Gopher Baseball Looks To End 5-Year NCAA Tournament Drought

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Minnesota is enjoying a baseball resurgence that has put the Gophers in position to end a five-year NCAA Tournament drought, the longest since the program's first appearance in 1956.

With two-way star Matt Fiedler and catcher Austin Athmann fueling one of the nation's most improved offenses, the Big Ten-leading Gophers will go into this weekend's key home series against Indiana with a half-game lead over the Hoosiers.

Minnesota (27-13, 11-3) already has six more wins than in 2015, its .324 batting average is 63 points higher, and its 6.6 runs a game are up from 4.6.

"We had a number of injuries the last two years, so I was forced to play a lot of players, some younger players," 35th-year coach John Anderson said Monday. "They learned some things about what it takes to succeed offensively at this level of baseball. They've applied some of those things, so it's paid off in terms of our ability to be a better offensive team. No question we had to get better on offense."

The Gophers are as high as No. 19 in the major polls this week and have the second-best RPI in the Big Ten at No. 33.

Fiedler, among 21 native Minnesotans on the 32-man roster, is batting a conference-best .396 and is 7-2 with a 3.36 ERA as the Friday night starter. Athmann, who had three surgeries the last two years and played sparingly, is batting .368 with nine home runs.

Anderson said a confluence of factors led to the Gophers' lull in recent seasons. First, the Big Ten became tougher with the additions of Maryland and Nebraska and league-wide facilities improvements. Minnesota also lost the advantage it had over other northern teams after the 2012 season when it lost the Metrodome for early practices and home games. The Gophers will move back indoors for early home games in 2017 with the opening of U.S. Bank Stadium.

Minnesota upgraded its on-campus facilities, opening the renovated Siebert Field in 2013 and adding a new locker room and hitting facility this year. But bad weather this season has limited the Gophers to nine home games against Division I opponents and 11 overall. They're 15-10 on the road.

"I'm not sure there are many programs in the country with the record we have that have played only nine home games," Anderson said. "That tells you the level of play the kids have given us on the road over a long period of time. That's what is special about this team. They're close, and they've created a tremendous culture within our team."

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