FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
Head coach John Anderson has announced the University of Minnesota baseball team’s 2014 schedule. The Golden Gophers will open their 126th season on Feb. 14.
With the Metrodome being torn down to make way for a new stadium, Minnesota will have a full slate of non-conference games on the road or at neutral sites before opening its home season at Siebert Field in late March. The Gophers start 2014 by hosting a series against Northern Illinois in Glendale, Ariz., Feb. 14-16. They will also be the home team against Creighton in Fort Myers, Fla., Feb. 21-23.
“We’re going from 34 home games to 18 in 2014,” Anderson said. “There’s a big challenge on the front end of the schedule, going on the road the first five weekends and facing some quality opponents. Hopefully we can get ourselves ready for the Big Ten season, which we start on the road at Northwestern. We have a series against Florida State toward the end of the Big Ten season, which is obviously going to be a huge challenge. But we have a long season ahead of us to hopefully get us ready. We’re looking forward to the schedule. I think it has a good mix of schools from different conferences.”
Minnesota’s first true road series will be Feb. 28-March 2 at Louisiana Tech. The following weekend, the Gophers will take part in the Myrtle Beach Hyundai Classic. From March 7 to March 9, they will face Elon and UNC-Greensboro once each and tournament host Coastal Carolina twice.
Next, the Gophers are set for an extended stay in California. A three-game series against Sacramento State (March 14-16) will precede two games (March 18-19) against St. Mary’s College in Moraga.
The Gophers’ first Big Ten opponent of the year will be Northwestern. Minnesota starts conference play in Evanston, March 21-23.
March 26 will mark Minnesota’s first 2014 game at Siebert Field, as the Gophers host St. John’s (Minn.) at 3:05 p.m. Their first Big Ten home series will be against Michigan State that weekend, March 28-30. Minnesota then has an April 1 game against North Dakota State, and a possible game against an opponent to be named on April 2, before going back on the road to Michigan (April 4-6) and South Dakota State (April 9).
The Gophers will host Nebraska (April 11-13), Hamline (April 15) and North Dakota State (April 16) and then travel to Iowa (April 18-20). They have a possible home game on April 22 before hosting Penn State (April 25-27) and St. Thomas (April 30).
Minnesota has one final non-conference road trip to Florida State, May 2-4. When they return home, they will host Augsburg (May 6), Concordia-Moorhead (May 7) and Purdue (May 9-11) before finishing their regular season at 2013 College World Series participant Indiana (May 15-17).
TD Ameritrade Park, home of the College World Series, will host the 2014 Big Ten Tournament, May 21-24.
2014 Minnesota Baseball Schedule
