No inside info on this but I just don't see 14 going out this way.
I hope not this was supposed to be a top 3 big ten team with the chance of playing in the ncaa tournament.
Thinking about it during the 2nd game of the doubleheader yesterday the 18-0 loss I went and looked at the roster a little more searching for more answers. What I came away with was we have 13 seniors and arguably there are maybe 2 guys contributing at the level you expected/figured they would when they came into the program and a number of guys have just had horrendous seasons. I know technically they can stay but I can't imagine much of this group of seniors is back next season, maybe 3-4 guys at most. Then you look at the juniors and there are 6 in that class but 2 very important pitchers you thought you'd get a lot out of have been horrendous this year.
Friday game?
Yes Friday my bad. I believe he had a no hitter going into the sixth. It’s sad cause three years ago when they beat UCLA to go to the super regional and now they are getting blown away but subpar big ten teams.
... and they played very well in that 2018 super regional in Corvallis against a dominant, national championship winning Oregon State team. That was a really good Gopher team.
They rallied back for a respectable 21-5 loss....
All I know is Ryan Duffy is a senior, but I don't even know if he's pitched as a reliever. I lost track from when he was in high school. Both he and his fellow pitcher Sam Bridges from So St Paul pretty much took up space rather than bring quality pitching. Not sure why. They had good stuff and threw in the low 90s out of high school.
I completely disagree. What is the cost of a roster spot? I'm not saying they need extra scholarships but at least let them extend the roster as they see fit like other programs are able to.
No I know how bad they are this year and know what has changed games. I've seen every inning of every game and know how they have turned. Are you kidding with 1 or 2 wins? I can absolutely without a doubt in my mind say they would've swept the Michigan State series for 2 more wins, took at least 1 more game against Northwestern and Illinois as each of those series had a loss by bullpen collapse, and would have picked up a win against Nebraska as well. That is 5 more wins right there and those are only the ones that I have no doubt in my mind would have changed. There are another 4-5 you can say would at worst have been 50/50 outcomes. A couple more reliable pitchers change how you manage an entire game as a coaching staff.
Pitching as a whole has been completely unreliable for the Gophers this season. I'd say the only real consistency we have had there is Ireland and Liffrig. There were a couple grad transfers they were after last spring/summer and both have had pretty strong years this season.
Keep getting solid starts from Ireland and Liffrig, get a Massey and Schoeberl to return to what they showed last season, maybe add a grad transfer and get Culliver back for an extra year, get a couple guys back from injury like Anderson and Klassen add in Clausen, Willis, Malec, Novotny, and Rooney and you can have a pretty solid group. I think Raabe probably ends up leaving but I'd be surprised if you lost much else from the lineup, maybe Wassel as he is a 5th year senior already but you should have a pretty experienced lineup back as well.