Gopher Softball 2018

Donate To GopherHole

I read these postings regularly; I don't interpret any of them as being critical of the players. Anxious and overly hopeful maybe, but not critical. I think everybody --- coaches, players, fans --- are very ambitious for Gophers softball and full of an immense affection for the program, as witness the growing crowd sizes. I'd rather witness that level of interest than apathy. For the Gophers to reach the high elite level of NCAA, it'll take some real heroics in years to come, given the way northern teams are treated. I guess the heroics will have to come from coaches, players, and fans alike. My concern is: just keep the top-flight recruits coming in year after year and the big breakthrough will come.
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
Missouri has dismissed longtime softball coach Ehren Earleywine just two weeks before the start of the regular season.

http://www.komu.com/news/mizzou-softball-coach-ehren-earleywine-fired-two-weeks-before-opener
Click to expand...

They had a split in the team about this coach the year before Tori Finucane transferred up here from Missouri. Some of the players complaining, to the AD or something IIRC, about his treatment of players while other players were publicly defending him. It sounded like it was quite the to-do.
 

I guess we had a lesson here that it can be tough to be the parent of a D1 athlete. MRJ was certainly not criticizing any players in that post.

He might be doing himself and everyone a favor by not subjecting himself any further to the forum, but best of luck to him and his daughter (and the team) this season :D
 

Tucker said:
I guess we had a lesson here that it can be tough to be the parent of a D1 athlete. MRJ was certainly not criticizing any players in that post.

He might be doing himself and everyone a favor by not subjecting himself any further to the forum, but best of luck to him and his daughter (and the team) this season :D
Click to expand...
Agreed. Not sure where the miscommunication was, but i think he just felt bad about mentioning specific players on his daughter's team in a public forum, which I can appreciate. I'm actually hoping he comes back one day.

Sent from my SM-G360V using Tapatalk
 


MRJ said:
Agreed. Not sure where the miscommunication was, but i think he just felt bad about mentioning specific players on his daughter's team in a public forum, which I can appreciate. I'm actually hoping he comes back one day.

Sent from my SM-G360V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Increased interest in the program means increased expectations and more specific scrutiny. I understand a dad's protectiveness towards his daughter but this is not exactly the football board or the basketball board where bashing players is common. I think the question about pitching going into the season is fair and it has been discussed without bashing anybody. We don't know what any of these pitchers can do when put in the #1 pitcher role at this level. Are we supposed to gush over them all and predict 27-3 records with .067 ERAs? Hopefully one of the pitchers can do that.
This will be a really good team if a pitcher can step up and be the ace. This team can be special if several pitchers can step up and be effective when needed. That is similar to next year's situation at QB for the football team. Fans are going to talk about it. In an odd way, it is a good problem that folks are talking about the team and specific players.
 

ComoGopher said:
Increased interest in the program means increased expectations and more specific scrutiny. I understand a dad's protectiveness towards his daughter but this is not exactly the football board or the basketball board where bashing players is common. I think the question about pitching going into the season is fair and it has been discussed without bashing anybody. We don't know what any of these pitchers can do when put in the #1 pitcher role at this level. Are we supposed to gush over them all and predict 27-3 records with .067 ERAs? Hopefully one of the pitchers can do that.
This will be a really good team if a pitcher can step up and be the ace. This team can be special if several pitchers can step up and be effective when needed. That is similar to next year's situation at QB for the football team. Fans are going to talk about it. In an odd way, it is a good problem that folks are talking about the team and specific players.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. Pitching is the major key, of course. With all her international experience with the Canadian team, Sara G. was always a sure bet in pressure situations. This year's team should have great depth in the circle, even if we don't yet know exactly what to expect from them individually. Competition will tell. My gut feeling is that Trachsel will put tons of emphasis on speed and defense. Speed, as they say, is the one thing that never goes in a slump. And the infield defense should continue to get better. Should be an exciting season.
 

Hrothgar said:
I read these postings regularly; I don't interpret any of them as being critical of the players. Anxious and overly hopeful maybe, but not critical. I think everybody --- coaches, players, fans --- are very ambitious for Gophers softball and full of an immense affection for the program, as witness the growing crowd sizes. I'd rather witness that level of interest than apathy. For the Gophers to reach the high elite level of NCAA, it'll take some real heroics in years to come, given the way northern teams are treated. I guess the heroics will have to come from coaches, players, and fans alike. My concern is: just keep the top-flight recruits coming in year after year and the big breakthrough will come.
Click to expand...

Sceduling top notch out of conference teams would help a lot, too. The team seemed to get a lot more respect, was it 2 or 3 years ago? They played a lot of West Coast teams and did really well against them, and their RPI rating reflected that, and they didn't win near as many games as last year, but were ranked higher I believe? Or at least higher in the sense of getting more respect on a per capita win/loss way of looking at it, if that makes sense? Anyone understand which season I'm talking about? I could look it up but I'm convinced one of you die hard softball fans will know right off the top of your heads.

Not sure why we didn't schedule better ooc opponents than we did last year? Or did the good opponents have down years? I'm getting old and my short term memory is not so good anymore. lol.

But recruiting seemed to improve every year for the old coach, hopefully our new coach can keep that yearly progression upwards going, until we are winning Natl Titles, you know, right?! Why not, new upgraded facilities? We can always dream.
 

Tucker said:
I guess we had a lesson here that it can be tough to be the parent of a D1 athlete. MRJ was certainly not criticizing any players in that post.

He might be doing himself and everyone a favor by not subjecting himself any further to the forum, but best of luck to him and his daughter (and the team) this season :D
Click to expand...

FWIW, I talked to a player I know on the team and she had never heard of Gopherhole, none of the players have ever mentioned a message board, and she said that as far as she knows only old men like her dad post on message boards. Ha!
 



ComoGopher said:
FWIW, I talked to a player I know on the team and she had never heard of Gopherhole, none of the players have ever mentioned a message board, and she said that as far as she knows only old men like her dad post on message boards. Ha!
Click to expand...
Sounds about right! Lol!

Sent from my LG-H820 using Tapatalk
 

KillmeNow said:
Sceduling top notch out of conference teams would help a lot, too. The team seemed to get a lot more respect, was it 2 or 3 years ago? They played a lot of West Coast teams and did really well against them, and their RPI rating reflected that, and they didn't win near as many games as last year, but were ranked higher I believe? Or at least higher in the sense of getting more respect on a per capita win/loss way of looking at it, if that makes sense? Anyone understand which season I'm talking about? I could look it up but I'm convinced one of you die hard softball fans will know right off the top of your heads.

Not sure why we didn't schedule better ooc opponents than we did last year? Or did the good opponents have down years? I'm getting old and my short term memory is not so good anymore. lol.

But recruiting seemed to improve every year for the old coach, hopefully our new coach can keep that yearly progression upwards going, until we are winning Natl Titles, you know, right?! Why not, new upgraded facilities? We can always dream.
Click to expand...

I suspect you're referring to 2014, when MN won the BIG tournament and got a Regional tournament at the U, which they won. I heard Allister in an interview last year (2017) say that she'd learned a lot in her tenure as Gopher coach, especially lots about scheduling. I wondered if she meant scheduling weaker opponents or taking a chance on top-flight teams. To be honest, I'm not sure how the scheduling is arranged. Anybody have an explanation? The breakthrough I have in mind is making the CSW. It's doable, but will require some really good athletes.
 

Hrothgar said:
I suspect you're referring to 2014, when MN won the BIG tournament and got a Regional tournament at the U, which they won. I heard Allister in an interview last year (2017) say that she'd learned a lot in her tenure as Gopher coach, especially lots about scheduling. I wondered if she meant scheduling weaker opponents or taking a chance on top-flight teams. To be honest, I'm not sure how the scheduling is arranged. Anybody have an explanation? The breakthrough I have in mind is making the CSW. It's doable, but will require some really good athletes.
Click to expand...

I think the coaches reach out to other coaches to schedule games or get into tournaments that schools are putting on. Last year she tried to schedule appropriate teams, but some of those teams didn't have as good of seasons as they normally do, so that hurt our strength of schedule. (our RPI was 11 at the end of last year)

Hrothgar.........I'm trying not to go into one of my rants about not being seeded last year..........it's just that I'm still so f****** p****d
 

Tucker said:
I think the coaches reach out to other coaches to schedule games or get into tournaments that schools are putting on. Last year she tried to schedule appropriate teams, but some of those teams didn't have as good of seasons as they normally do, so that hurt our strength of schedule. (our RPI was 11 at the end of last year)

Hrothgar.........I'm trying not to go into one of my rants about not being seeded last year..........it's just that I'm still so f****** p****d
Click to expand...

I understand your frustration, Tucker; we all share it. Northern teams get the shaft, to the gain of the SEC & PAC10; MN got the worst treatment, but I suspect Carol Hutchins at Michigan put up with lots of bias in her early days before she got her team accepted as elite. She probably has stories to tell. I wrote a post here last summer about what I think happened causing the Gophers to get snubbed. I think it was all politics and economics. ESPN was having financial shortfalls; so they fired a lot of employees; that was in the news during the spring. To save money, I think ESPN didn't want to do NCAA women's softball at all, but agreed to do so as long as the NCAA allowed them to televise games only in SEC and PAC10 territories, which meant no costly TV crew trips to the far north. And so MN was left out of the seeding. I don't think it had anything to do with whether the NCAA thought MN was good or not. It was all dollars. NCAA & ESPN are simply whores to mammon, IMHO. Anybody who wants to correct me, please do so.
 



Hrothgar said:
I understand your frustration, Tucker; we all share it. Northern teams get the shaft, to the gain of the SEC & PAC10; MN got the worst treatment, but I suspect Carol Hutchins at Michigan put up with lots of bias in her early days before she got her team accepted as elite. She probably has stories to tell. I wrote a post here last summer about what I think happened causing the Gophers to get snubbed. I think it was all politics and economics. ESPN was having financial shortfalls; so they fired a lot of employees; that was in the news during the spring. To save money, I think ESPN didn't want to do NCAA women's softball at all, but agreed to do so as long as the NCAA allowed them to televise games only in SEC and PAC10 territories, which meant no costly TV crew trips to the far north. And so MN was left out of the seeding. I don't think it had anything to do with whether the NCAA thought MN was good or not. It was all dollars. NCAA & ESPN are simply whores to mammon, IMHO. Anybody who wants to correct me, please do so.
Click to expand...

Correct you? Hell no, I say AMEN!!! I'll never forgive the NCAA for letting last year play out like that. I mean, not that they care, but I fantasize about someday being the deciding vote as to whether everyone involved in the NCAA gets to keep their job or go to jail for a very long time. lol Any guess what my vote would be? :)
 

KillmeNow said:
Correct you? Hell no, I say AMEN!!! I'll never forgive the NCAA for letting last year play out like that. I mean, not that they care, but I fantasize about someday being the deciding vote as to whether everyone involved in the NCAA gets to keep their job or go to jail for a very long time. lol Any guess what my vote would be? :)
Click to expand...

I mean, I hold grudges. More than one Gopher Mens bb team that I can remember getting left out of the tourney that deserved to get in. Lucia's first season, played the #1 SOS, got left out of the tourney, PUNISHED for playing a tough schedule. Women's hockey team, around 99? won the WCHA Reg Season title, yet got left out of the tourney despite being defending Natl Champs? Only let ONE WCHA team into the tourney that year, served them bastards right though, UMD went on to win it and WCHA teams won it every year after that for over a decade. Them Easterners try and try and try to manipulate things to keep the western hockey teams down, never works. Southern teams work so hard to keep northern baseball and softball teams down. Unfortunately those efforts are working.

I better stop, this kind of stuff gets me too fired up. But I do look forward to the day the B1G and other P5 conferences break away from the NCAA. I hope they bankrupt the SOBs.
 

KillmeNow said:
I mean, I hold grudges. More than one Gopher Mens bb team that I can remember getting left out of the tourney that deserved to get in. Lucia's first season, played the #1 SOS, got left out of the tourney, PUNISHED for playing a tough schedule. Women's hockey team, around 99? won the WCHA Reg Season title, yet got left out of the tourney despite being defending Natl Champs? Only let ONE WCHA team into the tourney that year, served them bastards right though, UMD went on to win it and WCHA teams won it every year after that for over a decade. Them Easterners try and try and try to manipulate things to keep the western hockey teams down, never works. Southern teams work so hard to keep northern baseball and softball teams down. Unfortunately those efforts are working.

I better stop, this kind of stuff gets me too fired up. But I do look forward to the day the B1G and other P5 conferences break away from the NCAA. I hope they bankrupt the SOBs.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, sports organizations like the NCAA have relatively little to do with sports. It's politics, money, power plays, and corruption at high levels, all of which can be swept away, or attempted to sweep away, by openly lying about it in public, witness MSU now. Not much else to be expected in a country in which it's possible to lose an election and still end up in the WH. The corruption trickles down.
 

Hrothgar said:
Unfortunately, sports organizations like the NCAA have relatively little to do with sports. It's politics, money, power plays, and corruption at high levels, all of which can be swept away, or attempted to sweep away, by openly lying about it in public, witness MSU now. Not much else to be expected in a country in which it's possible to lose an election and still end up in the WH. The corruption trickles down.
Click to expand...
To beat them at their game you have to win. Michigan has a national title. They are in the club. We had our chance to go into Alabama's house and win and it didn't happen. Sure last year was a screw job but the team needed to score. That's it and it didn't happen. Maybe some Trachsel small ball might have been a good thing...

Again, I am pissed like everyone else and the team last year got royally screwed but when you get stepped on you need to overcome and it did not happen. The deck will always be stacked against us...

Sent from my LG-H820 using Tapatalk
 

I sure didn't expect the kids to overcome a public screwing on that level.
 

Tucker said:
I sure didn't expect the kids to overcome a public screwing on that level.
Click to expand...
It was seriously wrong, but the only way to overcome it is to win. We can complain about it forever but that doesn't help. Winning helps. Can we expect the ladies to win with the deck stacked against them? No... Can we hope for justice if this team wins the B1G? Sure... In the end regardless of seeding you gotta win the games...

I support this team 100% but also understand reality. Deserve has nothing to do with it...

Sent from my LG-H820 using Tapatalk
 

rugger14 said:
It was seriously wrong, but the only way to overcome it is to win. We can complain about it forever but that doesn't help. Winning helps. Can we expect the ladies to win with the deck stacked against them? No... Can we hope for justice if this team wins the B1G? Sure... In the end regardless of seeding you gotta win the games...

I support this team 100% but also understand reality. Deserve has nothing to do with it...

Sent from my LG-H820 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I agree, Rugger14. That's what I mean by a breakthrough; to get to the absolute elite level, the Gophers've got to get big wins against the odds on a big stage. What the Gophers needed against Alabama was a couple of key hits. Maybe next time. Michigan fought its way to recognition, as a northern team, by winning. But I think the Gophers are just beginning their surge as a program, IF they can keep top-flight recruits coming in.
 

Saying they should have overcome it doesn't help either. The game is over either way.

I am going to say forever the committee should not have screwed them over. I am not going to say the players should have overcome it. That just adds insult to injury.

“I think the unfortunate thing is that our athletes didn’t get the chance to do that at their home. And it’s unfortunate that a group of people sitting in the room can make that decision. I think it’s just sad because I think they deserved better.” Allister talked after the game about the mental toll on her team since the announcement a week before that the Gophers — ranked No. 1 in the final coaches poll of the regular season — wasn’t worthy of a top-16 seed.

“I think they had a lot thrown at them over the last week,” Allister said.

Gophers' softball loss makes NCAA look worse, not better
http://www.startribune.com/gophers-softball-loss-makes-ncaa-look-worse-not-better/423646523/#1
 

Tucker said:
Saying they should have overcome it doesn't help either. The game is over either way.

I am going to say forever the committee should not have screwed them over. I am not going to say the players should have overcome it. That just adds insult to injury.

“I think the unfortunate thing is that our athletes didn’t get the chance to do that at their home. And it’s unfortunate that a group of people sitting in the room can make that decision. I think it’s just sad because I think they deserved better.” Allister talked after the game about the mental toll on her team since the announcement a week before that the Gophers — ranked No. 1 in the final coaches poll of the regular season — wasn’t worthy of a top-16 seed.

“I think they had a lot thrown at them over the last week,” Allister said.

Gophers' softball loss makes NCAA look worse, not better
http://www.startribune.com/gophers-softball-loss-makes-ncaa-look-worse-not-better/423646523/#1
Click to expand...
The difference is that some of us are looking forward and you are looking back. Nobody is right or wrong. I absolutely agree with you Tucker but we can't do anything about it.

Sent from my LG-H820 using Tapatalk
 

rugger14 said:
The difference is that some of us are looking forward and you are looking back. Nobody is right or wrong. I absolutely agree with you Tucker but we can't do anything about it.

Sent from my LG-H820 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

True, you are absolutely correct :p

What was disappointing to me, was how many people, Gopher fans included, right after the regionals emphasized how the Gophers didn't score, and they didn't overcome the snub. Like it proved the NCAA right. Like the players are blamed for what's over and done with, rather than the committee being blamed for what's over and done with.

I don't love being the obnoxious guy, or the guy who doesn't get over it...lol

When we look back at the end of last year...I have to put the onus on the committee and not on the players. In my own little mind, I can't let the committee up and I have to defend the players.
 

Well, I think 2018 is more important than what's past. I feel maybe the NCAA owes the Gophers one; maybe that will happen in 2018. But anyone who expects justice from an organization like the NCAA, which is governed by money, power, and political decisions within its group, is in for disappointment. The way to succeed within its strictures is to play their game, pay your dues by winning (and sadly that oftentimes involves cheating along the way, as recent scandals show), and being one of the boys (I use that word knowing part of the committee was women). I know that sounds incredibly cynical, but it's facts, in my mind. Too bad it can't be sport instead of power plays by certain conferences. I love Gopher softball and haven't missed a single game, either in person or my internet, for 4 years, but I know the NCAA & ESPN are not beyond corruption, and I force myself to accept that, albeit against my will.
 

http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/013018aaa.html

For the fourth straight season, Minnesota softball starts the season ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Preseason Top-25 poll. For second-consecutive season the Gophers begin as the No. 16 team in the country.

The Gophers are also ranked in the ESPN/USA Softball Top-25 with a No. 18 ranking. Last season, Minnesota finished with a No. 15 ranking in the NFCA poll and No. 14 in the USA Softball poll
 

Ignatius L Hoops said:
http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/013018aaa.html

For the fourth straight season, Minnesota softball starts the season ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Preseason Top-25 poll. For second-consecutive season the Gophers begin as the No. 16 team in the country.

The Gophers are also ranked in the ESPN/USA Softball Top-25 with a No. 18 ranking. Last season, Minnesota finished with a No. 15 ranking in the NFCA poll and No. 14 in the USA Softball poll
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting that.
 

Is anyone else going to Vegas next week? If so, let me know. I would like to meet some of you folks who love Gopher softball.

Sent from my LG-H820 using Tapatalk
 

rugger14 said:
Is anyone else going to Vegas next week? If so, let me know. I would like to meet some of you folks who love Gopher softball.

Sent from my LG-H820 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Maybe you can talk Ogee Oglethorpe, GH's resident Vegas dude.
 

Ignatius L Hoops said:
http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/013018aaa.html

For the fourth straight season, Minnesota softball starts the season ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Preseason Top-25 poll. For second-consecutive season the Gophers begin as the No. 16 team in the country.

The Gophers are also ranked in the ESPN/USA Softball Top-25 with a No. 18 ranking. Last season, Minnesota finished with a No. 15 ranking in the NFCA poll and No. 14 in the USA Softball poll
Click to expand...

I thought I saw that FastPitch preseason poll (whoever their pollsters are) ranked the Gophers #5 nationally. Was I wrong about that? Just wondering.
 


You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom