Search results

Much better than a year ago but not over-confident by any means.

That’s fine if the staff thinks she’s that good of a hitter and fielder but it was interesting that she called out Sara Moulton by name in helping her get to this point where she has an opportunity to play P5 softball. If it turns out she can be a two-way player all the better for the Gophers!

Yes, indeed. It’s very important for this program to continue attracting the top in-state talent, especially pitching. Realistically though, we will usually need our studs to come from other states, so that second assistant job is huge because it will usually be the lead recruiter on out of...

Texas has money, but they also have Vic Schaefer. Look what he did recruiting and winning at relative backwater Mississippi State.

Nebraska is trying to capitalize on having Jordy Bahl for two more seasons to attract transfers for an attempt at a WCWS run while the Bahl window is open. Unlike Bahl though, none of these players are demonstrated all-American caliber players. But maybe one or two will break through for them...

It’s kind of a Catch-22 situation. For northern schools to get more hosting opportunities in the NCAA tournament, when the weather for games is at its finest, they have to win more games early in the year when they can’t play tough opponents at home due to weather.

Yes, I always thought her potential far exceeded actual results. She had some good games early in both her seasons but never could really get going in conference play. I think she needs to play where she is the bona fide starter and I didn’t see that happening here. On the flip side, portal...

True, but with Susa even if she doesn’t become the next Nemeth and dominate right away, one can’t help but being fairly confident she can still perform as well or better than anyone on the staff did this season. Ohio produces a lot of very good players. We are fortunate to land one of the best...

Good question. We’ve never heard any rumblings like you see on other boards, so there’s that. Let’s look at Piper’s tenure. 2021 - B1G refused to play any non-conference games, hurting the tournament chances of everyone, and especially sad for Amber Fiser. Yet were still one of only three B1G...

Probably. She played, but wasn’t a star at either of her post HS stops. But she was just the first in the long line of great Minnesota HS players to leave. We all bemoan Paige, Tessa, and others, but the seeds were planted much earlier when Karvonen, Skalicky (although she did return to the U...

Janet Karvonen has indeed done a lot for girls basketball in Minnesota over the years. Ironically though, rather than staying home to play at the U, she went to Old Dominion, one of the early powers of women’s college basketball, where she played alongside the late, great Anne Donovan. After...

Snippes velocity is OK for this level. Not great, but not bad. It was Grayson who was leaping the latter part of the season. Snippes spin is fine as well, but she needs to get control of it, as her stats indicate. She must be fine in bullpen sessions or Piper wouldn’t put her out there. With...

Agree in principle. However, the difference in talent level in club is significantly more between best and worst than it is at the B1G level. The decision to transfer is complicated. Nobody on this team will transfer solely because the players on their new team are all significantly better than...

Earlier this year, Grayson wasn’t leaping and she topped out at 58-59 mph. Now she is topping out at 60-61. So, I would suggest that Piper actually encouraged her to do this now that it is no longer illegal.

B1G teams (including us) have proved that a World Series run is possible about half the time. These are big schools with deep pockets. They are attractive to some players over some of the softball factories on academic reputation alone. The realistic ceiling in the portal/NIL era may not be a...

Ultimately Piper’s tenure will be defined by her ability to field a respectable or better pitching staff. That is her bread and butter, she is known in softball circles for the product she has put in the circle through the years. Now she needs to prove she can attract the kind of pitchers needed...

Schwartz has a lower body injury and is taking a medical redshirt. Enter has a hip flexor that just hasn’t responded enough to treatment to get her cleared to pitch. Yes, Limdmark is a mystery. But we know she left the team after just six at bats. Reilly Gardner is also somewhat of a mystery...

While our chances would be enhanced had Enter and Schwartz not gone down, I really like this draw for the Gophers. They have been susceptible to dominant aces all year, but Illinois and Nebraska would be the first two games, and neither team has a dominant ace. Playing the extra game against...

They were also leading at Illinois by six or so pretty late in the game when Braun went down. Maybe they could have hung on without her had that been a home game but it’s tough on the road. Bottom line, if you look at the way they were dispatching inferior opponents in non-conference, that was...

Creme and his ilk can’t possibly understand all the nuances of why a team finished with the record it did. Just too many teams to follow. He is probably aware Braun was out for a period last season, but has forgotten how they were performing before she went down, and he probably forgot that Hart...