It was a long way home

The demolition of the Metrodome left the Gophers baseball team without a cold-weather home, forcing it to play its first 20 games this season on the road. The team played 21 of 34 home games at the Dome last season; this year, it will not begin its 18-game home schedule until Friday, when it opens a three-game series against Michigan State. A look at how this season's February-March schedule compares with last season's:

2013-142012-13

Feb. 14-16: vs. Northern Illinois, Glendale, Ariz.Feb. 15-17: at UCLA, Los Angeles

Feb. 21-23: vs. Creighton, Fort Myers, Fla.Feb. 22-24: Western Michigan, Metrodome

March 1-2: at Louisiana Tech, Ruston, La.Feb. 27: North Dakota State, Metrodome

March 8-9: Chanticleer Classic, Myrtle Beach, S.C.March 1-3: Dairy Queen Classic, Metrodome

March 14-16: at Sacramento State, Sacramento, Calif.March 6: Hamline, Metrodome

March 18-19: at St. Mary's, Moraga, Calif.March 8-10: Western Illinois, Metrodome

March 22-23: at Northwestern, St. Charles, Mo.*March 12-13: Nebraska-Omaha, Metrodome

March 26: St. John's, Siebert Field#March 15-17: Indiana State, Metrodome

March 28-30: Michigan State, Siebert FieldMarch 19-20: at Kansas State, Manhattan, Kan.

March 22-24: Texas, Metrodome

*-moved from Evanston, Ill., weatherMarch 27: South Dakota State, Metrodome

#-canceled, weatherMarch 29-30: at Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich.