University of Minnesota Athletics
No. 25 Minnesota Welcomes North Dakota State
4/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 18, 2016
The No. 25 Minnesota baseball program is set to play host to North Dakota State for a midweek non-conference contest on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. inside the friendly confines of Siebert Field.
The Gophers (21-11, 6-2 Big Ten) are one of the hottest teams in the country, having won 11 of their last 13 contests, including four wins against ranked foes. Minnesota has already matched its win total from a year ago with 20 games remaining on the regular season schedule.
At the plate, the Maroon and Gold are the nation's fifth-best batting team with a .327 team clip. Matt Fiedler (.414), Terrin Vavra (.390) and Austin Athmann (.381) lead the club and rank in the top 100 in the country, with Fiedler sitting in 20th.
Athmann paces the Big Ten with a scorching .691 slugging percentage that includes team-highs in 12 doubles and six home runs.
Toeing the rubber, Dalton Sawyer is positioned in second in the conference with 58 strikeouts and has done so in 50.0 innings pitched. Southpaw Jordan Jess has converted all five save opportunities and has contributed 18 strikeouts in 13.1 innings of work out of the bullpen, while holding hitters to a .224 batting clip.
The Gophers also rank as the No. 11 fielding team in Division I. As a defense, Minnesota has a fielding percentage of .980 through 32 games played and has just 24 errors.
After the midweek matchup with the Bison, the Maroon and Gold will hit the road for seven straight games, beginning with a league series at Northwestern, April 22-24.
Fan Advisory
Fans planning to attend the games should be aware that the main parking option for the general public will be the 4th St. ramp. All fans entering will do so at the 8th Street gate. A-Frame signage will be displayed on 15th Ave. and 8th St. to help direct patrons.
Coverage
Tuesday's matchup will feature a Student U production and will be available on BTN Plus. Live stats will also be available on the schedule page of GopherSports.com.
All-Time Series: North Dakota State
The Gophers and Bison have met 37 times in series history that dates back to 1948. Minnesota has won five of the last six matchups since 2012. The two teams split last season's results with each team winning on its own turf. In Minnesota's win, Schaefbauer went 3-for-5 with two runs, two RBI and two stolen bases to lead the team to a 13-5 victory. The first game of the 2016 series was cancelled due to unfavorable weather conditions.
Scouting the Bison
North Dakota State comes into the duel with a 17-16 overall mark. The Bison had a six-game winning streak last weekend when they were swept by common foe South Dakota State. Drew Fearing paces the club with a .352 batting average and a team-best 43 hits, including eight doubles. Ben Peterson has been the run producer with 24 RBI and a team-high .461 slugging percentage. On the mound, bullpen ace Brian VanderWoude is 6-1 with two saves and touts a 3.37 ERA with 43 strikeouts. North Dakota State has had eight different pitchers start a game with the best ERA being from Reed Pfannenstein at 3.82.
Gophers Connection
Current North Dakota State pitching coach Tyler Oakes is the son of Minnesota pitching coach Todd Oakes. Tyler joined the Bison staff in 2013 and was instrumental in the development of draft pick Jay Flaa. In his career with the Gophers, Oakes was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten performer from 2006-09, when he pitched in the starting rotation as a sophomore and worked out of the bullpen for three seasons.
| No. 25 Minnesota (21-11, 6-2 Big Ten) vs. North Dakota State (17-16, 5-10 Summit) | |
| Date | Time | Tuesday, April 19 | 6 p.m. |
| Location | Siebert Field | Minneapolis, Minn. |
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com |
| Live Video | BTN Plus |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Day Live | Click Here |
| Social Media | @GopherBaseball | Facebook | Instagram |
The No. 25 Minnesota baseball program is set to play host to North Dakota State for a midweek non-conference contest on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. inside the friendly confines of Siebert Field.
The Gophers (21-11, 6-2 Big Ten) are one of the hottest teams in the country, having won 11 of their last 13 contests, including four wins against ranked foes. Minnesota has already matched its win total from a year ago with 20 games remaining on the regular season schedule.
At the plate, the Maroon and Gold are the nation's fifth-best batting team with a .327 team clip. Matt Fiedler (.414), Terrin Vavra (.390) and Austin Athmann (.381) lead the club and rank in the top 100 in the country, with Fiedler sitting in 20th.
Athmann paces the Big Ten with a scorching .691 slugging percentage that includes team-highs in 12 doubles and six home runs.
Toeing the rubber, Dalton Sawyer is positioned in second in the conference with 58 strikeouts and has done so in 50.0 innings pitched. Southpaw Jordan Jess has converted all five save opportunities and has contributed 18 strikeouts in 13.1 innings of work out of the bullpen, while holding hitters to a .224 batting clip.
The Gophers also rank as the No. 11 fielding team in Division I. As a defense, Minnesota has a fielding percentage of .980 through 32 games played and has just 24 errors.
After the midweek matchup with the Bison, the Maroon and Gold will hit the road for seven straight games, beginning with a league series at Northwestern, April 22-24.
Fan Advisory
Fans planning to attend the games should be aware that the main parking option for the general public will be the 4th St. ramp. All fans entering will do so at the 8th Street gate. A-Frame signage will be displayed on 15th Ave. and 8th St. to help direct patrons.
Coverage
Tuesday's matchup will feature a Student U production and will be available on BTN Plus. Live stats will also be available on the schedule page of GopherSports.com.
All-Time Series: North Dakota State
The Gophers and Bison have met 37 times in series history that dates back to 1948. Minnesota has won five of the last six matchups since 2012. The two teams split last season's results with each team winning on its own turf. In Minnesota's win, Schaefbauer went 3-for-5 with two runs, two RBI and two stolen bases to lead the team to a 13-5 victory. The first game of the 2016 series was cancelled due to unfavorable weather conditions.
Scouting the Bison
North Dakota State comes into the duel with a 17-16 overall mark. The Bison had a six-game winning streak last weekend when they were swept by common foe South Dakota State. Drew Fearing paces the club with a .352 batting average and a team-best 43 hits, including eight doubles. Ben Peterson has been the run producer with 24 RBI and a team-high .461 slugging percentage. On the mound, bullpen ace Brian VanderWoude is 6-1 with two saves and touts a 3.37 ERA with 43 strikeouts. North Dakota State has had eight different pitchers start a game with the best ERA being from Reed Pfannenstein at 3.82.
Gophers Connection
Current North Dakota State pitching coach Tyler Oakes is the son of Minnesota pitching coach Todd Oakes. Tyler joined the Bison staff in 2013 and was instrumental in the development of draft pick Jay Flaa. In his career with the Gophers, Oakes was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten performer from 2006-09, when he pitched in the starting rotation as a sophomore and worked out of the bullpen for three seasons.
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