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University of Minnesota Athletics
Offseason Outlook: Penn State, Purdue, Iowa
1/24/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
MINNEAPOLIS - Heading into the 2018 season, GopherSports.com will take a look at each of the Gopher Baseball program's 2018 foes. This week, we inch ever closer to the start of the season and dive head-first into Big Ten play focusing on Minnesota's match-ups with Penn State, Purdue, and Iowa.
Scouting the Nittany Lions Website | @PennStateBASE
Penn State finished at the bottom of the Big Ten standings a season ago, posting a 4-20 mark in conference play, but 18-37 overall … head coach Rob Cooper returns for his fifth season at the helm of the Nittany Lions … Penn State will need to replace All-Big Ten pitcher Sal Biasi, selected in the 2017 MLB Draft, after posting a 3.48 ERA and 5-5 record in 14 starts … outfielder Braxton Giavedoni returns after leading PSU offensively in his rookie season, hitting .287 with 10 doubles, and scoring 30 runs … junior infielder Conlin Hughes returns after hitting .255, scoring 29 runs, and swiping seven bases … junior starting pitcher Justin Hagenman returns after posting a 5.49 ERA, striking out 75 in 80.1 innings, but finishing just 1-11 in 14 starts … the Gophers own a 48-24 all-time record against Penn State, having won nine straight including sweeping the series last season.
Scouting the Boilermakers Website | @PurdueBaseball
Purdue also finished in the bottom half of the league standings last year, finishing even at 12-12 against the Big Ten and 29-27 overall … Mark Wasikowski returns for his second season leading the Boilermakers in 2018 … catcher Bryce Bonner returns after earning the title of Freshman All-America last season, batting .273 in 47 games, slugging 13 doubles … outfielder Skyler Hunter returns after leading the Boilermakers batting .323 in54 games, lifting nine doubles and driving in 34 runs … lefty Ross Learnard earned Preseason All-America honors after posting a 0.58 ERA in 27 appearances out of the bullpen a season ago, collecting four saves … junior starter Gareth Stroh is also back after posting a team-leading 3.89 ERA in 15 starts … the Boilermakers took 2-out-of-3 from Minnesota last season, but the Gophers are 119-54-2 all-time against Purdue.
Scouting the Hawkeyes Website | @UIBaseball
The Big Ten Tournament champions, Iowa finished just behind the Gophers in last year's Big Ten standings, finishing 39-22 overall and 15-9 against the conference … Rick Heller is the fifth-year head coach of the Hawkeyes … Iowa will need to replace the production of Big Ten Player of the Year, first baseman Jake Adams, who slugged 29 home runs, drove in 72 runs, and crossed the plate 55 times before being selected in the 2017 MLB Draft … junior outfielder Robert Neustrom returns after batting .310, scoring 51 runs, driving in 55, and lifting nine home runs … the Hawkeyes bid farewell to their top two starting pitchers as Ryan Erickson and Nick Gallagher accounted for 27 starts. Erickson finished with a 3.00 ERA while Gallagher sat at 3.48 … lefty reliever Kyle Shrimp returns after posting a 3.18 ERA in 18 appearances … Minnesota owns a 184-120 record all-time against Iowa, but the Gophers will be looking for payback this season as the Hawkeyes ousted them from the 2017 Big Ten Tournament.
Minnesota hosts Penn State in the first series of the season at Siebert Field on April 6-8. Game times are set for 4 p.m. Friday, and 1 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. The Maroon & Gold open their season officially at Georgia Tech on Friday, Feb. 16 at 4 p.m. ET.
Check out previous Offseason Outlook previews in the archive:
Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, Georgia State (Dec. 6)
Boston College, Chicago State, Mount St. Mary's (Dec. 13)
North Dakota State, South Dakota State (Dec. 20)
DQ Classic/Big Ten-Pac 12 Challenge (Dec. 27)
Omaha, UW-Milwaukee, Creighton (Jan. 3)
George Washington, UT-Arlington, TCU (Jan. 11)
Nebraska, St. John's, St. Louis (Jan. 18)
Penn State, Purdue, Iowa (Jan. 24)
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