Chris Hawthorne, the Gophers’ 19-year-old placekicking transfer from North Carolina State, will have one of the best holders in the Big Ten in backup quarterback Adam Lueck. Hawthorne, who is from Raleigh, was a reserve at North Carolina State but did make five PAT’s and a 25-yard field goal against Wake Forest.
Gophers’ safety Nathan Tow-Arnett, who will be 29 in July, is the oldest player listed on the spring roster. Defensive tackle Curran Delaney, a Marine Corps veteran who was a volunteer coach in 2009 at Holy Family High School, is 25.
Offensive tackle Jonathan Ragoo is listed at 6-7, 391 pounds. Moses Alipate, 6-5, 285, has to be among the biggest quarterbacks in the nation. Kill said on WCCO Radio’s Sports Huddle show last Sunday he wants both players to lose weight between now and practice resuming in August.
Plans for the dozen or so black spruce trees removed from Target Field’s center field area to provide batters a better view for hitting include sending most of them to state parks for replanting. A contest for season ticket holders has fans explaining in a video why he or she should receive a tree.
Glen Perkins reportedly threw a 97 miles per hour fastball during a recent relief outing for the Twins, but radar guns can vary in accuracy by a few miles per hour. Gophers assistant baseball coach Rob Fornasiere said the fastest he ever saw Perkins throw was 93 miles per hour. Perkins won games on 17 consecutive Fridays during 2003 and 2004 when he pitched for the Gophers during Big Ten championship seasons.
Perkins, who has been a starter for the Twins in past seasons, is trying to re-establish his big league career and he’s been impressive in relief this year. He has pitched 9.1 innings, giving up six hits and has an ERA of 0.00.
Good outings could continue. “He’s a kid who traditionally has pitched better later in the season,” Fornasiere said.
The Gophers have been victims of inclement weather and Fornasiere said Minnesota’s 29 games played ranks among the lowest major college totals in the country. Minnesota has played the fewest games in the Big Ten. “We only have two guys (A.J. Pettersen and Justin Gominsky) with over 100 at bats,” Fornasiere said.
Head coach John Anderson’s team has 16 games remaining on the regular season schedule and unless they advance deep into the playoffs Minnesota will finish far behind the typical 60 games played.