University of Minnesota Athletics
No. 11 Gophers Open B1G Tournament Wednesday
5/22/2018 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
| 2018 Big Ten Tournament (May 23-27, 2018) |
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| Game 1: (1) No. 11 Gophers (37-13) vs. (8) Michigan State |
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| Date/Time |
Wednesday, May 23, 5 p.m. |
| Location | T.D. Ameritrade Park, Omaha, Neb. |
| Follow Live | TV: BTN | BTN2Go | Live Stats |
| Weather | Mostly cloudy, 91°/87°, 4% precipitation, SSE 14 mph |
| Game 2: Gophers vs. (4) Illinois OR (5) Indiana |
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| Date/Time | (with win) Thursday, May 24, 9 p.m. (with loss) Thursday, May 24, 1 p.m. |
| Location | T.D. Ameritrade Park, Omaha, Neb. |
| Follow Live | TV: BTN | BTN2Go | Live Stats |
| Weather | Possible thunderstorms, 81°/71°, 52% precipitation, S 10 mph |
| More Info |
Tournament Central | Bracket | Minnesota Notes | MSU Notes |
| Social Media | @GopherBaseball | Facebook | Instagram |
OMAHA, Neb. – The No. 11-ranked Gopher Baseball team opens the Big Ten Tournament Wednesday against Michigan State, a team they hosted less than two weeks ago at Siebert Field.
Junior right-hander Jake Stevenson takes the mound for No. 11 Minnesota (37-13) while senior right-hander Ethan Landon takes the hill for Michigan State (20-30) in the opener. The match-up will be game three on Wednesday, set for 5 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
Big Ten Champions
With wins in each of its eight Big Ten Conference series, Minnesota claimed the 24th Big Ten Regular Season Championship in program history, celebrating Saturday after a 5-3 win over Rutgers. Head coach John Anderson won his 11th title with the program, and the team received the top seed in this week’s Big Ten Tournament. The only time in program history the Gophers have won both the regular season and tournament titles was the 2004 campaign.
All-Big Ten Recognition
Minnesota boasts seven players receiving All-Big Ten recognition this season. Patrick Fredrickson received the league’s Pitcher and Freshman of the Year honors, while head coach John Anderson received the Big Ten Coach of the Year title for the eighth time in his career. Fredrickson, reliever Max Meyer, and shortstop Terrin Vavra landed First Team recognition. Third baseman Micah Coffey, starting pitcher Reggie Meyer, and outfielder Ben Mezzenga earned a spot on the Second Team All-Big Ten, while second baseman Luke Pettersen received a Third Team selection.
Gophers in the Polls
Minnesota went 3-0 on the week to continue its ascent in the national polls. Perfect Game, Baseball America, and D1Baseball.com all agree, placing the Gophers as the No. 11-ranked team in the poll. The Maroon & Gold remain 15th in the Collegiate Baseball News poll. The NCBWA and USA Today/Coaches Poll both placed the Gophers at No. 12.
One-Two Punch
Minnesota is 23-3 when Reggie Meyer and Patrick Fredrickson start on the mound and have just one defeat in the last 21 starts by the duo.
NCAA Superlatives
Minnesota continues to boast one of the top statistical teams in the country. The pitching staff currently ranks fifth in WHIP at 1.19 and 11th in ERA at 3.22. The Gophers have allowed just 3.16 walks per nine inning, and their six shutouts are among the top totals in the nation. Offensively, Minnesota ranks 17th in team batting average at .299, 33rd in on-base percentage at .391, and 30th in scoring at 6.9 runs per game. Terrin Vavra and Ben Mezzenga are both among the top hitters in the nation. Vavra’s .387 batting average ranks 25th while Mezzenga is not far behind at .377 at 40th. Vavra is also the 39th toughest to strike out with 11.6 plate appearances per K. On the pitching side, Patrick Fredrickson ranks 18th with his 1.80 ERA and 20th with his 0.94 WHIP. Reggie Meyer has allowed just 1.26 walks per nine innings, the 17th-lowest total in the nation. Max Meyer’s 14 saves are tied for the fourth-highest total in the nation, with only six relievers having more this season.
Chasing the Record Books
With eight victories this season, Patrick Fredrickson and Brett Schulze are nearing the all-time single-season highs for the Gopher. Six players are tied for fourth all-time with 10 wins each, the most recent Glen Perkins in 2003. Max Meyer’s 22 appearances out of the bullpen are nearing him for the top-10 all-time at Minnesota, where 25 games matches ninth place. Meyer is also currently third-place all-time in single season saves for the Gophers with 14. Only Brian Glowicki (16, 2017) and Scott Matyas (15, 2009) have more.
Against the Competition
Minnesota did not play Michigan or Illinois during the regular season, but matched up with the other five teams in the tournament in the last 40 days. The Gophers went 11-3 against the field this year. Terrin Vavra led the offense, batting .400 (20-for-50) with four home runs, two doubles, 15 RBIs, and 15 runs scored while striking out just five times in 58 plate appearances. Cole McDevitt slugged a team-leading five home runs against Indiana, Iowa, MSU, OSU, and Purdue, driving in 12 runs and crossing the plate 19 times. Max Meyer collected five saves while allowing just one earned run in 10.1 innings and seven appearances. Patrick Fredrickson went 3-0 in five starts, posting a 2.03 ERA, while Reggie Meyer was 2-1 and 4.50 in five starts, striking out 21 in 30.0 innings.
Going Streaking!
Terrin Vavra’s team season-long 12-game hitting streak came to an end in game two with Rutgers. Ben Mezzenga now owns the current long streak for the Gophers of four games. Luke Pettersen has reached base in 25 consecutive games while Mezzenga has reached base in 23-straight.
Can’t Hold Them Down
Minnesota’s pitching staff now has six shutouts this season after defeating Rutgers 4-0 on May 17. The Gophers have not been shut out themselves since April 16, 2017, a span of 76 games.
Ins & Outs
Minnesota is the only team in the nation to win each of its conference series during the 2018 season. The team has won 10-straight series overall ... Riley Smith made the no. 3 spot on Sportscenter Top-10 for his running catch last Tuesday at St. John’s, smashing into the wall ... Terrin Vavra became the second Gopher to hit two home runs in a game when he launched two big flies against the Red Storm, the first being Jordan Kozicky back in the season opener at Georgia Tech on Feb. 16 ... Minnesota currently owns an 11-4 record against the RPI Top 50 ... the Gophers are one of just three teams (Arkansas, St. John’s) to rank in the top-30 in both ERA and batting average this season.
Academic Honors
Micah Coffey earned a spot on the Google Cloud Academic All-District Team, selected by CoSIDA on Thursday. He now advances to the ballot for the Academic All-America team.
Stopper of the Year Watchlist
Earlier this month, freshman Max Meyer landed on the midseason watch list for the NCBWA “Stopper of the Year” National Relief Pitcher of the Year award. His 14 saves are among the highest totals in the nation. Minnesota’s Brian Glowicki landed on the midseason list last year, finishing his senior season with a program-record 16 saves.
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