University of Minnesota Athletics
Tuesday, May 16
Minneapolis, MN
6:00 PM
University of Minnesota
vs
South Dakota State
Players Mentioned
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RHP
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INF
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OF
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Minnesota Hosts South Dakota St. in Final Mid-Week Game
5/15/2023 12:43:00 PM | Baseball
First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
Tuesday, May 16
Minnesota vs. South Dakota St.
First Pitch: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Minneapolis, Minn. (Siebert Field)
Minnesota Starter: RHP Ben Shepard (1-1, 4.53 ERA, 43.2 IP, 33K)
South Dakota St. Starter: RHP Will Kent (2-0, 3.86 ERA, 14.0 IP, 11K)
TV: B1G+
Talent: Dom Dandrea (Play-By-Play) and Rob Fornasiere (Analyst)
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Golden Gophers (15-31, 8-13 Big Ten) are set to host the South Dakota St. Jackrabbits (21-23, 12-9 Summit) tomorrow night in their final mid-week game of the season. Live stats will be available at GopherSports.com while B1G+ is set to provide streaming. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT.
GOPHERS AT SIEBERT FIELD
-Minnesota is 65-49 when playing at Siebert Field in the last seven seasons.
-The 'U' went 2-8 in 2021, 13-7 in 2019, 12-2 in 2018, 10-9 2017, 16-7 in 2016 at Siebert Field.
-Minnesota went 7-11 at Siebert Field last season and is 6-6 at its home confines in 2023.
SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
-SDSU is 21-23 (12-9 Summit) so far in 2023.
-Led by head coach Rob Bishop, the Jackrabbits went 22-23 last season, going 13-9 in Summit League play.
-They were picked to finish fourth in the Summit League in 2023, behind Oral Roberts, NDSU and Omaha. Seniors Luke Ira (shortstop) and Ryan Bourassa (pitcher) were both named Summit League Players to Watch prior to the season.
-The Jackrabbits are 2-6 against Big Ten opponents this year after getting swept by Iowa, losing two of three to Purdue and dropping their first matchup vs. Minnesota. They defeated Nebraska 8-3 on April 26.
-C/OF Ryan McDonald is having a huge season, clubbing a team-best .417 with 17 home runs, 39 RBI. He ranks 2nd in the Summit in average, first in HR.
SERIES HISTORY
-Minnesota is 38-15 all-time vs. South Dakota State. They last met on March 8 at U.S. Bank Stadium, a 3-2 Minnesota win. The 'U' trailed 2-0 in the seventh before scoring three in the seventh and eighth to emerge victoriously. Connor Wietgrefe picked up his first save of the season in the ninth.
WIETGREFE NAMED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
-Sophomore southpaw Connor Wietgrefe has been one of the 'U's most dependable bullpen arms.
-The JUCO transfer leads the bullpen by a wide margin in strikeouts (45) and opponent batting average (.202). His 41.0 innings and 3.95 ERA are second behind only Noah Rooney.
-In his last nine outings, Wietgrefe holds 36 K's in 24 innings, allowing just six earned runs. He earned B1G Pitcher of the Week May 15 after 4.0 shutout innings with seven K's at No. 19 Maryand.
GOPHERS PICK UP TOP-25 WIN AT MARYLAND
-Minnesota picked up its first top-25 win of the season Friday night at Maryland, winning 9-7. They hit a season-best four home runs in the win, benefitting from a hitter's ballpark in College Park.
-Connor Wietgrefe finished the game on the mound, striking out seven in 4.0 shutout innings (two hits).
GAMES AGAINST NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
-Minnesota has played seven teams that made last year's NCAA Tournament, posting a 4-9 record vs. UCSB, OSU, Gonzaga, Vanderbilt, Michigan, Ole Miss (National Champion) and Maryland.
-13 of their 52 scheduled games were against teams that made the NCAA Tournament in 2022.
GOPHERS WIN SECOND B1G SERIES OF 2023
-Minnesota earned its second conference series win of the year in its takedown of Michigan last weekend at Siebert Field. It's the first time since 2019 that the 'U' won two B1G series in a season.
-The Gophers posted their second shutout of the year on Friday in a 4-0 win and held Michigan to just six total runs on the series. The last time the 'U' held a team to six-or-fewer runs in a series was April 22-24, 2016, when it gave up six runs vs. Northwestern.
REACHED BASE STREAKS
-Junior designated hitter Boston Merila led Minnesota with a 24-game reached base streak and an 11-game hitting streak. Last Sunday's game vs. Michigan was the first time since March 17 against Houston where he didn't reach base.
-Merila ranks second on Minnesota with a .319 batting average in 2023.
BIG TEN CATEGORY LEADERS
-LHP Tucker Novotny has struck out 76 batters (fourth in the Big Ten), including 24 batters looking (fourth. His 67.2 innings rank eighth.
-Brady Counsell ranks fourth in assists (135).
-Brett Bateman ranks fifth in stolen bases (17).
-Richie Holetz ranks sixth in innings pitched (71.0).
INJURIES HAMPERING GOPHERS IN 2023
-The Gophers have been snake-bitten by injuries in 2023, losing several key contributors to injuries.
-Catcher Sam Hunt is out with a finger fracture he suffered early in the year that hasn't healed.
-LHP Noah Rooney, the team's top bullpen pitcher, got hurt last Friday vs. Michigan and is out for the year.
-RHP Caden Capomaccio was out for 45 days before coming back recently.
-RHP Sam Malec was out with an illness for 52 days before coming back in April.
-RHP Joe Hauser is out for the year (bone bruise).
-Closer Will Semb hasn't played this year due to an upper body injury and is taking a medical redshirt.
-LHP TJ Egan is out for the year with an arm injury.
-Minnesota 2022 Gatorade Player of the Year and RHP Sam Kennedy is out for the year (arm injury).
-OF Josh Fitzgerald out with an ACL tear, the DBU transfer was expected to start in the outfield.
BIG TEN STANDINGS UPDATE
-The 'U' sits at 8-13 in the Big Ten, 2.0 games back of eighth place in the league. Minnesota will look to gain ground this week to try and clinch their first Big Ten Tournament bid since 2019.
UP NEXT
Minnesota hosts Rutgers (32-19, 13-8 Big Ten) from Thursday-Saturday to close the 2023 regular season.
Minnesota vs. South Dakota St.
First Pitch: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Minneapolis, Minn. (Siebert Field)
Minnesota Starter: RHP Ben Shepard (1-1, 4.53 ERA, 43.2 IP, 33K)
South Dakota St. Starter: RHP Will Kent (2-0, 3.86 ERA, 14.0 IP, 11K)
TV: B1G+
Talent: Dom Dandrea (Play-By-Play) and Rob Fornasiere (Analyst)
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Golden Gophers (15-31, 8-13 Big Ten) are set to host the South Dakota St. Jackrabbits (21-23, 12-9 Summit) tomorrow night in their final mid-week game of the season. Live stats will be available at GopherSports.com while B1G+ is set to provide streaming. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. CT.
GOPHERS AT SIEBERT FIELD
-Minnesota is 65-49 when playing at Siebert Field in the last seven seasons.
-The 'U' went 2-8 in 2021, 13-7 in 2019, 12-2 in 2018, 10-9 2017, 16-7 in 2016 at Siebert Field.
-Minnesota went 7-11 at Siebert Field last season and is 6-6 at its home confines in 2023.
SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
-SDSU is 21-23 (12-9 Summit) so far in 2023.
-Led by head coach Rob Bishop, the Jackrabbits went 22-23 last season, going 13-9 in Summit League play.
-They were picked to finish fourth in the Summit League in 2023, behind Oral Roberts, NDSU and Omaha. Seniors Luke Ira (shortstop) and Ryan Bourassa (pitcher) were both named Summit League Players to Watch prior to the season.
-The Jackrabbits are 2-6 against Big Ten opponents this year after getting swept by Iowa, losing two of three to Purdue and dropping their first matchup vs. Minnesota. They defeated Nebraska 8-3 on April 26.
-C/OF Ryan McDonald is having a huge season, clubbing a team-best .417 with 17 home runs, 39 RBI. He ranks 2nd in the Summit in average, first in HR.
SERIES HISTORY
-Minnesota is 38-15 all-time vs. South Dakota State. They last met on March 8 at U.S. Bank Stadium, a 3-2 Minnesota win. The 'U' trailed 2-0 in the seventh before scoring three in the seventh and eighth to emerge victoriously. Connor Wietgrefe picked up his first save of the season in the ninth.
WIETGREFE NAMED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
-Sophomore southpaw Connor Wietgrefe has been one of the 'U's most dependable bullpen arms.
-The JUCO transfer leads the bullpen by a wide margin in strikeouts (45) and opponent batting average (.202). His 41.0 innings and 3.95 ERA are second behind only Noah Rooney.
-In his last nine outings, Wietgrefe holds 36 K's in 24 innings, allowing just six earned runs. He earned B1G Pitcher of the Week May 15 after 4.0 shutout innings with seven K's at No. 19 Maryand.
GOPHERS PICK UP TOP-25 WIN AT MARYLAND
-Minnesota picked up its first top-25 win of the season Friday night at Maryland, winning 9-7. They hit a season-best four home runs in the win, benefitting from a hitter's ballpark in College Park.
-Connor Wietgrefe finished the game on the mound, striking out seven in 4.0 shutout innings (two hits).
GAMES AGAINST NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
-Minnesota has played seven teams that made last year's NCAA Tournament, posting a 4-9 record vs. UCSB, OSU, Gonzaga, Vanderbilt, Michigan, Ole Miss (National Champion) and Maryland.
-13 of their 52 scheduled games were against teams that made the NCAA Tournament in 2022.
GOPHERS WIN SECOND B1G SERIES OF 2023
-Minnesota earned its second conference series win of the year in its takedown of Michigan last weekend at Siebert Field. It's the first time since 2019 that the 'U' won two B1G series in a season.
-The Gophers posted their second shutout of the year on Friday in a 4-0 win and held Michigan to just six total runs on the series. The last time the 'U' held a team to six-or-fewer runs in a series was April 22-24, 2016, when it gave up six runs vs. Northwestern.
REACHED BASE STREAKS
-Junior designated hitter Boston Merila led Minnesota with a 24-game reached base streak and an 11-game hitting streak. Last Sunday's game vs. Michigan was the first time since March 17 against Houston where he didn't reach base.
-Merila ranks second on Minnesota with a .319 batting average in 2023.
BIG TEN CATEGORY LEADERS
-LHP Tucker Novotny has struck out 76 batters (fourth in the Big Ten), including 24 batters looking (fourth. His 67.2 innings rank eighth.
-Brady Counsell ranks fourth in assists (135).
-Brett Bateman ranks fifth in stolen bases (17).
-Richie Holetz ranks sixth in innings pitched (71.0).
INJURIES HAMPERING GOPHERS IN 2023
-The Gophers have been snake-bitten by injuries in 2023, losing several key contributors to injuries.
-Catcher Sam Hunt is out with a finger fracture he suffered early in the year that hasn't healed.
-LHP Noah Rooney, the team's top bullpen pitcher, got hurt last Friday vs. Michigan and is out for the year.
-RHP Caden Capomaccio was out for 45 days before coming back recently.
-RHP Sam Malec was out with an illness for 52 days before coming back in April.
-RHP Joe Hauser is out for the year (bone bruise).
-Closer Will Semb hasn't played this year due to an upper body injury and is taking a medical redshirt.
-LHP TJ Egan is out for the year with an arm injury.
-Minnesota 2022 Gatorade Player of the Year and RHP Sam Kennedy is out for the year (arm injury).
-OF Josh Fitzgerald out with an ACL tear, the DBU transfer was expected to start in the outfield.
BIG TEN STANDINGS UPDATE
-The 'U' sits at 8-13 in the Big Ten, 2.0 games back of eighth place in the league. Minnesota will look to gain ground this week to try and clinch their first Big Ten Tournament bid since 2019.
UP NEXT
Minnesota hosts Rutgers (32-19, 13-8 Big Ten) from Thursday-Saturday to close the 2023 regular season.
First Practice of Fall
Thursday, September 18
Weber Neels Highlights
Wednesday, May 28
Gophers (11) - Michigan State (5) Highlights
Friday, May 16
Gophers (4) - Michigan State (3) Highlights
Thursday, May 15