University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, February 17
Surprise, AZ
6:00 PM
University of Minnesota
vs
UC Santa Barbara
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
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RHP
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INF
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LHP
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Photo by: Brad Rempel
Gophers Open 135th Season at Sanderson Ford Classic
2/14/2023 2:01:00 PM | Baseball
Minnesota will play four games in four days from Feb. 17-20
Friday, Feb. 17
Minnesota (A) vs. #14 UC Santa Barbara
First Pitch: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Surprise Stadium
Minnesota Starter: LHP Tucker Novotny (1-1, 3.86 ERA in 2022)
UCSB Starter: LHP Mike Gutierrez (9-1, 3.19 ERA in 2022)
Watch: FloBaseball ($)
Saturday, Feb. 18
Minnesota (A) vs. #18 Oregon State
First Pitch: 1 p.m. CT
Location: Surprise Stadium
Minnesota Starter: RHP George Klassen (0-2, 14.09 ERA in 2022)
OSU Starter: RHP Jacob Kmatz (8-2, 4.19 ERA in 2022)
Watch: FloBaseball ($)
Sunday, Feb. 19
Minnesota (H) vs. #14 UC Santa Barbara
First Pitch: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Surprise Stadium
Minnesota Starter: RHP Sam Malec (0-0, 9.88 ERA in 2022)
UCSB Starter: RHP Reed Moring (Freshman in 2023)
Watch: FloBaseball ($)
Monday, Feb. 20
Minnesota (A) vs. New Mexico
First Pitch: 10 a.m. CT
Location: Surprise Stadium
Minnesota Starter: RHP Richie Holetz (1-3, 7.41 ERA in 2022)
UNM Starter: TBA
Watch: FloBaseball ($)
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The University of Minnesota Baseball program is set to open its 135th season in the history of the program this weekend at the Sanderson Ford Classic in Surprise, Ariz. The Gophers will play UCSB twice and Oregon State and New Mexico once each from Friday, Feb. 17 through Monday, Feb. 20. All games can be viewed on FloBaseball.com. Fans will need to pay a monthly subscription fee to access. Tickets for the event are available at SurpriseStadium.com.
MINNESOTA'S HISTORY IN SEASON OPENERS/SURPRISE
-The Gophers are 7-3 in their last 10 season openers. The 'U' defeated Florida Atlantic 9-1 in last year's lidlifter.
-Minnesota last played in Surprise in 2019, going 1-3 with a win and a loss versus Gonzaga and losses to Oregon State and New Mexico.
-The 'U' started off the 2016 season in Surprise, going 3-1 with two wins over Utah, a win over Utah Valley and a narrow 8-7 loss to Oregon State.
JOHN ANDERSON'S 42ND SEASON
-John Anderson is in his 42nd year at the helm of Gopher Baseball and holds a 1,347-964-3 (.582) overall record. This includes a 604-400 (.603) Big Ten record. Under Anderson's watch, the Gophers have won 11 Big Ten titles and have made the NCAA Tournament 19 times.
-The winningest coach in Big Ten history, Anderson won his 600th conference game in late April, a 7-3 win over Penn State. He's the only B1G coach to reach that mark.
-Anderson coached his 1,000th career B1G game last May against Indiana. He's the only coach in conference history to hit that mark.
SERIES HISTORY
-Minnesota leads the all-time series against UCSB, 3-0. The 'U' swept the Gauchos back in 2009.
-Oregon State leads the Gophers, 9-3, all-time. Their last meeting was in Surprise, Ariz., a 13-1 Beavers win in 2019. Prior to that, the two teams met in the 2018 Super Regionals in Corvallis, Ore. OSU went on to win that series and the College World Series.
-The Gophers lead the all-time series against New Mexico, 2-1. The two teams last met in Surprise, Ariz., in 2019. UNM won 11-1.
OPPONENTS IN 2022
-UCSB went 44-14 (27-3 Big West) last year, won the regular season conference title and made the NCAA Tournament.
-Oregon State tallied a 48-18 (20-10 Pac-12) in 2022 before falling in the NCAA Tournament Super Regionals to Auburn in two games.
-New Mexico went 21-33 (10-20 Mountain West) last season and failed to make the postseason.
2022 IN REVIEW
-The Gophers finished 16-36 (6-18 Big Ten). Minnesota took 13th in the Big Ten and missed the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2015.
-Minnesota started its season by going 2-6 on a road trip to Florida, playing FAU, FGCU, Northeastern and Indiana State. The 'U' returned to Minneapolis and went 6-9 to finish March with an 8-15 record heading into Big Ten play.
-The Gophers went 13-16 at home last season, but just 2-18 away from Minneapolis. After winning the season opener 9-1 at FAU, Minnesota lost its next 18 road games before taking down Indiana, 9-8, in the final B1G road game of 2022.
-Minnesota's best win of the year came in a 4-3 decision over No. 23 Maryland on April 10 at Siebert Field. The Gophers took down Air Force, another NCAA Tournament team, 7-6 on March 13.
BIG TEN PLAYERS TO WATCH
-Three Gophers were named as 2023 Big Ten 'Players to Watch' heading into the season. Junior outfielders Boston Merila and Brett Bateman join sophomore pitcher Tucker Novotny on the list. Bateman (.312) and Merila (.267) are Minnesota's leading returning hitters. They are the only two returners to play in all 52 games in 2022.
-Sophomore southpaw Tucker Novotny pitched in only six games last spring, but tallied a 3.86 ERA and a 1-1 record. In his last two appearances of the year, he struck out three and allowed no runs and just one hit in 3.0 scoreless innings against UST. Novotny then pitched a career-long 3.1 innings, striking out three and allowing no earned runs against Omaha.
GOPHERS SWIPED BASES AT A HIGH RATE
-The Gophers were aggressive on the base paths last season, swiping 68 bases in 94 attempts. -The 'U' ranked fifth in the Big Ten (85th nationally) in stolen bases and had contributions from 10 different players. Bateman (21) led the team. His 21 stolen bases tied former Gopher Alex Boxwell (2015-18) for most stolen bases by a Minnesota player since 2010.
-He's was three stolen bases away from tying Matt Nohelty for tenth most stolen bases all-time by a Gopher in a single season.
SOPHOMORE PITCHERS SET THE TONE
-Minnesota's Friday-Saturday-Sunday starters are set to be sophomores Tucker Novotny (LHP), Sam Malec (RHP) and George Klassen (RHP).
-Novotny led all freshmen in 2022 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1-1 record. Malec (10) made the most appearances of the trio, but posted a 9.88 ERA in an up-and-down freshman season.
-Redshirt sophomore George Klassen pitched just 7.2 innings after coming off Tommy John surgery. The flamethrower has been clocked as high as 102 mph and is set for a bounce-back 2023.
NOTABLE DEPARTURES
-Aidan Maldonado (RHP); Minnesota's pitcher of the year in 2022, Maldonado was a 14th round draft pick of the Brewers.
-Jack Kelly (INF/OF); Team MVP last year, Kelly led the team in batting avg. (.324), RBI (45) and slugging (.592).
-J.P. Massey (RHP); Massey was selected in the 7th round of the MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
BATEMAN BACK TO PACE GOPHERS
-Junior center fielder Brett Bateman is back for year three for Minnesota. He's Minnesota's returning leader in average (.312), hits (67), starts (52) and total bases (78).
-The Arden Hills, Minn., native had a team-best 22 multi-hit games as a sophomore in 2022, including 17 two-hit games and five three-hit games. He posted a career-long 14-game hitting streak last year as well.
GOPHERS IN THE PROS
-Left-handed pitcher Lucas Gilbreath pitched in 47 games last year during his second year in the pros for the Colorado Rockies. He went 2-0 with a 4.19 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 43.0 innings pitched. Gilbreath tallied a career-high 12 holds out of the bullpen last summer.
-2020 No. 3 overall MLB Draft pick Max Meyer made his Major League debut last spring for the Miami Marlins. He made two starts, going 5.1 innings in his debut before leaving his second start with an arm injury. Meyer underwent Tommy John surgery, thus ending his 2022 season.
-2018 Gophers All-American shortstop Terrin Vavra was the second Gopher to make his Major League debut. He played in 40 games, hitting .258 with one home run, 12 RBI and 30 total hits. He joined the Baltimore Orioles on July 29, 2022 and played the rest of the season in the big leagues.
-Minnesota has multiple other alumni playing rookie league, A, AA and AAA ball.
MERILA MAKES SOME MAGIC
-Minnesota's Boston Merila was a guy who had a big sophomore year in 2022 to help pace the offense alongside Brett Bateman. Merila played in all 52 games, hitting .267 and improving from .214 as a freshman. He tallied 16 multi-hit games, including five three-hit contests.
-In an eight-game stretch from May 1-17, he went 16-for-32 (.500) with seven multi-hit games, six RBI and nine runs scored.
TWO NEW COACHING STAFF MEMBERS JOIN THE FOLD
-Head coach John Anderson added two new members to the coaching staff this season in Alec Crawford (interim pitching coach) and Mike Kvasnicka (volunteer assistant).
-A 2014 MLB Draft pick of the Rockies, Crawford pitched for two years (2013-14) at the University of Minnesota. He was an All-Big Ten Third Team selection and named the Gophers' David Winfield Pitcher of the Year in his senior season. He tied for the team lead and ranked fifth in the Big Ten with 67 strikeouts.
-Another Gopher great, Kvasnicka was former first round MLB Draft pick in 2010 (33rd, Houston Astros), Kvasnicka spent time in the Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins farm systems (Third base, right field and catcher) over the course of six seasons. He reached AA (New Britain) in 2014 with the Twins before playing with the St. Paul Saints in the American Association in 2015. During his professional baseball career, Kvasnicka played in 535 games, with a career batting average of .269.
CAMBRIA COLLEGE CLASSIC
-Minnesota will host the third ever Cambria College Classic from March 3-5 at U.S. Bank Stadium. Defending national champion Ole Miss, perennial power Vanderbilt and Hawaii will play Minnesota, Maryland and Nebraska in the three-day event.At the conclusion, a champion will be named in addition to the all-tournament team and MVP.
UP NEXT
Minnesota will play three games against Saint Louis at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Fla.
Minnesota (A) vs. #14 UC Santa Barbara
First Pitch: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Surprise Stadium
Minnesota Starter: LHP Tucker Novotny (1-1, 3.86 ERA in 2022)
UCSB Starter: LHP Mike Gutierrez (9-1, 3.19 ERA in 2022)
Watch: FloBaseball ($)
Saturday, Feb. 18
Minnesota (A) vs. #18 Oregon State
First Pitch: 1 p.m. CT
Location: Surprise Stadium
Minnesota Starter: RHP George Klassen (0-2, 14.09 ERA in 2022)
OSU Starter: RHP Jacob Kmatz (8-2, 4.19 ERA in 2022)
Watch: FloBaseball ($)
Sunday, Feb. 19
Minnesota (H) vs. #14 UC Santa Barbara
First Pitch: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Surprise Stadium
Minnesota Starter: RHP Sam Malec (0-0, 9.88 ERA in 2022)
UCSB Starter: RHP Reed Moring (Freshman in 2023)
Watch: FloBaseball ($)
Monday, Feb. 20
Minnesota (A) vs. New Mexico
First Pitch: 10 a.m. CT
Location: Surprise Stadium
Minnesota Starter: RHP Richie Holetz (1-3, 7.41 ERA in 2022)
UNM Starter: TBA
Watch: FloBaseball ($)
SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The University of Minnesota Baseball program is set to open its 135th season in the history of the program this weekend at the Sanderson Ford Classic in Surprise, Ariz. The Gophers will play UCSB twice and Oregon State and New Mexico once each from Friday, Feb. 17 through Monday, Feb. 20. All games can be viewed on FloBaseball.com. Fans will need to pay a monthly subscription fee to access. Tickets for the event are available at SurpriseStadium.com.
MINNESOTA'S HISTORY IN SEASON OPENERS/SURPRISE
-The Gophers are 7-3 in their last 10 season openers. The 'U' defeated Florida Atlantic 9-1 in last year's lidlifter.
-Minnesota last played in Surprise in 2019, going 1-3 with a win and a loss versus Gonzaga and losses to Oregon State and New Mexico.
-The 'U' started off the 2016 season in Surprise, going 3-1 with two wins over Utah, a win over Utah Valley and a narrow 8-7 loss to Oregon State.
JOHN ANDERSON'S 42ND SEASON
-John Anderson is in his 42nd year at the helm of Gopher Baseball and holds a 1,347-964-3 (.582) overall record. This includes a 604-400 (.603) Big Ten record. Under Anderson's watch, the Gophers have won 11 Big Ten titles and have made the NCAA Tournament 19 times.
-The winningest coach in Big Ten history, Anderson won his 600th conference game in late April, a 7-3 win over Penn State. He's the only B1G coach to reach that mark.
-Anderson coached his 1,000th career B1G game last May against Indiana. He's the only coach in conference history to hit that mark.
SERIES HISTORY
-Minnesota leads the all-time series against UCSB, 3-0. The 'U' swept the Gauchos back in 2009.
-Oregon State leads the Gophers, 9-3, all-time. Their last meeting was in Surprise, Ariz., a 13-1 Beavers win in 2019. Prior to that, the two teams met in the 2018 Super Regionals in Corvallis, Ore. OSU went on to win that series and the College World Series.
-The Gophers lead the all-time series against New Mexico, 2-1. The two teams last met in Surprise, Ariz., in 2019. UNM won 11-1.
OPPONENTS IN 2022
-UCSB went 44-14 (27-3 Big West) last year, won the regular season conference title and made the NCAA Tournament.
-Oregon State tallied a 48-18 (20-10 Pac-12) in 2022 before falling in the NCAA Tournament Super Regionals to Auburn in two games.
-New Mexico went 21-33 (10-20 Mountain West) last season and failed to make the postseason.
2022 IN REVIEW
-The Gophers finished 16-36 (6-18 Big Ten). Minnesota took 13th in the Big Ten and missed the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2015.
-Minnesota started its season by going 2-6 on a road trip to Florida, playing FAU, FGCU, Northeastern and Indiana State. The 'U' returned to Minneapolis and went 6-9 to finish March with an 8-15 record heading into Big Ten play.
-The Gophers went 13-16 at home last season, but just 2-18 away from Minneapolis. After winning the season opener 9-1 at FAU, Minnesota lost its next 18 road games before taking down Indiana, 9-8, in the final B1G road game of 2022.
-Minnesota's best win of the year came in a 4-3 decision over No. 23 Maryland on April 10 at Siebert Field. The Gophers took down Air Force, another NCAA Tournament team, 7-6 on March 13.
BIG TEN PLAYERS TO WATCH
-Three Gophers were named as 2023 Big Ten 'Players to Watch' heading into the season. Junior outfielders Boston Merila and Brett Bateman join sophomore pitcher Tucker Novotny on the list. Bateman (.312) and Merila (.267) are Minnesota's leading returning hitters. They are the only two returners to play in all 52 games in 2022.
-Sophomore southpaw Tucker Novotny pitched in only six games last spring, but tallied a 3.86 ERA and a 1-1 record. In his last two appearances of the year, he struck out three and allowed no runs and just one hit in 3.0 scoreless innings against UST. Novotny then pitched a career-long 3.1 innings, striking out three and allowing no earned runs against Omaha.
GOPHERS SWIPED BASES AT A HIGH RATE
-The Gophers were aggressive on the base paths last season, swiping 68 bases in 94 attempts. -The 'U' ranked fifth in the Big Ten (85th nationally) in stolen bases and had contributions from 10 different players. Bateman (21) led the team. His 21 stolen bases tied former Gopher Alex Boxwell (2015-18) for most stolen bases by a Minnesota player since 2010.
-He's was three stolen bases away from tying Matt Nohelty for tenth most stolen bases all-time by a Gopher in a single season.
SOPHOMORE PITCHERS SET THE TONE
-Minnesota's Friday-Saturday-Sunday starters are set to be sophomores Tucker Novotny (LHP), Sam Malec (RHP) and George Klassen (RHP).
-Novotny led all freshmen in 2022 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1-1 record. Malec (10) made the most appearances of the trio, but posted a 9.88 ERA in an up-and-down freshman season.
-Redshirt sophomore George Klassen pitched just 7.2 innings after coming off Tommy John surgery. The flamethrower has been clocked as high as 102 mph and is set for a bounce-back 2023.
NOTABLE DEPARTURES
-Aidan Maldonado (RHP); Minnesota's pitcher of the year in 2022, Maldonado was a 14th round draft pick of the Brewers.
-Jack Kelly (INF/OF); Team MVP last year, Kelly led the team in batting avg. (.324), RBI (45) and slugging (.592).
-J.P. Massey (RHP); Massey was selected in the 7th round of the MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
BATEMAN BACK TO PACE GOPHERS
-Junior center fielder Brett Bateman is back for year three for Minnesota. He's Minnesota's returning leader in average (.312), hits (67), starts (52) and total bases (78).
-The Arden Hills, Minn., native had a team-best 22 multi-hit games as a sophomore in 2022, including 17 two-hit games and five three-hit games. He posted a career-long 14-game hitting streak last year as well.
GOPHERS IN THE PROS
-Left-handed pitcher Lucas Gilbreath pitched in 47 games last year during his second year in the pros for the Colorado Rockies. He went 2-0 with a 4.19 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 43.0 innings pitched. Gilbreath tallied a career-high 12 holds out of the bullpen last summer.
-2020 No. 3 overall MLB Draft pick Max Meyer made his Major League debut last spring for the Miami Marlins. He made two starts, going 5.1 innings in his debut before leaving his second start with an arm injury. Meyer underwent Tommy John surgery, thus ending his 2022 season.
-2018 Gophers All-American shortstop Terrin Vavra was the second Gopher to make his Major League debut. He played in 40 games, hitting .258 with one home run, 12 RBI and 30 total hits. He joined the Baltimore Orioles on July 29, 2022 and played the rest of the season in the big leagues.
-Minnesota has multiple other alumni playing rookie league, A, AA and AAA ball.
MERILA MAKES SOME MAGIC
-Minnesota's Boston Merila was a guy who had a big sophomore year in 2022 to help pace the offense alongside Brett Bateman. Merila played in all 52 games, hitting .267 and improving from .214 as a freshman. He tallied 16 multi-hit games, including five three-hit contests.
-In an eight-game stretch from May 1-17, he went 16-for-32 (.500) with seven multi-hit games, six RBI and nine runs scored.
TWO NEW COACHING STAFF MEMBERS JOIN THE FOLD
-Head coach John Anderson added two new members to the coaching staff this season in Alec Crawford (interim pitching coach) and Mike Kvasnicka (volunteer assistant).
-A 2014 MLB Draft pick of the Rockies, Crawford pitched for two years (2013-14) at the University of Minnesota. He was an All-Big Ten Third Team selection and named the Gophers' David Winfield Pitcher of the Year in his senior season. He tied for the team lead and ranked fifth in the Big Ten with 67 strikeouts.
-Another Gopher great, Kvasnicka was former first round MLB Draft pick in 2010 (33rd, Houston Astros), Kvasnicka spent time in the Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins farm systems (Third base, right field and catcher) over the course of six seasons. He reached AA (New Britain) in 2014 with the Twins before playing with the St. Paul Saints in the American Association in 2015. During his professional baseball career, Kvasnicka played in 535 games, with a career batting average of .269.
CAMBRIA COLLEGE CLASSIC
-Minnesota will host the third ever Cambria College Classic from March 3-5 at U.S. Bank Stadium. Defending national champion Ole Miss, perennial power Vanderbilt and Hawaii will play Minnesota, Maryland and Nebraska in the three-day event.At the conclusion, a champion will be named in addition to the all-tournament team and MVP.
UP NEXT
Minnesota will play three games against Saint Louis at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Fla.
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