University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Travel to No. 23 Nebraska
4/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
| Minnesota (11-17, 2-7) atNebraska (24-10, 3-3) | |
| Date/Time | Friday, April 10- 7:05p.m. CDT (BTN) |
| FridayProbable Pitchers | RHP Ben Meyer (1-4) vs.RHPChance Sinclair (4-4) |
| SaturdayProbable Pitchers | LHP Dalton Sawyer (2-2) vs.LHP Kyle Kubat (4-1) |
| Sunday Probable Pitchers | RHP Tim Shannon (1-1) vs. RHPDerek Burkamper (4-1) |
| Location | Lincoln, Neb. |Hawks Field |
| TV/Video | BTN (Friday) | HuskersNSide (Saturday) | BTN Plus (Sunday) |
| Audio | Huskers.com |
| Game Day Live | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
| Social Media | @GopherBaseball | Facebook |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Nebraska |
| Clips | Star Tribune: Adjustments help Fiedler lead Gophers baseball |
April 9, 2015
LAST WEEKEND/THIS WEEK
· The Gophers split a Saturday doubleheader at Rutgers, then lost 6-5 in the series finale to 1-2 at Rutgers.
· Minnesota collected 39 hits to bat .331 in the series, but left 35 runners on base. Michael Handel batted 9-for-15 (.600) with two doubles and five RBIs.
· In Saturday's game 2 win, the Gophers had a 11-3 and held on to win 11-9.
· On Sunday, Minnesota led 5-3in the fifth. Rutgers tied it in the seventh and scored the winning run after an error in the eighth.
· The Gophers outhit Carleton 16-3 in an 11-0 Wednesday win.
GOPHERS NOTABLES
· RF/RHP Matt Fiedler leads the Gophers in batting (.346) and ERA (1.64). He has made nine relief appearances for a total of 11.0 IP.
· Minnesota has converted 42 of its 53 stolen base attempts. The Gophers stole 39 total bases last season. They are currently fourth in the Big Ten in steals. Matt Fiedler has 11.
· The Gophers' team batting average has increased from .245 to .262 over the past four games.
SERIES NOTABLES
· This Gophers are 8-19 against Nebraska under John Anderson, including a 1-8 mark in conference play. The Huskers swept Minnesota in 2014 at Siebert Field.
· Minnesota last beat Nebraska on May 11, 2013. It was a 4-3 win at home.
ABOUT THE CORNHUSKERS
· The pitching rotation for Nebraska: RHP Chance Sinclair, LHP Kyle Kubat, RHP Derek Burkamper. Sinclair is 4-4 with a 3.60 ERA. Kubat is 4-1 with a 2.04 ERA in 52.0 IP. Sinclair (35) and Kubat (34) lead the Huskers in strikeouts. Burkamper holds a 3.14 ERA and 4-1 record.
· Nebraska's team ERA is 2.68, second in the Big Ten.
· The Huskers are batting .272, with OF Ryan Boldt hitting a team-high .333.
· Head coach Darin Erstad is in his fourth season after guiding the Huskers to an NCAA bid in 2014.
· Nebraska swept Texas two weekends ago. In their Big Ten series, the Huskers have swept Michigan and been swept at Maryland.
BATS HEATING UP
The Gophers average has increased from .254 to .262 in the past four games. In that time, Michael Handel and Dan Motl have raised their averages past the .300 mark. Handel went from .246 to .326 on 11-for-17 hitting, and Motl from .270 to .311 with an 8-for-16 stretch. Minnesota hit four home runs, two triples and 12 doubles combined against Rutgers and Carleton.
FIEDLER ON FIRE
Right fielder/pitcher Matt Fiedler is leading the Gophers in batting (.346), slugging (.505), on base percentage (.419), runs (26), hits (37), RBIs (20), total bases (54) and stolen bases (11-for-13). He is tied for first in home runs (3), walks (13) and triples (2). Fiedler has the second-most at bats on the team (107), but has only struck out seven times. He also has a 1.64 ERA in 11.0 innings of relief on the mound. He has allowed just thre hits and two runs.
GOPHERS GOING YARD
The Gophers have already surpassed their 2014 season home run total of 12 with 17 this season, in the new flat-seamed baseball era. Tony Skjefte and Matt Fiedler lead the way with three, while Matt Stemper, Michael Handel, Jordan Smith and Dan Motl have two.
