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University of Minnesota Athletics
Dairy Queen Classic Preview
2/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
2008 Dairy Queen Classic
The International Dairy Queen Corporation enters its sixth 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 24th season and has developed into one of the most competitive collegiate tournaments in the nation. In fact, the Dairy Queen Classic is consistently ranked as one of the top college tournaments in the nation. Every year, the tournament 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 2008 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 The Depot Minneapolis, Rawling Baseballs 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 2007 join Minnesota, who advanced to the Big Ten Tournament championship game for a seventh year in a row last year and made the NCAA Regionals for the seventh time in 10 years. The Golden Gophers are joined by No. 18 Tulane, No. 29 Pepperdine, who competed in the NCAA Regionals last year, and 2007 NCAA Regional participant TCU.
Last year, Ole Miss won the 23rd annual Dairy Queen Classic tournament as it went 2-1 Arkansas and Minnesota. The Golden Gophers were 2-2, as it they split doubleheaders with Arkansas and Ole Miss. Last year’s tournament, was reduced to three teams after The Citadel was unable to get to Minneapolis due to weather issues.
University of Minnesota
The Golden Gophers are coming off a season that saw them make a seventh straight Big Ten Tournament championship game, which is a conference record. Minnesota also had its best winning percentage since 1999, and advanced to the NCAA Regionals for seventh time in 10 years. Minnesota has won four regular season titles (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004) and two Big Ten Tournament titles (2001, 2004) over the last seven years. In 2007, the Golden Gophers finished 41-18, tied for second in the Big Ten at 18-9 and went 2-2 in the Big Ten Tournament with its only two losses coming in the championship round of action. This season, the Golden Gophers were picked to finish third in conference in the Baseball America College Preview.
For the first time since 2004, Minnesota returns a pair of First-Team All-Big Ten honorees in junior third baseman Nate Hanson and junior centerfielder Matt Nohelty. Last year, Hanson became the first Golden Gopher to knock in and scored 50 runs in the same season since 2002. He batted .338 with 10 home runs, 51 RBI and 50 runs. Nohelty batted .393 in Big Ten, and had .367 average overall, with 48 runs and 24 stolen bases. His 42 stolen bases in the first two years of his career are the most by a Golden Gopher since 1994-95.
The Golden Gophers also return an All-Big Ten pitcher in Kyle Carr, who was a third-team honoree. Carr, who will be converted to a starter to begin the season, was 5-2 with eight saves, a 3.95 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 43.1 innings in 22 appearances last year. Minnesota also brings back its top two starters in senior Dustin Brabender and junior Tom Buske. Brabender, who pitched eight shutout innings before giving up two runs in a 6-5 NCAA Regional win at San Diego, was 5-1 with a 4.40 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 77.2 innings in 14 starts (15 appearances) last year. Buske, who took over the Friday starter role midway through the 2007 season, went 5-2 with a 3.43 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 60.1 innings of work. Tyler Oakes, who was 3-2 with a 5.16 ERA and struck out 17 batters in 29.2 innings of work, will be Minnesota’s other starter pitcher to begin the season.
Minnesota also welcomes back sophomore Allen Bechstein, who was 2-0 with a 4.15 ERA in 10 appearances as a true freshman. The Golden Gophers also bring in an experienced pitcher in junior college transfer Chauncy Handran. Handran led all NJCAA Division II pitchers in ERA at 1.37, and was 5-1 for Miles Community College. Redshirts freshman Scott Matyas is expected to make an impact out of the bullpen for Minnesota. Tim Ryan and Scott Fern also enter their redshirt freshman seasons looking to contribute to the Minnesota pitching staff. The three redshirt freshmen are joined by five true freshmen pitchers. Dustin Klabunde, Phil Isaksson, Luke Rasmussen, Seth Rosin and Cullen Sexton are all expected to get shots to compete for spots in the Golden Gopher pitching staff.
In the infield, Jeremy Chlan and Derek McCallum return up the middle for Minnesota. McCallum batted .340 with 24 runs and 34 RBI, and was named to the NCAA Regional All-Tournament team. Chlan, who had the game-winning RBI double to send the Golden Gophers to their seventh straight Big Ten Tournament Championship, batted .241 with 12 runs and seven RBI last year. Seniors Joe Maciej and Tom Steidl, who have each produced dramatic moments in the Big Ten Tournament in their respective careers, will get the early shot at first base for Minnesota. Sophomore Kyle Knudson could come out from behind the plate and move to first on occasion. Freshman Nick O’Shea could also bound back and forth between first base and catcher for the Golden Gophers this year. AJ Pettersen, Drew Hanish and Kyle Geason will also get chances to play in the infield this year.
Minnesota enters the season with Nohelty as its starting centerfielder. The other two spots will be up for grabs entering the season. The group that will challenge for starting outfield spots will include sophomore Eric Decker, junior Jon Hummel, senior Jeff Engel, freshman Michael Kvasnicka, senior Aaron Larson and freshman Trip Schultz. Rasmussen and Handran can also play the outfield on occasion as well.
One of the deepest positions for Minnesota entering the season is catcher. The Golden Gophers return a pair of catchers who saw playing time last year in senior Jeff DeSmidt and sophomore Kyle Knudson. DeSmidt batted .247 with three home runs, 11 runs and 13 RBI, while Knudson had a home run and six RBI in 19 games.
Minnesota has advanced to the NCAA Tournament in seven of the past 10 seasons, and is 154-80 in Big Ten play over the last eight seasons. The Golden Gophers will look to make a return to the NCAA Tournament this season, and will again aim for their preseason goal of winning the Big Ten title.
The Golden Gophers went 0-3 in their first weekend losing to No. 4 Ole Miss 8-1, 22-5 and 15-4. Nate Hanson went 4-for-10 on the week with a pair of doubles, while Jeremy Chlan was 4-for-11 with two runs and two doubles.
TCU
The Horned Frogs are coming off a season that saw them go 48-14, and finish first in the Mountain West at 20-3. TCU advanced to the NCAA Regionals last year, and went 2-2 before Rice eliminated them from the tournament with pair of victories over the Horned Frogs. TCU is coached by Jim Schlossnagle who is 167-83 in four seasons at TCU.
Senior outfielder Clint Arnold returns after batting .326, with four home runs and 39 RBI last year. Junior Matt Vern batted .319 with five home runs and 36 RBI, while junior Ben Carruthers batted .303 with four home runs and 31 RBI. Senior infield Bryan Kervin also batted .290 with four home runs and 32 RBI.
Pitching wise, the Horned Frogs are led by sophomore Tyler Lockwood who was 5-2 with a 4.09 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 55.0 innings. Steven Maxwell was 1-0 with 22 strikeouts in 21.0 innings in 15 appearances, while left-handed reliever Derek VerHagen was 1-0 with a 4.24 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 17.0 innings.
Baseball America picked the TCU to finish first in the Mountain West Conference this year. The Horned Frogs went 1-2 at home against No. 14 Cal State Fullerton in their first weekend of action. TCU lost 11-5 on Feb. 22 and 7-4 on Feb. 24, and won 4-2 on Feb. 23.
Matt Vern led the way going 5-for-12 with two runs and six RBI, while Ben Carruthers was 5-for-13 three runs and an RBI. Pitching wise, Maxwell went seven innings, gave up four hits, two runs and struck out five batters in the 4-2 victory over Cal State Fullerton
Tulane
The Green Wave are coming off a season that saw them go 34-26, and finish seventh in Conference USA at 9-15. Tulane also went 2-2 in the Conference USA Tournament. The Green Wave are coached by Rick Jones who is 600-284-1 heading into his 15th year with the program. Tulane enters the season ranked No. 22 in the country in the Baseball American Preseason poll.
The Green Wave is led by junior rightfield Warren McFadden who batted .296 with 14 doubles, four home runs and 34 RBI in 2007. Junior centerfielder Aja Barto batted .269 with six home runs and 28 RBI, while Jared Dyer batted .300 with two home runs and 17 RBI.
Junior righthander Shooter Hunt leads the way for the pitching staff, coming off a season in which he went 6-6 with a 2.62 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 99.2 innings. Sean Morgan went 8-4 with a 4.11 ERA and 122 strikeouts in 103.0 innings for Tulane last year. Preston Claiborne also made 28 appearances for the Green Wave, and was 0-2 with a two saves and 45 strikeouts in 45.2 innings.
TCU was picked to win the Mountain West by in the Baseball America Preseason Magazine. The Horned Frogs will be making their first appearance in the Dairy Queen Classic. TCU opened its season up with a series sweep over Illinois-Chicago by scores of 6-0, 4-3 and 9-2.
Dyer was 5-for-11 with two home runs, three RBI and four runs in those games. Barto was 5-for-11 with four runs, a home run and two RBI. Pitching wise, Shooter Hunt went six shutout innings, giving up three hits and striking out eight batters in his first start of the year. Robby Broach also started and picked up a win, going five innings, giving up eight hits, two runs and striking out two batters.
Pepperdine
The Waves are coming off a 2007 season that saw them finish 35-22 and third in the WCC at 14-7. Pepperdine advanced to the NCAA Regionals where it went 0-2 in two games against UCLA and Long Beach State. The Waves are coached by Steve Rodriguez who is 148-98 in his fifth season.
Chase d’Arnaud leads the returnees, coming off a season in which he batted .331 with three home runs and 28 RBI. Eric Thames also batted .320 with 44 RBI, while Denny Duron batted .288 with two home runs and 25 RBI.
Pitching wise, Brett Hunter leads the way after going 6-5 with two saves, a 3.94 ERA and striking out 76 batters in 82.1 innings last year. Lefthander Robert Dickmann was 6-4 with a 3.96 ERA and struck out 48 batters in 84.0 innings of work. Jordan Durrance also pitched in 24 games last year, and was 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA.
Baseball America picked Pepperdine to finish second in the WCC in the preseason poll. The Waves won the 2005 Dairy Queen Classic, as part of a field that included Minnesota, New Orleans and South Carolina.
Pepperdine opened up the season by winning two out of three from Wake Forest at home. The Waves won the first game 3-2, dropped the second 13-9 and claimed the third game 22-3. Bryce Mendonca was 7-for-14 with four runs, two RBI and five stolen bases, while Robert Diedrich was 5-for-10 with two runs, a home run and three RBI. Chase d’Arnaud had four runs, a home run and six RBI in the first weekend of action.
Brett Hunter won his first game of the season, as he pitched six innings, giving up four hits, two runs and striking out six batters. Scott Alexander pitched six innings, gave up four hits, two earned runs and struck out four to pick up a win as well.
