University of Minnesota Athletics
Tuesday, March 7
Minneapolis, MN
6:00 PM
University of Minnesota
vs
Northern Illinois
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
C/INF
/ Baseball
IF/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
Minnesota to Host NIU, SDSU on Tuesday and Wednesday
3/6/2023 3:27:00 PM | Baseball
Both games are at 6 p.m. CT on B1G+
Tuesday, March 7
Minnesota vs. Northern Illinois
First Pitch: 6 p.m. CT
Location: U.S. Bank Stadium
Minnesota Starter: RHP Ben Shepard (0-1, 3.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 1 K)
Northern Illinois Starter: RHP Conner Lutes (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.1 IP, 1 K)
TV: B1G+
Wednesday, March 8
Minnesota vs. South Dakota State
First Pitch: 6 p.m. CT
Location: U.S. Bank Stadium
Minnesota Starter: RHP George Klassen (0-2, 10.80 ERA, 6.2 IP, 8 K)
South Dakota St. Starter: RHP Jack Kruger (0-0, 3.37 ERA, 2.2 IP, 2 K)
TV: B1G+
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Gophers baseball team will look to get back on track this week as they host two mid-week games against nearby non-conference opponents. Northern Illinois (3-8, 0-0 MAC) comes to town Tuesday night while South Dakota State (3-4, 0-0 Summit League) will be in Minneapolis on Wednesday. B1G+ will have the streams once again and fans can follow along with live stats at Gophersports.com.
TICKETS
-Tickets can be purchased in person at the U.S. Bank Stadium Box Office on gameday for $15 (no additional fees or taxes). The U.S. Bank Stadium Ticket Office will be open on game days for walk up sales starting one hour before the start of the first game each day. Online ticket sales are also available usbankstadium.com.
LAST TIME OUT
-Minnesota fell to 0-11 after dropping all three games at the Cambria College Classic this weekend. The Gophers lost 3-2 to Hawaii, 9-7 to No. 4 Ole Miss and 4-0 to No. 7 Vanderbilt.
HISTORICAL NOTES
-The 'U' enters its 135th year in program history.
-John Anderson is in his 42nd year at the helm of Gopher Baseball, holding a 1,347-975-3 (.582) record. This includes a 604-400 (.603) B1G mark. Under his watch, the Gophers have won 11 B1G titles and hold 19 NCAA Tournament appearances.
-The winningest coach in Big Ten history, Anderson won his 600th conference game in April vs. Penn State. He's the only B1G coach to reach that mark.
-Anderson coached his 1,000th career B1G game in May against Indiana. He's the only coach in conference history to hit that mark.
SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS
-Northern Illinois enters Tuesday's matchup with a 3-8 (0-0 MAC) record.
-The Huskies are led by eighth-year head coach Mike Kunigonis. NIU went 14-40 in 2022, but returned 19 letterwinners, including its top-five hitters.
-So far in 2023, the Huskies were swept in four games by Oral Roberts and in a doubleheader by Penn State. Since, they've defeated Maine and Western Kentucky twice.
SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
-South Dakota State is 3-4 so far in 2023, with two wins over Utah Tech and one win over Arkansas-Little Rock. The Jackrabbits had one series canceled that was scheduled for Feb. 24-26 in South Carolina.
-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.
SERIES HISTORY
-Minnesota is 12-1 all-time against Northern Illinois. The two teams last competed in 2017 and the Gophers have won 10 in-a-row in the series.
-The Gophers are 37-15 against South Dakota State. They competed last year with SDSU winning twice, 7-5 and 12-6.
GOPHERS GO TOE-TO-TOE WITH DEFENDING CHAMPS
-The 'U' fought No. 4 Ole Miss to the finish Saturday night at the Cambria College Classic. The Gophers trailed early but came back to take a 5-4 lead into the seventh inning against the defending national champions. Riley Swenson, Jake Perry and Weber Neels all hit home runs to jump start the offense.
GOPHERS SWIPING BASES AT A HIGH RATE
-Base stealing is a key element of Minnesota's game. They finished in the top-5 of the Big Ten last year and are on pace again in 2022.
-The Gophers are 14-20 in stolen bases, a number that's good for seventh in the league. Brady Counsell leads the team with six on the season.
HOLETZ HOLDING FIRM IN SENIOR YEAR
-Fifth year senior Richie Holetz has been a major bright spot on the mound for the Gophers this spring. In his second year on campus since coming over from Omaha, he leads all starting pitchers in innings pitched (15.2), lowest opponent batting average (.218), hits (12) and earned runs (6).
-Holetz threw a Minnesota-best 6.0 innings against No. 7 Vanderbilt Sunday, giving up just three earned runs against one of the nation's top teams.
SWENSON SWINGING FOR FENCES
-Redshirt senior Riley Swenson had a big weekend at the Cambria College Classic for Minnesota. The Chaska native went 3-for-7, hitting two home runs and driving in a pair of RBI. Swenson was the Gophers lone representative on the All-Tournament Team for his performance.
MEZZENGA MAKING MOST OF OPPORTUNITIES
-A transfer from NIACC, Ike Mezzenga is the third Mezzenga brother to play for Minnesota. His brother Gabe played football from 2010-14 while his brother Ben played baseball from 2015-19. Ike came to Minnesota after playing two years of JUCO ball.
-So far in 2023, he's made his presence known, ranking second on Minnesota in average (.385), hits (15) and multi-hit games (6) and first in doubles (6).
-Ike has shown his versatility in the field, playing shortstop, first base, left field and right field.
MINNESOTA AGAINST NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
-Minnesota is set to play seven teams that made last year's NCAA Tournament. The Gophers will play UCSB, OSU, Gonzaga, Vanderbilt, Michigan, Maryland and Ole Miss (National Champion). 13 of their 56 scheduled games are against teams that made the NCAA Tournament in 2022.
UP NEXT
-Minnesota will head to Morgantown, W.V., for a three-game series versus West Virginia. The Mountaineers are 6-4 so far on the season. After that, Minnesota hosts Gonzaga (March 14-15) at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Minnesota vs. Northern Illinois
First Pitch: 6 p.m. CT
Location: U.S. Bank Stadium
Minnesota Starter: RHP Ben Shepard (0-1, 3.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 1 K)
Northern Illinois Starter: RHP Conner Lutes (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.1 IP, 1 K)
TV: B1G+
Wednesday, March 8
Minnesota vs. South Dakota State
First Pitch: 6 p.m. CT
Location: U.S. Bank Stadium
Minnesota Starter: RHP George Klassen (0-2, 10.80 ERA, 6.2 IP, 8 K)
South Dakota St. Starter: RHP Jack Kruger (0-0, 3.37 ERA, 2.2 IP, 2 K)
TV: B1G+
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Gophers baseball team will look to get back on track this week as they host two mid-week games against nearby non-conference opponents. Northern Illinois (3-8, 0-0 MAC) comes to town Tuesday night while South Dakota State (3-4, 0-0 Summit League) will be in Minneapolis on Wednesday. B1G+ will have the streams once again and fans can follow along with live stats at Gophersports.com.
TICKETS
-Tickets can be purchased in person at the U.S. Bank Stadium Box Office on gameday for $15 (no additional fees or taxes). The U.S. Bank Stadium Ticket Office will be open on game days for walk up sales starting one hour before the start of the first game each day. Online ticket sales are also available usbankstadium.com.
LAST TIME OUT
-Minnesota fell to 0-11 after dropping all three games at the Cambria College Classic this weekend. The Gophers lost 3-2 to Hawaii, 9-7 to No. 4 Ole Miss and 4-0 to No. 7 Vanderbilt.
HISTORICAL NOTES
-The 'U' enters its 135th year in program history.
-John Anderson is in his 42nd year at the helm of Gopher Baseball, holding a 1,347-975-3 (.582) record. This includes a 604-400 (.603) B1G mark. Under his watch, the Gophers have won 11 B1G titles and hold 19 NCAA Tournament appearances.
-The winningest coach in Big Ten history, Anderson won his 600th conference game in April vs. Penn State. He's the only B1G coach to reach that mark.
-Anderson coached his 1,000th career B1G game in May against Indiana. He's the only coach in conference history to hit that mark.
SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS
-Northern Illinois enters Tuesday's matchup with a 3-8 (0-0 MAC) record.
-The Huskies are led by eighth-year head coach Mike Kunigonis. NIU went 14-40 in 2022, but returned 19 letterwinners, including its top-five hitters.
-So far in 2023, the Huskies were swept in four games by Oral Roberts and in a doubleheader by Penn State. Since, they've defeated Maine and Western Kentucky twice.
SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
-South Dakota State is 3-4 so far in 2023, with two wins over Utah Tech and one win over Arkansas-Little Rock. The Jackrabbits had one series canceled that was scheduled for Feb. 24-26 in South Carolina.
-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.
SERIES HISTORY
-Minnesota is 12-1 all-time against Northern Illinois. The two teams last competed in 2017 and the Gophers have won 10 in-a-row in the series.
-The Gophers are 37-15 against South Dakota State. They competed last year with SDSU winning twice, 7-5 and 12-6.
GOPHERS GO TOE-TO-TOE WITH DEFENDING CHAMPS
-The 'U' fought No. 4 Ole Miss to the finish Saturday night at the Cambria College Classic. The Gophers trailed early but came back to take a 5-4 lead into the seventh inning against the defending national champions. Riley Swenson, Jake Perry and Weber Neels all hit home runs to jump start the offense.
GOPHERS SWIPING BASES AT A HIGH RATE
-Base stealing is a key element of Minnesota's game. They finished in the top-5 of the Big Ten last year and are on pace again in 2022.
-The Gophers are 14-20 in stolen bases, a number that's good for seventh in the league. Brady Counsell leads the team with six on the season.
HOLETZ HOLDING FIRM IN SENIOR YEAR
-Fifth year senior Richie Holetz has been a major bright spot on the mound for the Gophers this spring. In his second year on campus since coming over from Omaha, he leads all starting pitchers in innings pitched (15.2), lowest opponent batting average (.218), hits (12) and earned runs (6).
-Holetz threw a Minnesota-best 6.0 innings against No. 7 Vanderbilt Sunday, giving up just three earned runs against one of the nation's top teams.
SWENSON SWINGING FOR FENCES
-Redshirt senior Riley Swenson had a big weekend at the Cambria College Classic for Minnesota. The Chaska native went 3-for-7, hitting two home runs and driving in a pair of RBI. Swenson was the Gophers lone representative on the All-Tournament Team for his performance.
MEZZENGA MAKING MOST OF OPPORTUNITIES
-A transfer from NIACC, Ike Mezzenga is the third Mezzenga brother to play for Minnesota. His brother Gabe played football from 2010-14 while his brother Ben played baseball from 2015-19. Ike came to Minnesota after playing two years of JUCO ball.
-So far in 2023, he's made his presence known, ranking second on Minnesota in average (.385), hits (15) and multi-hit games (6) and first in doubles (6).
-Ike has shown his versatility in the field, playing shortstop, first base, left field and right field.
MINNESOTA AGAINST NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS
-Minnesota is set to play seven teams that made last year's NCAA Tournament. The Gophers will play UCSB, OSU, Gonzaga, Vanderbilt, Michigan, Maryland and Ole Miss (National Champion). 13 of their 56 scheduled games are against teams that made the NCAA Tournament in 2022.
UP NEXT
-Minnesota will head to Morgantown, W.V., for a three-game series versus West Virginia. The Mountaineers are 6-4 so far on the season. After that, Minnesota hosts Gonzaga (March 14-15) at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Weber Neels Highlights
Wednesday, May 28
Gophers (11) - Michigan State (5) Highlights
Friday, May 16
Gophers (4) - Michigan State (3) Highlights
Thursday, May 15
Gopher Baseball Senior Salute
Monday, May 12