University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, February 21
Ft. Myers, FL
5:05 PM
University of Minnesota
0
at
16
Minnesota Twins
Players Mentioned
Gophers Drop Exhibition Contest to Twins in Fort Myers
2/21/2020 9:37:00 PM | Baseball
Fort Myers, Fla. – The Gopher Baseball program traveled to Fort Myers on Friday for a standalone exhibition contest against the Minnesota Twins, dropping the game to their Twin Cities pro counterpart, 16-0.
Competing against high-end Major League prospects and non-roster invitees, the Gophers began the game facing Twins reliever Randy Dobnak. For the first several innings of the game, Dobnak and company held the Maroon and Gold without a hit, before the U finally broke through with a Gabe Knowles single to right in the sixth.
Knowles' hit would be the lone base knock for the Gophers, who were unable to break through into the scoring column.
The other highlight of the night would come from freshman right-handed pitcher Sam Ireland, who produced the only scoreless frame for the U in the fourth. Ireland walked two batters and did not give up a hit against the Twins.
Gopher starter Trent Schoeberl was saddled with the loss, tossing two innings and surrendering eight runs (five earned) on four hits and five walks. Dobnak earned the win, firing two perfect frames with four strikeouts.
Ultimately, the evening was all about the experience for the Gopher Baseball program. Members of the Maroon & Gold spent three hours prior to the start of the game interacting with Twins players and taking in the atmosphere as the two teams took batting and fielding practice.
Head coach John Anderson threw the ceremonial first pitch, receiving an overwhelming applause from the crowd while delivering a strike to home plate.
Quotable
"The experience is invaluable for us and our program. From the standpoint of being able to come into a Major League Spring Training site with a class organization like the Minnesota Twins, our kids get a chance to observe professional players and how they go about their business," said Anderson. "It was a great evening for us and we're grateful for the opportunity. We head home now for the next three weeks at U.S. Bank Stadium and it's going to be a great time for us to improve our ball club."
Notable
Knowles broke up the Twins' combined no-hit bid in the sixth with a single to right field off Major League reliever Blaine Hardy.
Up Next
With the exhibition against the Twins in the books, the Gophers return to Minneapolis for their 2020 home opener at U.S. Bank Stadium against TCU on Saturday, Feb. 22.
Competing against high-end Major League prospects and non-roster invitees, the Gophers began the game facing Twins reliever Randy Dobnak. For the first several innings of the game, Dobnak and company held the Maroon and Gold without a hit, before the U finally broke through with a Gabe Knowles single to right in the sixth.
Knowles' hit would be the lone base knock for the Gophers, who were unable to break through into the scoring column.
The other highlight of the night would come from freshman right-handed pitcher Sam Ireland, who produced the only scoreless frame for the U in the fourth. Ireland walked two batters and did not give up a hit against the Twins.
Gopher starter Trent Schoeberl was saddled with the loss, tossing two innings and surrendering eight runs (five earned) on four hits and five walks. Dobnak earned the win, firing two perfect frames with four strikeouts.
Ultimately, the evening was all about the experience for the Gopher Baseball program. Members of the Maroon & Gold spent three hours prior to the start of the game interacting with Twins players and taking in the atmosphere as the two teams took batting and fielding practice.
Head coach John Anderson threw the ceremonial first pitch, receiving an overwhelming applause from the crowd while delivering a strike to home plate.
Quotable
"The experience is invaluable for us and our program. From the standpoint of being able to come into a Major League Spring Training site with a class organization like the Minnesota Twins, our kids get a chance to observe professional players and how they go about their business," said Anderson. "It was a great evening for us and we're grateful for the opportunity. We head home now for the next three weeks at U.S. Bank Stadium and it's going to be a great time for us to improve our ball club."
Notable
Knowles broke up the Twins' combined no-hit bid in the sixth with a single to right field off Major League reliever Blaine Hardy.
Up Next
With the exhibition against the Twins in the books, the Gophers return to Minneapolis for their 2020 home opener at U.S. Bank Stadium against TCU on Saturday, Feb. 22.
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