University of Minnesota Athletics
Offseason Outlook: Ohio State, Bethel, Indiana
1/31/2018 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. In the penultimate edition, we examine two more Big Ten Conference rivals as well as a local Minnesota opponent.
Scouting the Buckeyes Website | @OhioState_BASE
Ohio State finished in the bottom third of the Big Ten standings a season ago at 8-16 in league play and 22-34 overall … head coach Greg Beals returns for his eighth season leading the Buckeyes in 2018 … sophomore outfielder Dominic Canzone is back after an impressive rookie season, earning Third Team All-Big honors. He batted .343 while driving in 36 runs and scoring 22 … Ohio State will need to replace outfielder Tre' Gantt, selected in the 2017 MLB Draft after scoring 46 runs during his junior season and slugging a team-leading 13 doubles … senior right-hander Seth Kinker is back after collecting seven saves lats season while posting a 2.95 ERA in 24 appearances including three starts. He struck out 54 in 58.0 innings … junior lefty Connor Curlis made 20 appearances and eight starts, allowing opponents to bat just .237 against him for the year … Minnesota owns a slight edge in the all-time series with the Buckeyes, 93-91-1, and the Gophers swept a three-game set with Ohio State last season.
Scouting the Royals Website | @baseball_bethel
Bethel finished 33-10 while competing in NCAA III last season, claiming a MIAC Championship with a 16-4 regular season mark … head coach Brian Raabe has led the Royals since 2012 and is a 1990 graduate of the University of Minnesota, playing for the Gophers and head coach John Anderson from 1987-90 … junior outfielder Sam Horner returns after landing first-team All-Conference honors a season ago, posting a .358 average and .538 slugging mark against MIAC foes … the team will need to replace the efforts of graduated outfielder Bryce Marquardt, who batted .333 for the season with seven doubles, 16 RBIs, and 43 runs scored … junior hurler Michael Bohlke posted a 2.57 ERA a season ago, striking out 44 in 56.0 innings across 14 appearances, including eight starts … sophomore Jake Marsh returns after an impressive debut season, collecting seven saves while striking out 27 in 27.2 innings … the Gophers are 4-0 all-time against Bethel, with the last outing a 16-2 victory in favor of Minnesota back on April 24, 2002.
Scouting the Hoosiers Website | @indianabase
Indiana finished sixth in the Big Ten last season at 14-9-1 but posted a 34-24-2 overall record … head coach Chris Lemonis enters his fourth season leading the Hoosiers in 2018 … junior infielder Matt Lloyd earned an ABCA/Rawlings All-Midwest Region team a season ago, batting .301 with 16 doubles and 11 home runs. He also owned a team-best 2.23 ERA in 20 bullpen appearances, collecting nine saves for Indiana … senior Logan Sowers slugged 13 home runs and 19 doubles, driving in 43 runs and crossing the plate 34 times in 59 games … junior right-hander Jonathan Stiever returns ater posting a 4.31 ERA in a team-leading 14 starts, striking out 57 in 77.1 innings … Minnesota boasts an impressive 108-47 record vs. the Hoosiers. Indiana claimed 2-out-of-3 last regular season against the Gophers in Bloomington.
Minnesota heads to Ohio State for a three-game series Friday-Sunday, April 27-29. The Gophers and Buckeyes meet at 6:35 p.m. ET Friday, 2:05 p.m. Saturday, and 12:05 p.m. 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)
Ohio State, Bethel, Indiana (Jan. 31)
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