.png&width=42&height=42&type=webp)
University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Baseball Readies for NCAA Regional
6/2/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
| Minnesota (34-20, 16-7) at NCAA College Station Regional | |
| Friday, June 3 | 3 p.m. | Minnesota vs. Wake Forest |
| Location | Blue Bell Park | College Station, Texas |
| Live Video | ESPN3 |
| Live Stats | |
| Game Day Live | Click Here |
| Tournament Central | Click Here |
| Social Media | @GopherBaseball | Facebook | Instagram |
Minnesota Game Notes 
| Press Conference
Minnesota makes its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2010 and will feature as the No. 2 seed in the College Station Regional. The Gophers will tangle with No. 3 seed Wake Forest to kick off the annual double-elimination postseason tournament on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. Depending on results, Minnesota will see either No. 1 seed Texas A&M or No. 4 seed Binghamton on Saturday.
Coverage
All games in the regional will be featured on WatchESPN and ESPN3. Games against Texas A&M have the potential to be broadcasted on the SEC Network. Live stats will be available on the baseball schedule page of GopherSports.com.
Last Time in the Tournament
In 2010, the Gophers were selected to play in the Fullerton Regional. Minnesota won its opening two games against Cal State Fullerton and New Mexico by scores of 3-1 and 6-4, respectively. Minnesota dropped its next two contests against host Fullerton to drop out of the NCAA Tournament.
Experienced
Head coach John Anderson leads his 18th team into the NCAA Tournament. In his previous 17 tries, Anderson and the Gophers have amassed 15 postseason victories, including five in the last three appearances.
Doing Work Against the Bullpen
As a team, Minnesota has made the most of its opportunities against relief pitchers this season. The Gophers have totaled 295 hits and tout a .332 batting average against opposing bullpens. The hit total is good for 46 percent of the team's total hits through 47 percent of the innings (223.1). The Maroon and Gold have raced across 174 runs and opposing pitchers are throwing an ERA of 6.37.
On Pace for Greatness
Dalton Sawyer is having one of the best senior seasons in program history. After totaling six strikeouts in his start in the Big Ten Tournament, he moved his season total to 107. There have only been four other instances when a pitcher has reached triple digits during a season in program history. The last player to do it was Glen Perkins, who did it twice, with 117 strikeouts in 2003 and 113 send-downs in 2004. Sawyer needs just two more to pass Dave Winfield (109, 1973) and three to eclipse Mike Diebolt (110, 1997) to vault into third place in program history for a single season. With 223 career strikeouts, the southpaw is in seventh place on the all-time career list. If he notches eight or more strikeouts, Sawyer can move past Joe Westfall (228), Dave Winfield (229) and Glen Perkins (230) for fourth on the all-time list. C.J. Woodrow paces the Gophers all-time with 267 send-downs in his four years while donning the Maroon and Gold.
All-Time Series
Minnesota and Wake Forest have dueled just three times in the series history with the Demon Deacons taking all three decisions. The first meeting came in 2000 and the last time these two programs met was in 2011. The Gophers have not fared well against teams from the ACC in the past, holding a 27-67 record, but the Maroon and Gold have amassed wins against seven different opponents in the league, including 18 against Notre Dame.
Scouting the Demon Deacons
Wake Forest rides into the NCAA Tournament having won three of its last four decisions, including a pair of one-run victories against NCAA Regional qualifiers Duke and Virginia. Dual-threat Will Craig leads the team in batting average (.392) and ERA (2.42). Craig has amassed 65 RBI through 32 extra-base hits, including 16 home runs. Gavin Sheets leads the club with 71 hits, including 12 doubles and nine roundtrippers. On the mound, starter Parker Dunshee has racked up 91 strikeouts through 93.2 innings pitched. Out of the bullpen, John McCarren has appeared in 26 games and has notched 40 strikeouts with an ERA of 3.74.
Mr. 1,200
Head coach John Anderson won his 1,200th and 1,201st games during the non-conference tilt with Kansas. Anderson became just the 24th coach ever to accomplish the feat and the ninth to do it all at one school. He has spent his entire 35-year career patrolling the dugout as the lead man for the Minnesota program.
Good Things Come in Two
So far in 2016, there have been 177 instances where a Gopher has tallied a multi-hit game. Matt Fiedler leads the way with 27, while Dan Motl (25), Austin Athmann (21) and Connor Schaefbauer (20) are close behind. Athmann has the team-high with five hits in one game.
Keep the Coffey Hot
Micah Coffey brings a career-best 17-game hitting streak into College Station and has reached base safely in his last 19 games played. In that span, Coffey has raised his batting average by 46 points up to a solid .332 clip. In the month of May, Coffey went 23-for-51 (.451) with four doubles, one triple, five home runs and 14 RBI, while boasting an .863 slugging percentage.
Made in May
Senior relief pitcher Jordan Jess made May is best month of the season yet, with most of the innings thrown in the heart of crunch time. The southpaw appeared in seven games and converted all three save opportunities. Jess touted a 0.96 ERA through 9.1 innings and amassed a total of 12 strikeouts, compared to just one walk. Only four batters were able to reach base during that span for the Gophers.
Lefties Galore
Minnesota boasts 16 left-handed hitters on its roster this season. That number is the highest among Power-5 schools, with Texas (15), Ohio State (14) and Virginia (14) the next closest. Terrin Vavra leads all left-handed hitters in Minnesota's lineup with a .375 average, while Alex Boxwell (.333), Micah Coffey (.332) and Connor Schaefbauer (.316) all tout averages above .300.
Big Man on Campus
Junior Matt Fiedler added to his stellar 2016 campaign after being named the Big Ten Player of the Year. He earned top honors in the conference after ranking in the top five in batting average (.377), hits (83), total bases (117) and victories on the mound (seven). Fiedler became the first player since Luke Appert in 2013 to be named the league's top player.
30-Plus
Minnesota has put its potent lineup on full display all season long. Six different players have accumulated 30 or more RBI on the season from a multitude of spots in the lineup. Austin Athmann (39) and Micah Coffey (39) pace the team and occupy the No. 4 and No. 5 spots in the batting order, respectively. Matt Fiedler (36) - the usual third hitter - and Connor Schaefbauer (36), who has batted anywhere from second to seventh. Jordan Smith (31) has provided insurance on the back end of the lineup having occupied the bottom three spots in the order in 42 of 48 games played this season.
Program Upgrades
Minnesota received two upgrades this season. Its new state-of-the-art locker room has been ready for use for a few months and the new hitting facility that opened midway through the season, right next to Siebert Field.
