Head coach John Anderson and the University of Minnesota baseball team has announced its upcoming slate for the 2016 season. The Golden Gophers are scheduled to play 54 regular season games, including 19 at Siebert Field, with the potential for more in the Big Ten Tournament, which is set to take place at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb.
Minnesota begins the season by playing four neutral site games in Surprise, Ariz, Feb. 19-21. The Gophers open with Utah. The Maroon and Gold then face Pac-12 power Oregon State, who returns from an NCAA Regional appearance, and Utah Valley in a doubleheader. Minnesota wraps up play in the desert in a rematch with the Utes.
Next, the Gophers head to the east coast for a three-game set with Campbell to close out February. The series in Buies Creek, N.C. will be the first meetings between the programs all-time. The Fighting Camels went 32-25 last season and look to make a run at the Big South Conference title.
Minnesota follows that trip with road action at Georgia State, March 4-6. The Gophers and Panthers have never met previously, but have faced seven other Sun Belt Conference opponents all-time.
The Maroon and Gold stay on the road and head to Seattle for a four-game series with Seattle University, March 11-13 and 16. The Redhawks will be the third straight opponent to open their ledger in the Gophers record books.
The Gophers continue its travel, March 18-20, with three games against a previously played Utah Valley team in Orem, Utah.
Minnesota closes out its 20 consecutive contests away from Minneapolis with a three-game set at reigning Missouri Valley Conference champion Missouri State. The Bears went 49-12 in 2015 and won the NCAA Regional that they hosted in Springfield, Mo. The Gophers own a 6-2 advantage in the series, with the last meeting coming in 2007.
Minnesota opens its home schedule with a duel with St. Mary’s University. The two in-state institutions have never met and will play March 30 at Siebert Field.
The Gophers kick off Big Ten play with a three-game series at home versus Iowa, April 1-3. Despite dropping three contests in Iowa City last season, Minnesota maintains a 180-117 lead in the series with its most common opponent. The Hawkeyes, runners-up in the Big Ten regular season, went 41-18 a year ago and qualified for the NCAA Regionals.
The Maroon and Gold then host a pair of non-conference foes in North Dakota State (April 5) and Northern Illinois (April 6). Minnesota is 31-8 against the Bison in program history, with both teams splitting the games last season. The Gophers hold a 10-1 advantage against NIU and swept their latest series to open the 2014 season.
After that, Minnesota heads to Michigan for a trio of games against the Wolverines, April 8-10. The Gophers hold a 102-90 edge in the series that dates back to 1892. Minnesota has had recent success against Michigan, owning a 14-5 record since 2010.
The Gophers then travel to South Dakota for their first of three matchups on the season, April 12. The other two meetings occur at Siebert Field on April 20 and back out to Brookings, S.D. on May 17. In their latest duel, Matt Fiedler hit a walk-off RBI single to plate Alex Boxwell and take the game 3-2.
Siebert Field plays host for the following five games, highlighted by a three-game stint against Maryland. The Terrapins won last year’s NCAA Regional on the campus of UCLA before falling to eventual national champion Virginia in the Super Regionals. Back-to-back games against North Dakota State (April 19) and South Dakota State (April 20) round out the five-game homestand.
Minnesota then embarks on a road trip that sandwiches a non-conference duel at North Dakota State (April 26) around six Big Ten away contests. The Gophers first begin play at Northwestern, April 22-24. In its last two trips to Evanston, Ill., Minnesota is 5-1 against the Wildcats. The other road series is a three-game set at Illinois, April 29-May 1. The Fighting Illini finished last season at 50-10-1 and won the league’s regular season crown before falling in the NCAA Regionals.
The Gophers return home for a pair of non-conference games against Kansas, May 3-4. Minnesota holds a 4-3 lead in the overall series with the last meeting between the two programs coming in 2012. The Gophers then host a familiar conference foe in Indiana, May 6-8. Minnesota has won .713 of its contests with the Hoosiers (97-39).
The Maroon and Gold wrap up its travel schedule with a series at Purdue (May 13-15) and at South Dakota State (May 17). The Gophers swept the latest three-game set with the Boilermakers in 2014, winning each game by one run.
Minnesota closes out the regular season by hosting Ohio State, May 20-22. The overall series is deadlocked at 89-89-1 between the Gophers and Buckeyes. Minnesota won two out of three in the last duel in 2013.
The 2016 Big Ten Tournament will take place at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha. Neb., which also hosts the College World Series.
2016 Minnesota Baseball Schedule
