This post originally bemoaned the Gophers getting roughed up,14-1, on February 18th by St. John's in the season opener for both teams, at the Big Ten/Big East Challenge in Clearwater, Florida. But then a fan commented about the Gophers coming back in their second game to beat Connecticut, and the road trip thread was on.

It's "the longest baseball road trip EVER," because the collapse of the Metrodome's roof caused the Gophers to extend their away games schedule with games originally scheduled at home. The team will play 23 straight road games in Florida, North Carolina, Arizona, and California, returning on April 1st to open its conference season against Purdue at the Twins' Target Field, where they will play their 12 Big Ten home games this season. Three non-conference home games will be played at Siebert Field.

During the epic cross-country journey, I encourage fans to stop by this thread to comment about the triumphs and travails of Gopher baseball.