.png&width=42&height=42&type=webp)
University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Travel to Houston to Start Season
2/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
| Minnesota at Houston | |
| Date/Time | Fri., Feb. 13 - 6:30 p.m. CST |
| Friday Probable Pitchers | RHP Ben Meyer vs. RHP Andrew Lantrip |
| Saturday Probable Pitchers | LHP Dalton Sawyer vs. RHP Jake Lemoine |
| Sunday Probable Pitchers | RHP Neal Kunik vs. RHP Aaron Garza |
| Location | Houston, Texas | Cougar Field |
| Video | All-Access via UHCougars.com |
| Audio | UHCougars.com |
| Game Day Live | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Social Media | @GopherBaseball | Facebook |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Houston |
| Clips | Veteran infield key to success | Rotation locked and ready |
Feb. 12, 2015
GOPHERS AT A GLANCE
• Minnesota baseball is entering its 127th season of competition, its 34th under head coach John Anderson and its third playing home games at new Siebert Field.
• The Gophers finished in a tie for fourth in the Big Ten last season.
• Two of Minnesota's three main starters--Ben Meyer and Neal Kunik--return from last year's rotation, while Friday starter Alec Crawford graduated. The Gophers lost only one other pitcher, reliever Kevin Kray, to graduation.
• Regular position starters returning are 2B Connor Schaefbauer, 3B Tony Skjefte, SS Michael Handel, LF Jordan Smith and CF Dan Motl. Catchers Matt Halloran (missed most of 2014 with an injury) and Austin Athmann (also injured for part of 2014) return behind the dish.
• Minnesota added eight freshmen and a transfer during the fall.
• In their second post-Metrodome season, the Gophers will again play their first six weeks of games on the road. They will play in nine different states throughout the season, including four during the non-conference portion of the schedule.
SERIES NOTABLES
• Minnesota is 13-10-2 overall against the Cougars, and 1-4-1 under John Anderson.
• The Gophers last faced the Cougars on March 23, 1987, a matchup Minnesota won 18-15.
• This will be the Gophers' second consecutive series against a ranked team, as they finished the 2014 regular season at No. 8/18 Indiana.
ABOUT THE COUGARS
• Projected rotation: RHP Andrew Lantrip, RHP Jake Lemoine, RHP Aaron Garza. Lemoine, a junior, was named a Preseason All-American.
• Houston enters 2015 ranked as high as third in national polls.
• In 2014, Houston had its most successful season in recent years. The Cougars tied a school record with 48 wins, winning the Baton Rouge Regional to advance to the Austin Super Regional.
• Todd Whitting is in his fifth year at the helm for the Cougars.
• Houston returns six of its starting batters from last year, including some of its top batting averages in 3B Connor Hollis (.321) and RF Kyle Survance (.308).
TOUGH SCHEDULE
The Gophers will face a challenging lineup of teams during the 2015 season. Below is a look at where some of Minnesota's opponents rank in preseason polls.
| D1Baseball | Baseball America | NCBWA | USA Today | Collegiate Baseball | Perfect Game | |
| Houston | 7 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 8 |
| Texas | 10 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
| Maryland | 14 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 37 | --- |
| Nebraska | 23 | --- | 31 | RV | 38 | --- |
| UC-Irvine | --- | --- | 33 | RV | 39 | --- |
*In addition, Florida Gulf Coast and Michigan received votes in the NCBWA poll.
MATYAS CALLED FROM THE BULLPEN
Former Gophers closer Scott Matyas is serving as interim pitching coach until Todd Oakes is ready to come back on a full-time basis. Oakes' leukemia is in remission after his second bout with the disease. Matyas, who pitched under Oakes' tutelage from 2008-11, set a Big Ten record with 36 career saves. He holds the Minnesota record for appearances with 94, and the top two single-season save totals with 15 in 2009 and 11 in 2011 (tied for second).
ANDERSON LEGACY
Since John Anderson's first season as head coach, there have been 27 coaching changes in the Big Ten. Michigan has had the most coaching changes at five, while Michigan State has had four. Between Anderson and his legendary coach, Dick Siebert, the duo has coached in more than 3,000 Gopher games. Anderson coached his 1,900th game at Michigan last year.
Anderson is in his 34th year as the Gophers' head coach and 37th year overall at the University of Minnesota. Anderson currently holds an all-time record of 1,151-772-3 (.598), including a 519-308 (.628) mark in Big Ten play. He is the conference's all-time wins leader.
The current full-time coaching staff has been together for 17 years. Assistant head coach Rob Fornasiere is in his 30th year and pitching coach Todd Oakes is in his 17th year. Volunteer assistant coach Patrick Casey is in his second year. Interim pitching coach Scott Matyas is in his first season working with the program.
MEYER AND SONS
Bob Meyer pitched for John Anderson's Gophers from 1980-83. Now his sons, Ben and Reggie, are both on the team. Ben, a senior, has been in the starting rotation since his sophomore year. He enters the season with 200.1 career innings pitched. Bob finished his career with 257 innings. Ben is 49.2 innings away from the Gophers' top 10 career list. He is 49 strikeouts away from the career top 10, with 148 entering the season. Reggie is a freshman, the third right-handed pitcher in the family to put on the Maroon and Gold.
SAME FACES, DIFFERENT PLACES
Multiple injuries in 2014 led to much reshuffling of the Gophers' lineup during the year. Tony Skjefte filled in wherever the Gophers needed him. He made 42 starts at four different positions: 30 at third base, seven at second base, four in left field and one in center field. Skjefte also moved between positions during games based on other substitutions the Gophers made. Jordan Smith made his 40 starts at all three spots in the outfield: 18 in center, 16 in left and six in right.
VETERAN INFIELD
Junior 2B Connor Schaefbauer, senior 3B Tony Skjefte and redshirt senior SS Michael Handel have started a combined 307 career games, mainly in the infield. Handel has been the starting shortshop since his redshirt freshman season. Schaefbauer started at second for most of 2013, with Skjefte starting the other games. In 2014, Skjefte made most of his starts at third while also filling in when needed in the outfield. When Handel was injured, Schaefbauer played shortstop for a few games and Skjefte played second.
Players Mentioned
C
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
SS
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballRHP
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballHighlights: Gophers 12, Kansas 5
Friday, February 27
Highlights: Gophers 7, Kansas 8
Wednesday, February 25
Cinematic Recap: Gophers Sweep Northeastern
Wednesday, February 25
Sights & Sounds: Spring Training
Sunday, February 22