were second in SEC East division in 2004.
South Carolina returns six position players from last year's College World Series team. Third baseman Steve Pearce leads the way after batting .346 with 21 home runs and 70 RBI in 2004. Senior outfielder Brendan Winn also returns from last year after batting .305 with 19 home runs and 69 RBI. Pearce was named to the Baseball America preseason All- Conference team, along with outfielder Michael Campbell.
Aaron Rawl returns to the pitching staff after going 13-4 with a 4.28 ERA and striking out 98 batters in 122.0 innings. Zac McCamie also returns to the pitching staff for South Carolina. McCamie was 7-0 with a 3.10 ERA, and had 49 strikeouts in 58 innings for the Gamecocks. South Carolina returns nine pitchers from its staff that helped guide them to the 2004 College World Series.
Over the 20 years of the Dairy Queen Classic six different SEC teams have appeared in the tournament. Mississippi State (1992), Arkansas (1993 & 2002), LSU (1995), Tennessee (1996 & 2002), Georgia (2000) and Alabama (2002). LSU and Tennessee each won the tournament with undefeated records, as the Tigers won in 1995 and the Volunteers won in 1996. Tennessee and Alabama tied at 2-1 in 2002, and the Volunteers won it on the tiebreaker of run differential. This will be South Carolina's first appearance in the Dairy Queen Classic.
Baseball America picked South Carolina as the preseason favorite to win the SEC East and had them No. 7 in the preseason national rankings.
Pepperdine
The Waves are coming off a 2004 season that saw them get within a game of advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals. Pepperdine was in Minnesota's NCAA Regional, and defeated Arizona State and eventual national champion Cal State Fullerton to get within one game of the Super Regionals. The Titans defeated Pepperdine twice on the final day to advance out of the region. The Waves finished the regular-season 30-32, but won WCC West Division with a 19-11 record, and won the conference play-in series to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
Offensively the Waves are led by senior designated hitter Steve Kleen who batted .373 with seven home runs and 56 RBI in 2004. Sophomore catcher Chad Tracy also batted .320 with 12 home runs and 47 RBI last year for the Waves. Pepperdine has eight of its nine position players returning from last year's squad.
The pitching staff is led by senior righthander Kea Kometani who was 8-6 with a 4.05 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 120.0 innings. Kleen also was a reliever for the team last year and went 4-3 with eight saves, a 4.07 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 42 innings.
Pepperdine was ranked No. 31 in the Baseball America Preseason Top 50. The Waves were also picked as the preseason favorite to win the West Division of the WCC. Pepperdine will be the first WCC team to compete in the Dairy Queen Classic.
The Waves have appeared in the same NCAA Regional as Minnesota the past two seasons. Pepperdine joined Minnesota in Long Beach in 2003, and in Fullerton in 2004.
