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Strelow base hit to beat Florida State and Cox PH HR to beat Northwestern. Clutch hits in tight ballgames on the road against very good competition. So, I’d argue that they have proven they can come through in the clutch, unlike the rest of the players being discussed above. I agree with you...

Massey has a proprietary formula that I like for softball especially over using RPI to rate teams because it takes into account dominance by including margin of victory. There is really no disputing that in softball, elite teams pile up a large number of run-rule victories.

At least Strelow and Cox have proven themselves before in clutch situations, even if neither is likely to post a very high batting average at this point in their careers. I was very high on Valencia after watching her smash line drives all over the yard in the fall of her freshman year. It would...

A P5 team competing for an at-large bid can’t afford more than one or two losses to sub-200 RPI teams unless it plays a lot of Top 25 teams and holds its own in those games. That allows its own RPI to be good enough that a tournament bid is a foregone conclusion. Unfortunately, Our schedule...

I arrived late for the first game so I didn’t see the first DenHartog HR, but I saw DenHartog and Oakland both pulverize line drives over the CF wall, and in the second game they both hit moonshots over the LF wall into a pretty stiff north wind. Both of those were hit off Hambrick, who along...

Thank you for posting that photo. I had forgotten about that anomaly which I now remember seeing written on the Jug years ago and wondering about at the time. Your post spurred me to do a little research as to why. Turns out that after the 1925 season the Big Ten instituted a rule requiring...

I don’t think this is accurate but regardless, I think the Jug should be on the line only in the first game between the two teams, if they play more than once. Under the current system, the second meeting would have to be for the B1G championship trophy. To clarify, this means that if they ONLY...

Big win for Piper and staff! She spins the ball well with good P5 velocity already that will only improve, great command, and a killer change. Nice easy motion, too. I like that all of our recent HS pitching recruits are very accomplished hitters as well.

Thanks Gopher68 for keeping us informed of recruiting developments. I had kind of forgotten that this was commitment season. I like the recruiting Piper and staff have done so far. We have to keep bringing in pitching from everywhere and find that next ace asap. But maybe with the relaxed...

Adding more PAC teams might help in that regard. Much of the negative commentary on UCLA joining the B1G from a softball perspective revolves around the Bruins having to play cold-weather games. Given that political power in softball is concentrated in the south and west, this issue for UCLA and...

That likely concludes the Gophers portal shopping for this year. Can’t wait for fall ball to see exactly what we have for next year. It looks like this team will have a better balance of speed and power offensively. In the circle, we have more depth, but we need someone to step up and have an...

Now a person who appears to be an actual NFCA official has come out and stated that the news reported about the Leadoff Classic in Gulf Shores was elaborately fabricated by someone posing as an NFCA official. So back to square one again, insofar as having any knowledge of our actual 2023...

Looks like the Gophers will open up the 2023 season at the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic in Gulf Shores AL from Feb. 9-12. Their first opponent will be Ole Miss, followed by Missouri, James Madison, Notre Dame, and Oregon State. Great opening week slate, plus the added drama of facing former...

Piper will definitely have way more to work with than she did last year. And don’t forget about Brianna Enter, the Florida State transfer. I’m sure she didn’t come here to be the third or fourth pitcher on this staff. She’s been there, done that at FSU; the heightened competition should help all...

Groenewegen did play 1B when not pitching in 2014. If you recall, she was hurt on a play at first in the Oregon super-regional and was unable to pitch (or play at all) in Game 2, and Oregon rolled to the sweep. That might be one reason why Allister didn’t play her in the field again, only DP...

They both battled injuries. It’s part of the game but too bad, I would have liked to see what they both could have accomplished had they had injury-free careers.

We wouldn’t have had Hope Brandner, who turned out to be almost as good statistically, and much more clutch than Lindaman, and we likely wouldn’t have been awarded the #7 seed in 2019, either, because Allister didn’t believe in scheduling to appease the selection committee and enhance her team’s...

Western Nebraska. Is that our first signee from there since the legendary Bobby Jackson?

Yes, they have to ditch the minimize flights with the 400-mile bus rule and seed 1-64 to get closer to a snaking bracket. Due to the no two teams from the same conference in a regional rule, a true snaking bracket is probably never possible anyway. However, the committee does attempt to balance...

Thank you for the correction. I forgot about the part of the rule that applies to two teams which have already played one another.