With tryouts completed and the roster set, the U is now spending its time preparing for MSUM. MN will travel up I94 to Moorhead to take on the Dragons in a 3 game set to open up conference play. The U is working on a short week, but they believe they will be ready to play and hopefully win the series and start off on the right foot.
"Last year we lost two close games in Winona that put us behind and just couldn't recover. Hopefully this year with a lot of returners that got a lot of playing time last year, we can start off on the right foot" Marshall Dalziel. Marshall will be looked on to help lead the pitching staff going into this weekend. "I had a rough summer and I hope I can bounce back and have a great year just like last year" also said by Marshall. Derek Plath is a dominate lefty who will be a key role in the pitching rotation for the U. Plath started against Winona and pitched pretty well and also came in and tossed two innings against the Dragons in the spring. When asked about the weekend Plath said "I'm really looking to locate my fastball, and make some guys miss. I am also looking to be able to throw my curveball for strikes and keep the pitch counts low with that. But overall I'm really looking to not try and overthrow, just let guys put the ball in play and throw a lot of ground ball outs." Austin Nordby will be another right hander to lead the staff, and close out this weekend. Austin started one game last year against Winona in the fall and also pitched against MSUM. When asked about pitching "pitching is fun when you do well." He also added about playing this weekend "looking to get back into the swing of the things. Nothing quite like using a weekend to play baseball. Should be lots of fun."
For the offensive side of the game, they look to jump on the pitching staff early and get MSUM to the bull pen sooner than they want to. The starting 9 in the field should provide good offensive stats but also sound fielding behind the pitchers. One player that graduated that will be hard to replace is Ryan O'Connell. Ryan was a great center fielder with great power and speed. His bat will be missed this year but someone will have to step up and be that guy. This weekend will really show where the U stands in the conference what needs to be worked on. Erik Hilgren will be looked upon to be the leader in the field at short stop. Erik was a key factor in the fall last year in the field and in the order. He said "I think our D is going to be pretty solid this year. Combine that with our very solid pitching staff and I think we should be able to be anyone."
Games on Saturday will start at 6:00pm at Jack William Stadium, with game two following the conclusion of game one. 11:00am Sunday will be the third and final game of the series.
For the most up to date stats during the weekend check the official twitter page of the team @umnclubbaseball.
As always you can contact the team at umnclubbaseball@yahoo.com with questions or thoughts.
We hope to see you at the games and look forward to this upcoming series.
- Staff-