Gophers to tangle with Nebraska-Omaha in two-game midweek series

Minnesota is fresh off a sweep of Northwestern.

by Samuel Gordon

A two-game midweek series will give the Gophers another brief break from their rigorous Big Ten schedule.

Minnesota will host a reeling Nebraska-Omaha (11-25) club Tuesday and Wednesday. The Mavericks were most recently eviscerated 20-1 by UNLV on Sunday.

The Gophers (20-17), meanwhile, are fresh off a sweep of Big Ten bottom dweller Northwestern.

Minnesota has won 11 of its last 14 games. Its 6-3 record is second in the conference.

Although the Gophers swept the Wildcats, Minnesota head coach John Anderson said he was disappointed with the quality of his club’s at-bats during Sunday’s game.

The Gophers won 6-0, but nine of their final 12 outs were strikeouts.

Center fielder Jake Bergren has swung a good stick, though. Bergren has 10 hits in 28 at-bats for a .357 batting average. More impressively, he’s flashed a good glove in center field, and his speed and base running have been crucial to the Gophers’ offense.

On Saturday, Bergren’s drag-bunt single started a ninth-inning rally that eventually led to a 2-1 walk-off victory.

He manned center field and hit in the leadoff spot during the Northwestern series in place of Troy Larson, who suffered a high ankle sprain April 7 to Ohio State.

UNO, meanwhile, is looking for a spark to turn around its season. The Mavericks have lost nine of their last 11 games and are 6-18 on the road.

Tuesday’s first pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. at the Metrodome.