University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Hosts NDSU in Two-Game Series
3/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Minnesota baseball team will host a two-game series against North Dakota State on Tuesday, Mar. 23 at 6:35 p.m. and on Wednesday, Mar. 24 at 3:05 p.m. Both games will be broadcast with live video and audio in the Gold Zone.
Minnesota will also host Louisiana Tech in a three-game series on Mar. 26-28. The Friday and Sunday games will be played at the Metrodome at 6:35 and 12 p.m. respectively. The middle game will be the first ever contest at Target Field on Saturday, Mar. 27 at 1:10 p.m.
Minnesota enters the week with a 6-13 record after going 1-4 on its Spring Trip to Alabama. The Golden Gophers led in the ninth of the first game and in the seventh inning of the second game to No. 21 Alabama, but dropped both contests by scores of 5-4 and 9-4. Minnesota defeated Samford in the first game of the series Mar. 18 by a score of 9-4, but dropped the next two games 14-9 and 2-1. The final game of the series was canceled due to rain.
The Golden Gophers are led by sophomore shortstop AJ Pettersen who is batting .385 with 17 runs, 30 hits and 14 RBI. Junior Michael Kvasnicka is batting .333 with four home runs, 15 RBI and 13 runs. Redshirt freshman second baseman Matt Puhl is also batting .352 with eight runs and five RBI, and has an 11-game hitting streak. Senior catcher Kyle Knudson is batting .328 with seven runs, six RBI and five doubles, while Nick O'Shea has 13 RBI, eight runs and is batting .321
Pitching wise, Minnesota is led by true freshman TJ Oakes who is 1-0 with a 1.96 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 23.0 innings. Junior Phil Isaksson is 2-0 with a 3.78 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 16.2 innings. Seth Rosin leads the team with 25 strikeouts in 26.2 innings and is 1-2 with a 4.72 ERA.
North Dakota State enters the week with a 6-9 overall record. The Bison went 4-4 during and an eight-game Florida trip. North Dakota State defeated Central Michigan (7-3 on Mar. 13), Nebraska-Omaha (12-11 on Mar. 15), Long Island (19-7 on Mar. 17) and New Jersey Tech (W, 8-7 on Mar. 19). The Bison lost to Akron (13-3 on Mar. 14), Bucknell (19-5 on Mar. 15), UMBC (16-10 on Mar. 18) and Illinois (10-4 on Mar. 20).
The Bison are led by Eric Nutzhorn who is batting .375 with a team-high two homers, 13 RBI and eight runs. Zach Wentz had a team-best 12 runs, five RBI, three stolen bases and is batting .309. Nic Obey also has 11 runs, eight RBI and is batting .279. Tyler Steen leads the team with a .425 batting average and has nine runs and nine RBI.
Pitching wise, North Dakota State is led by Kyle Kingsley who is 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA and seven strikeouts in nine innings in three relief appearances. McHale Maristuen also is 1-1 with a 5.54 ERA and has nine strikeouts in 13.0 innings. Anthony Kliniske also 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 12.1 innings.
Louisiana Tech enters the week with a 9-10 overall record. Last week, the Bulldogs split a pair of games with 2009 College World Series participant Southern Miss winning 4-3 in the first game, and losing 15-7 in the second game. The final game was canceled due to weather.
The Bulldogs are led by Joey Ford who is batting .388 with 13 runs, two home runs and 16 RBI. Mark Threlkeld leads the team with 23 runs, is batting .345 and has four home runs and 16 RBI, while Devin Dageford is batting .342 with 20 run, four home runs and 16 RBI. Alex Williams also had four home runs, 16 RBI, 14 runs and is batting .359.
Pitching wise, Louisiana Tech is led by Jamey Bradshaw who is 1-0 with a 5.01 ERA and has 26 strikeouts in 30.0 innings. Mike Jefferson is also 1-2 with a 5.82 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 21.2 innings. Josh Barrett has also gone 20.2 innings with 13 strikeouts and is 0-1 in six appearances.
