After having its five-game Big Ten winning streak snapped Saturday, the first-place Gophers baseball team thought it was heading to Iowa State for a single nine-inning, non-conference game today.
But that game was rescheduled late Monday night because of a forecast that calls for temperatures which won’t get above freezing. It will be made up next Tuesday, April 15.
Sophomore left-hander Adam Williams (1-1, 4.96 earned run average) was scheduled to start, but he will likely start a game against Penn State in a Big Ten series this weekend at University Park, Penn.

Siebert save
Some might have questioned the wisdom of trying to play outdoor baseball in Minnesota in the first week of April, but Siebert Field was actually able to save one game in the Gophers-Michigan series last weekend.
Siebert is the only park in the Big Ten that has lights (Ohio State’s new Bill Davis Stadium is equipped for lights, but doesn’t yet have them).
That feature allowed the teams to wait out a one-hour, 45-minute rain delay before Friday’s game, which was supposed to start at 3 p.m. Getting that game in was important, because the Gophers and Wolverines would only be able to play one more game the next day. Weather forced the cancellation of the final two games.
“We got a good forecast saying there was a window where we could play,” Minnesota coach John Anderson said after Friday’s game, a 7-5 Gophers win. “I’m glad we didn’t panic. But if it weren’t for the lights, we would have had to postpone it.”
The Gophers couldn’t play in the Metrodome this weekend because 1) the Twins were playing there, 2) several amateur games were scheduled around the Twins games, and the Gophers didn’t want to make any enemies by pre-empting them, and 3) no one wanted to play at obscene hours after the amateur games.
Hometown proud
Senior second baseman Eric Welter couldn’t have picked a better time for his first home run of the year.
The Chaska native hit his homer in the third inning Friday night, cutting Michigan’s lead to 3-1.
He also had more fans than usual rooting specifically for him. His dad, Dale, coaches the high school baseball team in Chaska, and he and many of his players saw Welter play one of his best games of the year.
“They took the day off, since the field down there is pretty much under water,” Welter said, referring to the rampant flooding problems in his home town. “He brought the crew down here. It was nice to see.”
Around the Big Ten
ù Ohio State improved to 9-3 in the Big Ten, second to the Gophers, thanks to two dramatic victories on Sunday over Illinois (6-6).
In the conclusion of a suspended game from Saturday, Alex Eckelman hit a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to give Ohio State a 15-11 win.
In the next game, the Buckeyes trailed 8-4 going into their last at-bat, but rallied to win 9-8. Dan Seimetz hit his second three-run homer of the game to tie it at eight, and Ohio State won the game on a two-out RBI single by Jason Driscoll.
Seimetz had a monster weekend, going 10-for-17 with 15 RBIs.
ù From the Why Aluminum Bats Shouldn’t Be Used in College Baseball Department: On Saturday in Iowa City, Penn State defeated Iowa 21-15 — in a seven-inning game.
The Gophers travel to University Park, Pa., to play the Lions (2-5, last in the Big Ten) this weekend. Penn State finished first in the conference a year ago.
Hit & Run
ù Senior catcher Bryan Guse had minor surgery on his toe last Monday. He was only available to pinch hit against Creighton on Wednesday and the Michigan game on Friday. He started on Saturday and went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
ù Four Gophers are ranked in the March 30 NCAA Division I statistics.
Robb Quinlan is second in doubles (16), Bob Keeney is 10th in triples (five), Mike Diebolt is 14th in strikeouts per nine innings (11.8), and Ted Zrust is 14th in ERA (1.44).