University of Minnesota Athletics
Tuesday, April 11
Minneapolis, MN
6:00 PM
University of Minnesota
vs
North Dakota State
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C/INF
/ Baseball
'U' Readies for Tuesday Showdown vs. NDSU
4/10/2023 6:23:00 PM | Baseball
First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
Tuesday, April 11
Minnesota vs. North Dakota St.
First Pitch: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Minneapolis, Minn. (Siebert Field)
Minnesota Starter: RHP Cam Blazek (1-1, 14.14 ERA, 7.0 IP, 5K)
North Dakota St. Starter: LHP Max Loven (1-2, 10.86 ERA, 29.0 IP, 18K)
TV: B1G+
Talent: Dom Dandrea (Play-By-Play), Rob Fornasiere (Analyst) and Blake Mortenson (Sideline)
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-22, 3-3 Big Ten) are right back at it this week with a Tuesday night showdown against North Dakota St. (8-22, 4-2 Summit). Live stats will be available at GopherSports.com while B1G+ is set to provide streaming.
MARKETING AND PROMOTIONS
-$2 hot dog night at Siebert Field.
LAST TIME OUT
-Minnesota took Sunday's game against Purdue (9-3) after falling 3-0 on Friday and 15-3 on Saturday. Richie Holetz (2-2, 2.76 ERA) picked up his second straight Big Ten win, going 6.1 innings with seven strikeouts.
HISTORICAL NOTES
-The 'U' is in its 135th year in program history.
-John Anderson is in his 42nd year at the helm of Gopher Baseball, holding a 1,355-986-3 (.581) record. This includes a 607-403 (.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 NORTH DAKOTA ST.
-North Dakota State (8-22, 4-2 Summit) is led by second-year head coach Tyler Oakes. In his first year, Oakes led the Bison to its first Summit League title in program history, going 30-17 (17-5 Summit).
-After having eight All-Summit League selections in 2022, the Bison returned 14 letterwinners, including six seniors and five pitchers with 20+ k's last year.
-NDSU is off to a slower start in 2023, playing another challenging schedule, including its first 34 games on the road or at neutral sites.
-The Bison won their best game of the season last Friday, an 8-1 win at No. 23 Texas Tech.
-Peter Brookshaw leads NDSU at the plate with a .315 average, including nine home runs and 23 RBI.
SERIES HISTORY
-Minnesota is 35-11 all-time against North Dakota State. NDSU defeated Minnesota 5-2 in their only meeting last year on March 8 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
NEELS HITTING NUKES AS A FRESHMAN
-Freshman catcher Weber Neels has made a big impact as a true freshman this season. He's tied for the team and Big Ten freshman lead with four home runs, including two in one game March 18 vs. Houston. Neels hit the game-tying home run in the ninth Friday at OSU in the team's 3-2 win.
-He's hitting .232 with 16 hits, four doubles and 12 RBI, all of which are the best among 'U' rookies.
BATEMAN PACING GOPHERS ONCE AGAIN
-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.
-In 2023, he ranks first on the team with 37 hits and a .349 average with 13 multi-hit games. So far in Big Ten play, Bateman is hitting .550 with 11 hits, two doubles, three RBI and four stolen bases.
-Bateman has been amazing in the field, posting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with four outfield assists. His leaping catch at the wall March 17 vs. Houston was SportsCenter's No. 4 play on their top-10 plays of the night.
OFFENSE SETS THE TONE SUNDAY VS. PURDUE
-Minnesota tallied its best two-inning performance of the season, scoring eight runs in the first two innings on Sunday in a 9-3 win over Purdue. The Gophers went for six of their runs in the first inning on a single-season inning-best, eight hits.
GOPHERS AT SIEBERT FIELD
-Minnesota is 60-45 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 1-2 at its home confines in 2023.
FIELDING BECOMING A TEAM STRENGTH
-Minnesota ranks second in the Big Ten with a .975 fielding percentage thus far. The Gophers lead the conference in assists (319) while making just 29 errors, which ranks third in the conference.
PITCHING SHOWS IMPROVEMENT IN MARCH
-Minnesota's pitching staff got off to a slow start, posting an 0-7 record with a 7.92 ERA in February.
Since March 1, however, the staff improved to a 4.31 ERA. Opponent batting average is down to .255 from the .289 it was in the first seven games.
YOUTH MOVEMENT IN MINNEAPOLIS
-With an average age of just 19.9 years old, the Golden Gophers have the youngest roster in the Big Ten conference. Of the every day starters at the 'U', two are freshmen, three are sophomores, three are juniors and there's just one senior.
BIG TEN STANDINGS UPDATE
-Minnesota (3-3) is tied for seventh in the Big Ten through two weeks. The top eight teams will make the B1G tournament in Omaha from May 23-28.
UP NEXT
Minnesota hosts Iowa (22-8, 2-4 B1G) for a weekend series at Siebert Field from Friday-Sunday.
Minnesota vs. North Dakota St.
First Pitch: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Minneapolis, Minn. (Siebert Field)
Minnesota Starter: RHP Cam Blazek (1-1, 14.14 ERA, 7.0 IP, 5K)
North Dakota St. Starter: LHP Max Loven (1-2, 10.86 ERA, 29.0 IP, 18K)
TV: B1G+
Talent: Dom Dandrea (Play-By-Play), Rob Fornasiere (Analyst) and Blake Mortenson (Sideline)
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-22, 3-3 Big Ten) are right back at it this week with a Tuesday night showdown against North Dakota St. (8-22, 4-2 Summit). Live stats will be available at GopherSports.com while B1G+ is set to provide streaming.
MARKETING AND PROMOTIONS
-$2 hot dog night at Siebert Field.
LAST TIME OUT
-Minnesota took Sunday's game against Purdue (9-3) after falling 3-0 on Friday and 15-3 on Saturday. Richie Holetz (2-2, 2.76 ERA) picked up his second straight Big Ten win, going 6.1 innings with seven strikeouts.
HISTORICAL NOTES
-The 'U' is in its 135th year in program history.
-John Anderson is in his 42nd year at the helm of Gopher Baseball, holding a 1,355-986-3 (.581) record. This includes a 607-403 (.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 NORTH DAKOTA ST.
-North Dakota State (8-22, 4-2 Summit) is led by second-year head coach Tyler Oakes. In his first year, Oakes led the Bison to its first Summit League title in program history, going 30-17 (17-5 Summit).
-After having eight All-Summit League selections in 2022, the Bison returned 14 letterwinners, including six seniors and five pitchers with 20+ k's last year.
-NDSU is off to a slower start in 2023, playing another challenging schedule, including its first 34 games on the road or at neutral sites.
-The Bison won their best game of the season last Friday, an 8-1 win at No. 23 Texas Tech.
-Peter Brookshaw leads NDSU at the plate with a .315 average, including nine home runs and 23 RBI.
SERIES HISTORY
-Minnesota is 35-11 all-time against North Dakota State. NDSU defeated Minnesota 5-2 in their only meeting last year on March 8 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
NEELS HITTING NUKES AS A FRESHMAN
-Freshman catcher Weber Neels has made a big impact as a true freshman this season. He's tied for the team and Big Ten freshman lead with four home runs, including two in one game March 18 vs. Houston. Neels hit the game-tying home run in the ninth Friday at OSU in the team's 3-2 win.
-He's hitting .232 with 16 hits, four doubles and 12 RBI, all of which are the best among 'U' rookies.
BATEMAN PACING GOPHERS ONCE AGAIN
-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.
-In 2023, he ranks first on the team with 37 hits and a .349 average with 13 multi-hit games. So far in Big Ten play, Bateman is hitting .550 with 11 hits, two doubles, three RBI and four stolen bases.
-Bateman has been amazing in the field, posting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with four outfield assists. His leaping catch at the wall March 17 vs. Houston was SportsCenter's No. 4 play on their top-10 plays of the night.
OFFENSE SETS THE TONE SUNDAY VS. PURDUE
-Minnesota tallied its best two-inning performance of the season, scoring eight runs in the first two innings on Sunday in a 9-3 win over Purdue. The Gophers went for six of their runs in the first inning on a single-season inning-best, eight hits.
GOPHERS AT SIEBERT FIELD
-Minnesota is 60-45 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 1-2 at its home confines in 2023.
FIELDING BECOMING A TEAM STRENGTH
-Minnesota ranks second in the Big Ten with a .975 fielding percentage thus far. The Gophers lead the conference in assists (319) while making just 29 errors, which ranks third in the conference.
PITCHING SHOWS IMPROVEMENT IN MARCH
-Minnesota's pitching staff got off to a slow start, posting an 0-7 record with a 7.92 ERA in February.
Since March 1, however, the staff improved to a 4.31 ERA. Opponent batting average is down to .255 from the .289 it was in the first seven games.
YOUTH MOVEMENT IN MINNEAPOLIS
-With an average age of just 19.9 years old, the Golden Gophers have the youngest roster in the Big Ten conference. Of the every day starters at the 'U', two are freshmen, three are sophomores, three are juniors and there's just one senior.
BIG TEN STANDINGS UPDATE
-Minnesota (3-3) is tied for seventh in the Big Ten through two weeks. The top eight teams will make the B1G tournament in Omaha from May 23-28.
UP NEXT
Minnesota hosts Iowa (22-8, 2-4 B1G) for a weekend series at Siebert Field from Friday-Sunday.
Weber Neels Highlights
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Gophers (4) - Michigan State (3) Highlights
Thursday, May 15
Gopher Baseball Senior Salute
Monday, May 12