Minnesota this weekend will host eight other college baseball teams at the Vikings stadium in the Cambria College Classic on March 3 through 5.
Teams like the Gophers are often at a disadvantage at this time of year as the college season usually begins in February. They can’t play outside due to the winter weather, the main reason why they go out west to start their season.
“Our programs are at a different level than say a Mississippi or an SEC [school],” admitted Minnesota Coach John Anderson. That’s why the old Metrodome when it was up and running, and the new “dome,” allows the Gophers and other northern teams to play home games in March and April, in order to keep up with their Western and Southern counterparts.
The third annual Classic this year features Minnesota, along with two fellow Big Ten teams (Maryland and Nebraska), Ole Miss and Vanderbilt and Hawaii in a nine-game round-robin tournament format.
“I think it gives people an opportunity to really get a look at college baseball on the national scene,” noted Anderson, despite competing with the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament several blocks away in downtown Minneapolis. “We don’t have a lot of Division I programs in the state of Minnesota.”
Each Big Ten school will play the Big West (Hawaii), and SEC (Vanderbilt and Ole Miss), once during this weekend’s event, resulting in a three-game schedule for each team. The winner of the tournament will be the team with the best overall record at the end of the three days, with head-to-head competition serving as the tiebreaker.
At the conclusion of the final game between Minnesota and Vanderbilt on March 5, a brief awards ceremony will be held at home plate, where the championship trophy, the all-tournament team and tourney MVP will be presented.
“I think for the fans and people who love the game,” added Anderson, it’s a chance “to come and get an opportunity to see the game and the college baseball brand on a platform from a national perspective.”
After the tournament, Minnesota will also host games at the Vikings’ digs against Gonzaga and Houston. Anderson said after two years of dealing with COVID and limited scheduling as a result, he has been able to put together a good schedule for his team this year.
“We play 27 games in February and in March, and then 29 in April and May,” said the Gopher coach. “We’re going to have an ambitious schedule here… We’re looking forward to it.
“This year is exciting, especially after coming out of the last few years in the pandemic and loss of games and practices and player development time,” said Anderson. “I think it’s just gonna be fun to look at the schedule and see a normal schedule and have an opportunity to let our kids be a part of that.”
The tournament schedule is as follows: 11:05 am – Vanderbilt/Nebraska; 3:05 pm – Ole Miss/Maryland; 7:05 pm – Hawaii/Minnesota on Friday. On Saturday, 11:05 am – Maryland/Vanderbilt; 3:05 pm – Nebraska/Hawaii; 7:05 pm – Ole Miss/Minnesota. And on Sunday, 9:35 am – Hawaii/Maryland; 1:35 pm – Nebraska/Ole Miss; 6:05 pm – Vanderbilt/Minnesota.