If there was one recurring theme to what the coaches and players had to say leading up to this weekend’s College Station Regional, it was how each team’s conference had prepared their team for anything they might face in the NCAA baseball tournament.
“I think the [Big Ten] today, no doubt about it, from top to bottom is very similar to the top conferences in the country today,” said Minnesota coach John Anderson, who is in his 35th season. “Everybody has improved their facility, everybody has hired new coaches and there are people losing their jobs in the league because they haven’t won enough. The league has made [financial commitments] across the board to facilities, coaches’ salaries, indoor facilities, training centers, the amount of money to travel to be competitive in February and March. The league has made a huge investment in our competitiveness in the league and it is evident when you play in the league. Every weekend there are no easy games.”
Anderson led Gophers (34-20, 16-7) to the Big Ten regular-season title, but lost both games in the league’s tournament. Anderson used the tournament as an example of the parity in the league, noting that No. 8 seed Iowa made the final of its postseason tournament.
The Big Ten was the No. 7 RPI conference and got three teams — Ohio State, Nebraska and Minnesota into the tournament.
Minnesota and Wake Forest open the tournament at Blue Bell Park at 3 p.m. Friday. Host Texas A&M and Binghamton follow at 8 p.m.
The Minnesota Gophers had a loss far worse than any game when pitching coach Todd Oakes died of leukemia on May 26.
“With Coach Oakes it was a rough couple of weeks that we’ve had recently, with him passing, but ultimately he is in a better place and his suffering is over, so there is some peace in that,” said one of Oakes star pupils, senior pitcher Dalton Sawyer. “We’ve kind of stumbled the last couple of weeks, lost some close games, but ultimately baseball is just a game and we’re not defined by wins and losses. That was a big thing that Coach Oakes taught us, so I think even though he is gone, his messages and his ideals still live on through this team and his family.”
Oakes, 55, had battled leukemia for four years. He had been with the Gophers since 1999.
After the Gophers won the Big Ten regular-season title, Anderson took the trophy to Oakes’ house.
“We were all extremely emotional when he was moved to hospice,” said Gophers’ leading hitter Matt Fiedler. “We knew his fight was over but as Dalton alluded to, it was good for us and it was good for the family to have some closure. TO is a strong man of faith and a lot of us are as well so we know he is in a better place right now and we are hoping to play with the attitude and play with the lessons he taught us.”
Two of the best two-way players in the nation will be at Blue Bell Park over the weekend. Wake Forest’s Will Craig and Minnesota’s Matt Fiedler are both up for the The John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award.
Fielder, the 2016 Big Ten player of the year, is hitting .377 with seven homers when in the outfield and has an ERA of 4.10 and record of 7-3 as one of the Gophers’ starting pitchers.
“It will be really cool [to play against Craig],” Fiedler said. “I think Craig has got a lot of national attention as a two-way player and you look at his numbers they are unbelievable and getting to compete against somebody like that is going to be really fun, challenging for us. I don’t know if he will throw at all in that game but it will be really exciting to get matched up with him at some point on the mound or at the plate.”
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