Defending B1G Champion Gophers Announce Schedule

MINNEAPOLIS – The defending Big Ten Regular Season and Tournament Champion Gopher Baseball team has revealed its path to a successful title defense and a return trip to the NCAA Tournament, as head coach John Anderson announced the team's 2019 schedule Tuesday.

Minnesota ended its season in the NCAA Super Regional round against eventual National Champion Oregon State to finish 44-15 overall in 2018. The Gophers won five-straight games to end the regular season and claim the Big Ten title with an 18-4 conference mark, extending that out to an eventual 12-game stretch as they won the Big Ten and NCAA Minneapolis Regional tournaments.

The Maroon & Gold enjoyed plenty of success at home last season, finishing 21-7 in games at Siebert Field and U.S. Bank Stadium. Minnesota will not be able to enjoy its home-away-from-home this season though as USBS will host the 2018 NCAA Final Four for men's basketball next April. Instead, the Gophers will set out on the road for its first seven weeks of competition.

The season opens Friday, Feb. 15 at the Surprise Baseball Classic in Surprise, Arizona. Minnesota will take on Gonzaga in the opener, one of four teams to compete at the Minneapolis Regional last season, but the only one that the Gophers did not match up against a season ago. Another match-up with Gonzaga will close out the weekend on Monday, Feb. 18, while Minnesota will get a rematch with Oregon State on Sunday, Feb. 17 and face New Mexico on Saturday, Feb. 16.

The Gophers will set out on the road for three non-conference series during the early schedule, taking on Dallas Baptist on Feb. 22-24, NC State on March 1-3, and Long Beach State on March 15-17. Single match-ups against Seattle on March 11 and Pepperdine on March 19 also highlight the road schedule.

After the success of last season's Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge at the DQ Classic in Minneapolis, Minnesota will travel to Seattle's Safeco Field for a tournament hosted by Washington on March 8-10. The Gophers will face Oregon State for a second time on Friday, San Diego on Saturday, and the host Huskies on Sunday evening. Washington reached the College World Series in 2018, another of six NCAA Tournament teams from last year on Minnesota's 2019 non-conference slate.

The Gophers open their Big Ten schedule on the road at Penn State on March 22-24. The two teams matched up in a neutral-site series at Purdue's Alexander Field last season, which Minnesota dominated, scoring 32 runs. The team makes its Siebert Field debut the following weekend as Nebraska arrives in Minneapolis for a three-game set March 29-31. The road B1G schedule also includes series at Michigan April 5-7, Indiana on April 26-28, and Northwestern to end the regular season on May 16-18.

After the Michigan trip, the Gophers begin an eight-game homestand, hosting North Dakota State on Tuesday, April 9, Illinois for a three-game set April 12-14, and South Dakota State on Tuesday, April 16. Minnesota hosts Oklahoma for a three-game non-conference series on April 19-21, with the Saturday game set to be played at Target Field. The Gophers finished 2-0 last season at the home of the Minnesota Twins when field conditions diverted a pair of games to downtown Minneapolis. Minnesota and Oklahoma have not met since the 1973 season with the all-time series knotted at 10-10-1.

The Maroon & Gold are not done at home after hosting the Sooners as the Gophers return for a 10-game homestand beginning Tuesday, April 30 with a rematch with NDSU. Minnesota then hosts Milwaukee on Wednesday, May 1, SDSU on Tuesday, May 7, and Omaha on Wednesday, May 8 to round out the non-conference schedule while also hosting a pair of Big Ten series against Ohio State on May 3-5 and Maryland on May 10-12.

The Big Ten Tournament will once again take place at TD Ameritrade Park on May 22-26. Minnesota won four-straight games last year in Omaha, Nebraska to claim the crown and will look to repeat that fortune and earn its third trip in the last four years to the NCAA postseason. The NCAA Tournament begins May 31 at Regional sites and concludes in late June at the NCAA College World Series in Omaha.

"The 2019 schedule will be challenging in terms of the quality of our opponents and the fact that without US Bank Stadium this season, we will play the first 21 games of the season on the road," said Anderson. "Throughout my career, I have always believed in playing a strong, competitive schedule each season that will allow our players the opportunity to grow into a championship caliber team. The strong Big Ten Schedule and the series with Oklahoma at Siebert Field and Target Field will provide our fans with some exciting college baseball action in April and May."

The reigning Big Ten Coach of the Year, Anderson returns for his 38th season leading Minnesota. During his tenure, the Gophers have won 10 Big Ten Regular Season titles and 10 Big Ten Tournament titles and reached the NCAA tournament on 19 occasions. In total, the program has won 24 Big Ten Championships and those 10 Big Ten Tournament crowns. Last season's NCAA Super Regional berth was the first ever for Minnesota, and the Gophers advanced through the Regional round for the first time since 1977, when teams advanced straight from Regionals to the College World Series. Minnesota has won three NCAA National Championships.

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