University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Host Wildcats in Home Opener
3/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
| Minnesota (7-13, 0-3) vs. Northwestern (5-18, 0-0) | |
| Date/Time | Friday, March 27 - 3:05 p.m. CDT |
| Friday Probable Pitchers | RHP Ben Meyer (0-3) vs. LHP Matt Portland (1-3) |
| Saturday Probable Pitchers | RHP Toby Anderson (0-0)vs. RHP Joe Schindler (1-2) |
| Sunday Probable Pitchers | RHP Tim Shannon (1-2) vs. RHP Brandon Magallones (1-1) |
| Location | Minneapolis, Minn. | Siebert Field |
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com(U of M students free with U Card) |
| Video | BTN Plus |
| Game Day Live | Friday | Saturday|Sunday |
| Social Media | @GopherBaseball | Facebook |
| Game Notes | Minnesota |
March 26, 2015
The Golden Gopher baseball team (7-13, 0-3 Big Ten) will open its home season against Northwestern (5-18, 0-0 Big Ten) this weekend. Friday and Saturday's games are set for 3:05 p.m. CT, with the Sunday series finale at 1:05 p.m. CT. All three games will stream live on BTN Plus.
LAST WEEKEND
• The Gophers were swept in their Big Ten-opening series at No. 14 Maryland.
• Minnesota outhit Maryland 15-13 and led 7-0 in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader, but the Terrapins came back to win 12-9.
• The Gophers fell victim to another Maryland comeback on Sunday after leading 3-0.
• Dan Motl's home run in Saturday's second game was the Gophers' first home run to lead off a game since Matt Fornasiere hit one against Michigan in 2004.
• The Gophers' originally scheduled home opener vs. Augsburg this week was canceled.
GOPHERS NOTABLES
• RF Matt Fiedler is batting .403 to rank second in the Big Ten behind Michigan's Jackson Glines. He also has one win, one save and a 1.17 ERA as a relief pitcher.
• Minnesota already has as many home runs as it hit all last season, with a dozen.
SIEBERT FIELD
New Siebert Field is in its third season. The dimensions are 330-365-390-365-330, and the capacity is 1,420.
SERIES NOTABLES
• This Gophers are 84-41 against Northwestern under John Anderson, including a 79-39 mark in regular season conference games.
• This Gophers went 2-1 vs. NU in 2014.
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
• The pitching rotation for Northwestern: LHP Matt Portland, RHP Joe Schindler, RHP Brandon Magallones. Portland allowed 2 R on 3 H in a career-high 8.0 IP vs. Minnesota in 2014. He has a 4.71 ERA in six starts this year. Schindler (6.41 ERA) has walked only three hitters in 19.2 IP in this season. Magallones (4.75 ERA) has 196 career strikeouts.
• OF Kyle Ruchim leads the Wildcats at the plate with a .364 average and 2 HR. C Scott Heelan (.329) and 1B Zach Jones (.323) have also been keys to the `Cats' offense. NU has a .273 team batting average and a 5.65 ERA.
• The Wildcats are coached by Paul Stevens in his 27th season at Northwestern. Stevens is the winningest coach in program history with 650 career victories.
• The Wildcats fell at St. Mary's College in their last two games. This weekend's game will open their Big Ten season.
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
P/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
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