University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, March 10
Morgantown, WV
11:00 AM
University of Minnesota
at
West Virginia
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'U' Travels to West Virginia for Three Game Series
3/9/2023 11:56:00 AM | Baseball
The Gophers have won two straight entering Friday
Friday, March 10
Minnesota at West Virginia
First Pitch: Noon ET/11 a.m. CT
Location: Morgantown, W.V. (Wagener Field)
Minnesota Starter: LHP Tucker Novotny (0-1, 5.68 ERA, 12.2 IP, 15K)
West Virginia Starter: LHP Ben Hampton (0-0, 2.21 ERA, 20.1 IP, 19K)
TV: ESPN+
Saturday, March 11
Minnesota at West Virginia
First Pitch: 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT
Location: Morgantown, W.V. (Wagener Field)
Minnesota Starter: RHP George Klassen (0-2, 8.31 ERA, 8.2 IP, 10K)
West Virginia Starter: RHP Blaine Traxel (2-1, 2.35 ERA, 23.0 IP, 17K)
TV: ESPN+
Sunday, March 12
Minnesota at West Virginia
First Pitch: 1 p.m.w ET/Noon CT
Location: Morgantown, W.V. (Wagener Field)
Minnesota Starter: RHP Richie Holetz (0-1, 3.52 ERA, 15.1 IP, 11K)
West Virginia Starter: RHP Grant Siegel (1-1, 8.25 ERA, 12.0 IP, 7K)
TV: ESPN+
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- The Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-11, 0-0 Big Ten) are looking to build off a two-game winning streak heading into a weekend series against the West Virginia Mountaineers (7-4, 0-0 Big 12). All three games at Wagener Field will be broadcast on ESPN+ (Big XII Now). Lanny Frattare (play-by-play) and Ernie Galusky (analyst) will be on the call.
LAST TIME OUT
--Minnesota defeated Northern Illinois (5-3) and South Dakota State (3-2) for its first two wins of the season this past week at U.S. Bank Stadium. Riley Swenson hit the go-ahead home run on Tuesday night to defeat NIU, while Brady Jurgella hit the game-winning RBI double Wednesday against South Dakota State.
HISTORICAL NOTES
-The 'U' is in its 135th year in program history in 2023.
-John Anderson is in his 42nd year at the helm of Gopher Baseball, holding a 1,349-975-3 (.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 WEST VIRGINIA
-West Virginia (7-4, 0-0 Big 12) is led by Randy Mazey, who's in 11th season at West Virginia. Most recently, he led the Mountaineers to the NCAA Tournament in 2017 and 2019 (hosted a regional).
-WVU was picked to finish sixth in the 2023 Big 12 Conference Preseason Baseball Poll after going 33-22 (14-10 Big 12) in 2022.
-Offensively, the Mountaineers are led by sophomore JJ Weatherholt, who is hitting .489 with four home runs and 10 RBI thus far. He was All-Big 12 Honorable Mention, Big 12 All-Freshman Team in 2022.
-WVU has defeated Maryland, Arizona and Canisius twice, Georgia Southern and VCU in 2023.
SERIES HISTORY
-Minnesota is 3-1 all-time vs. West Virginia. WVU won the meeting last year, 5-4, in the Cambria College Classic at U.S. Bank Stadium.
GOPHERS LOOKING TO START OFF STRONG ON THE ROAD
-This will be Minnesota's first true road series of the 2023 season. The Gophers went just 2-18 on the road in 2022. After winning their season opener at FAU, the 'U' lost 18 straight road tilts before taking down Indiana in Bloomington in the road finale.
CLAUSEN CLOSING STRONG OUT OF BULLPEN
-Sophomore right-hander Seth Clausen is tied for the team lead with seven appearances, posting an excellent 3.38 ERA in 8.0 innings. Opponents are hitting just .133 off of him and he's posted five straight scoreless outings out of the bullpen.
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 17-23 in stolen bases, a number that's good for fifth in the league. Brady Counsell leads the team with seven 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. He also hit a home run on Tuesday vs. NIU, becoming the first Gopher to hit home runs in three consecutive games this decade.
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 (.391), hits (18) and multi-hit games (7) and first in doubles (7).
-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 returns home for two more non-conference series. The Gophers host Gonzaga (March 14-15) Tuesday and Wednesday and Houston (17-19) during the weekend.
Minnesota at West Virginia
First Pitch: Noon ET/11 a.m. CT
Location: Morgantown, W.V. (Wagener Field)
Minnesota Starter: LHP Tucker Novotny (0-1, 5.68 ERA, 12.2 IP, 15K)
West Virginia Starter: LHP Ben Hampton (0-0, 2.21 ERA, 20.1 IP, 19K)
TV: ESPN+
Saturday, March 11
Minnesota at West Virginia
First Pitch: 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT
Location: Morgantown, W.V. (Wagener Field)
Minnesota Starter: RHP George Klassen (0-2, 8.31 ERA, 8.2 IP, 10K)
West Virginia Starter: RHP Blaine Traxel (2-1, 2.35 ERA, 23.0 IP, 17K)
TV: ESPN+
Sunday, March 12
Minnesota at West Virginia
First Pitch: 1 p.m.w ET/Noon CT
Location: Morgantown, W.V. (Wagener Field)
Minnesota Starter: RHP Richie Holetz (0-1, 3.52 ERA, 15.1 IP, 11K)
West Virginia Starter: RHP Grant Siegel (1-1, 8.25 ERA, 12.0 IP, 7K)
TV: ESPN+
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- The Minnesota Golden Gophers (2-11, 0-0 Big Ten) are looking to build off a two-game winning streak heading into a weekend series against the West Virginia Mountaineers (7-4, 0-0 Big 12). All three games at Wagener Field will be broadcast on ESPN+ (Big XII Now). Lanny Frattare (play-by-play) and Ernie Galusky (analyst) will be on the call.
LAST TIME OUT
--Minnesota defeated Northern Illinois (5-3) and South Dakota State (3-2) for its first two wins of the season this past week at U.S. Bank Stadium. Riley Swenson hit the go-ahead home run on Tuesday night to defeat NIU, while Brady Jurgella hit the game-winning RBI double Wednesday against South Dakota State.
HISTORICAL NOTES
-The 'U' is in its 135th year in program history in 2023.
-John Anderson is in his 42nd year at the helm of Gopher Baseball, holding a 1,349-975-3 (.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 WEST VIRGINIA
-West Virginia (7-4, 0-0 Big 12) is led by Randy Mazey, who's in 11th season at West Virginia. Most recently, he led the Mountaineers to the NCAA Tournament in 2017 and 2019 (hosted a regional).
-WVU was picked to finish sixth in the 2023 Big 12 Conference Preseason Baseball Poll after going 33-22 (14-10 Big 12) in 2022.
-Offensively, the Mountaineers are led by sophomore JJ Weatherholt, who is hitting .489 with four home runs and 10 RBI thus far. He was All-Big 12 Honorable Mention, Big 12 All-Freshman Team in 2022.
-WVU has defeated Maryland, Arizona and Canisius twice, Georgia Southern and VCU in 2023.
SERIES HISTORY
-Minnesota is 3-1 all-time vs. West Virginia. WVU won the meeting last year, 5-4, in the Cambria College Classic at U.S. Bank Stadium.
GOPHERS LOOKING TO START OFF STRONG ON THE ROAD
-This will be Minnesota's first true road series of the 2023 season. The Gophers went just 2-18 on the road in 2022. After winning their season opener at FAU, the 'U' lost 18 straight road tilts before taking down Indiana in Bloomington in the road finale.
CLAUSEN CLOSING STRONG OUT OF BULLPEN
-Sophomore right-hander Seth Clausen is tied for the team lead with seven appearances, posting an excellent 3.38 ERA in 8.0 innings. Opponents are hitting just .133 off of him and he's posted five straight scoreless outings out of the bullpen.
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 17-23 in stolen bases, a number that's good for fifth in the league. Brady Counsell leads the team with seven 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. He also hit a home run on Tuesday vs. NIU, becoming the first Gopher to hit home runs in three consecutive games this decade.
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 (.391), hits (18) and multi-hit games (7) and first in doubles (7).
-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 returns home for two more non-conference series. The Gophers host Gonzaga (March 14-15) Tuesday and Wednesday and Houston (17-19) during the weekend.
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