University of Minnesota Athletics
Countdown to Gopher Baseball
2/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Baseball season is upon us! Practice started up in late January, and the Gophers' series at Houston is quickly approaching. We will count down the days until first pitch here.
10. Minnesota recorded 10 outfield assists last year. While right fielder Bobby Juan (five assists) graduated, the Gophers return regular starters Jordan Smith and Dan Motl who can both cover a lot of ground in the field. Senior Jake Bergren also made 27 starts last year.
9. The Gophers have nine new team members in 2015. They are freshmen Alex Boxwell, Micah Coffey, Jeff Fasching, Lucas Gilbreath, Toby Hanson, Fred Manke, Reggie Meyer and Luke Pettersen, and redshirt sophomore Tim Shannon.
8. The Gophers have eight seniors in Jake Bergren, Kyle Crocker, Matt Halloran, Michael Handel, Neal Kunik, Ben Meyer, Chris Schaaf, Tony Skjefte. Another important 8? The number of teams who will make the Big Ten Tournament held at Target Field in May.
7. Minnesota will play seven games in the state of Texas to begin the season. The Gophers will face the Houston Cougars Feb. 13-15 and the Texas Longhorns Feb. 20-22. Back in Dick Siebert's days, and early in John Anderson's tenure, the Gophers used to begin their seasons with extended trips to Texas.
6. Siebert Field will host six Gophers home series this spring. Conference opponents Northwestern, Penn State, Michigan and Michigan State will visit Minneapolis. Minnesota will also welcome UC-Irvine for a three-game series, and Kansas State for a pair of midweek games.
5. Five different Gophers hit at least one home run last season, and three of them are back in 2015 looking to increase the team total this year. Michael Handel hit three, Tony Skjefte two and Austin Athmann one.
4. Four different Gophers recorded saves on the mound last season. LHP Dalton Sawyer (6 SV) is expected to join the rotation, but two of the others - RHP Brian Glowicki (3 SV) and Lance Thonvold (1 SV) - will be back in the bullpen.
3. Minnesota returns three regular starting infielders in 2B Connor Schaefbauer, 3B Tony Skjefte and SS Michael Handel. Schaefbauer (AVG, R, 3B, H, SB), Skjefte (RBI, 2B) and Handel (SLG) each led the team in at least one category last year.
2. RHP Ben Meyer pitched two complete games in 2014, and the Gophers lost only two pitchers to graduation. Meyer (2.39 ERA), LHP Dalton Sawyer and RHP Neal Kunik are expected to make up the starting rotation.
1. The Gophers will play one exhibition game against the Twins on March 4. It may not count in the records, but the game in Fort Myers will be former Gopher Paul Molitor's managerial debut with the Twins.
