MINNEAPOLIS – The 132nd season of Gopher Baseball is set to begin on Feb. 14, as Minnesota head baseball coach John Anderson announced the team’s full 2020 schedule Tuesday. The Gophers will play at home 31 times throughout the upcoming campaign, beginning with 14 contests at U.S Bank Stadium from Feb. 22-March 11.
Altogether, Minnesota’s 2020 schedule includes 19 games against nine different NCAA Tournament teams from 2019.
Minnesota’s Big Ten slate features home conference tilts with Rutgers, Northwestern, Purdue and Michigan. The Gophers will face the likes of Michigan State, Illinois, Iowa and Maryland on the road this season.
The Gophers’ first regular season action of 2020 comes in the form of the Angels College Classic in Tempe, Ariz., which will be played from Feb. 14-17. San Diego, Pepperdine, Illinois and Oregon will all battle the Maroon and Gold during the season-opening tournament.
Following the trip to the Mountain time zone, the Gophers will trek to Florida for an exhibition matchup with the Minnesota Twins on Friday, Feb. 21.
With a quick turnaround to come the very next day, the Gophers host their first home series of 2020, as the Horned Frogs of TCU come to U.S. Bank Stadium for three games from Feb. 22-24. Thereafter, South Dakota State will visit the Bank for a single game on Feb. 26. The Gophers will then play a trio Atlantic Coast Conference foes in the form of UNC (Feb. 28), Duke (Feb. 29.) and NC State (March 1).
The following Tuesday, the Gophers welcome North Dakota State to town on March 3 for the first of two 2020 meetings. The Bison will be followed by their border rival, South Dakota State, who will make their second trip to U.S. Bank on March 4.
Thereafter, Utah will arrive in Minneapolis for a weekend series from March 6-8. The span of 14 consecutive home contests at U.S. Bank Stadium will conclude from March 10-11, when the Gophers receive a two-day visit from Creighton.
After wrapping up the lengthy home stand, Minnesota will venture to Colorado Springs for a three-game series with Air Force from March 13-15. Minnesota will then embark on a road trip to Lubbock, Tex., as they visit the Red Raiders of Texas Tech for a three-game non-conference series from March 20-22.
Finishing off the month, the Gophers will take on Michigan State in East Lansing from March 27-29, marking their first Big Ten action of the season. Another Big Ten series will come the following weekend, as Minnesota plays host to Rutgers from April 3-5 in what will serve as 2020’s Siebert Field opener.
On Tuesday, April 7, Nebraska-Omaha will make their own Siebert Field appearance for a one-game non-conference bout. The Mavericks will be followed by North Dakota State on April 8 in what will be the second matchup of the campaign between the two teams.
Minnesota will then take to the road for a weekend conference series with Illinois from April 10-12. Minnesota will be looking to even the score from 2019, as the Illini took two out of three from the Gophers in Minneapolis.
Upon their return, the U will enjoy an eight-game home stand beginning with South Dakota State on Wednesday, April 15. Northwestern will then come to Siebert Field for a conference series the weekend of April 17-19. Last season, Minnesota prevailed in two out of three games in Evanston, Ill. against the Wildcats.
After Northwestern leaves town, Milwaukee will make a brief stop in Minneapolis on Wednesday, April 22. Closing out the home stand, Purdue will follow with a weekend conference series from April 24-26.
As the final stretch of the regular season begins, Minnesota will play Iowa in a three-game series in Iowa City from May 1-3. The U last faced the Hawkeyes in a 2019 Big Ten Tournament elimination game, which the Maroon and Gold ultimately won 3-0 to prolong their season.
The Gophers return home for an early-week tilt with Oral Roberts on May 4, before preparing for one of the most highly anticipated series of the 2020 season. On the weekend of May 8-10, Minnesota will take on Big Ten rival and reigning College World Series finalist Michigan. In 2019, the Wolverines edged out the Gophers two games-to-one in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Minnesota will close out the campaign on the road against Maryland from May 14-16, whom they defeated in two out of three games at home a season ago. This road trip to the East Coast will signify the Gophers’ final action of the regular season.
For those who qualify, the Big Ten Tournament will be held from May 20-24 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb. NCAA Regionals are scheduled for May 29-31 at various sites across the country, with the Super Regionals taking place from June 5-7. Last but not least, the NCAA College World Series will culminate the 2020 baseball season from June 13-24 at TD Ameritrade.
