Gopher Softball 2018

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At a certain point, don't you have to give other players a chance? Seeing the same lineup struggle game after game after game just doesn't make sense. There are over 20 players on the roster. Where''s Gill, Velazquez, Miller, Krueger, Chell, Cowger and Thompson? Give them some at bats, shake things up.
 

MNsoftballfan said:
At a certain point, don't you have to give other players a chance? Seeing the same lineup struggle game after game after game just doesn't make sense. There are over 20 players on the roster. Where''s Gill, Velazquez, Miller, Krueger, Chell, Cowger and Thompson? Give them some at bats, shake things up.
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ESPN3's announcers last night were clearly locals and pro-NMSU. They inadvertently brought up an interesting point, though. They praised the Gophers' hitting coach, saying she had 14 great seasons at NMSU and is doing great at MN, too. Who's kidding who? The present MN coaches have taken a potent hitting team and turned it impotent - 1 earned run in 29 innings! Coach Trachsel says when the team buys into the system, things'll improve. What's the system? They've been no-hit once; 1-hit twice, and 2-hit, now shut out by New Mexico State?
 

MNsoftballfan said:
At a certain point, don't you have to give other players a chance? Seeing the same lineup struggle game after game after game just doesn't make sense. There are over 20 players on the roster. Where''s Gill, Velazquez, Miller, Krueger, Chell, Cowger and Thompson? Give them some at bats, shake things up.
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Yes. I gotta think experimentation is coming...without mentioning names. Coaches must being seeing something in practice that isn't carrying through to games.
 

Hrothgar said:
ESPN3's announcers last night were clearly locals and pro-NMSU. They inadvertently brought up an interesting point, though. They praised the Gophers' hitting coach, saying she had 14 great seasons at NMSU and is doing great at MN, too. Who's kidding who? The present MN coaches have taken a potent hitting team and turned it impotent - 1 earned run in 29 innings! Coach Trachsel says when the team buys into the system, things'll improve. What's the system? They've been no-hit once; 1-hit twice, and 2-hit, now shut out by New Mexico State?
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Yeah, my eyebrows raised when I heard that too. On one hand, there are some lineup issues that are hurting the offense and out of the coaches' control 1) Wagner out, 2) Chell out, 3) the drop off from losing Groenewegen in that DP/Pitcher spot has been massive.

I'm wondering, though, how much of a challenge it is in a new coaching regime from a scouting standpoint. I was watching the Arizona/Utah game when the announcers interviewed Mike Candrea. He commented that the scouting is so good now that the players MUST reinvent themselves every year or they get hammered on their tendencies. It seems like that's happening now with the core of our lineup and I'm wondering if the coaches are simply a year behind in scouting/adjusting. You can hammer me for being completely wrong and mentioning names, but here's what my amateur eyes see 1) Lindaman won't swing at the 1st two strikes unless the pitch is down the middle of the plate, which of course never happens in top D1. She gets behind in count and ends up casting at a bad outside pitches, etc. 2) Maddie H. is kind of similar, getting behind in the count then getting nothing but pitches very outside which she is forced to swing at. 3) Dwyer seems to be getting pitched inside a lot and hands tied up (not so sure on this), 4) Parlich is good at slapping to the opposite field, but the fielders adjust to it and now make the out, and 5) I don't know what to say about the DP spot. Luckily, Jensen and Partain have been aggressive and beasts offensively.
 


MNsoftballfan said:
At a certain point, don't you have to give other players a chance? Seeing the same lineup struggle game after game after game just doesn't make sense. There are over 20 players on the roster. Where''s Gill, Velazquez, Miller, Krueger, Chell, Cowger and Thompson? Give them some at bats, shake things up.
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Chell, Cowger, and Thompson are all hurt. I agree with the other four. Let them take some cuts!
 

Hrothgar said:
ESPN3's announcers last night were clearly locals and pro-NMSU. They inadvertently brought up an interesting point, though. They praised the Gophers' hitting coach, saying she had 14 great seasons at NMSU and is doing great at MN, too. Who's kidding who? The present MN coaches have taken a potent hitting team and turned it impotent - 1 earned run in 29 innings! Coach Trachsel says when the team buys into the system, things'll improve. What's the system? They've been no-hit once; 1-hit twice, and 2-hit, now shut out by New Mexico State?
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Was it on Aggievision?
 


Well we called for other players to be given a chance and we called for Lindaman to be aggressive early in the count. Check and check.
 



MNsoftballfan said:
Well we called for other players to be given a chance and we called for Lindaman to be aggressive early in the count. Check and check.
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You are the softball whisperer!

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Really good to see the bats come alive and some other players like Krueger, Velasquez, and Rozelle make an impact. I hope this is momentum heading into the B1G season.
 

ComoGopher said:
Really good to see the bats come alive and some other players like Krueger, Velasquez, and Rozelle make an impact. I hope this is momentum heading into the B1G season.
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Yes, it was great to see some real hitting last night. Maybe all the things we've been commenting on boil down to one word: TRANSITION. For example: new coaches; no Groenewegen; no striking on-field leadership by a team leader this year. I think the greatest adjustment of all is the absence of Groenewegen; she was the one absolute All-American elite player for 4 years. She inspired her teammates. That positive attitude is perhaps just starting to arise in this year's team? Hope it's not too late.
 




ERA

Michigan 1.13
Iowa 1.70
Ohio State 2.07
Minnesota 2.47
Michigan State 2.75
Wisconsin 2.81
Northwestern 3.04
Nebraska 3.35
Maryland 3.73
Illinois 3.79
Rutgers 3.82
Indiana 3.83
Purdue 4.56
Penn State 5.43

New Mexico State 4.22

Gopher conference opponents in bold. ERA of course isn't a perfect indicator of a staff, but that being said the Gophers without a doubt should have pummeled that Aggie pitching.
 

Checking the weather forecast for Evanston this coming weekend, it looks pretty rugged. I remember going there 2 years ago to see NW/MN. The Saturday was four seasons in one day. Hope they're able to play all three days this time around.
 

Hrothgar said:
Checking the weather forecast for Evanston this coming weekend, it looks pretty rugged. I remember going there 2 years ago to see NW/MN. The Saturday was four seasons in one day. Hope they're able to play all three days this time around.
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We are skipping this weekend. We had planned to go but decided against it based on the weather. I can get some stuff done at home as well!

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Panthadad2 said:
Yeah, my eyebrows raised when I heard that too. On one hand, there are some lineup issues that are hurting the offense and out of the coaches' control 1) Wagner out, 2) Chell out, 3) the drop off from losing Groenewegen in that DP/Pitcher spot has been massive.

I'm wondering, though, how much of a challenge it is in a new coaching regime from a scouting standpoint. I was watching the Arizona/Utah game when the announcers interviewed Mike Candrea. He commented that the scouting is so good now that the players MUST reinvent themselves every year or they get hammered on their tendencies. It seems like that's happening now with the core of our lineup and I'm wondering if the coaches are simply a year behind in scouting/adjusting. You can hammer me for being completely wrong and mentioning names, but here's what my amateur eyes see 1) Lindaman won't swing at the 1st two strikes unless the pitch is down the middle of the plate, which of course never happens in top D1. She gets behind in count and ends up casting at a bad outside pitches, etc. 2) Maddie H. is kind of similar, getting behind in the count then getting nothing but pitches very outside which she is forced to swing at. 3) Dwyer seems to be getting pitched inside a lot and hands tied up (not so sure on this), 4) Parlich is good at slapping to the opposite field, but the fielders adjust to it and now make the out, and 5) I don't know what to say about the DP spot. Luckily, Jensen and Partain have been aggressive and beasts offensively.
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Long time (casual) Gopher softball fan here and new to this board.
First off, kudo's to the regular contributor's to this website! The depth of your passion and in-sight regarding this program is astonishing. What is even more astonishing is how tactfully you've been able to convey your thoughts and comments. As i mentioned above, compared to the regulars on this site, I am merely a casual Gopher softball fan.

Offensively, the squad is merely a shell of it's former self. It's not just one player, it's the whole team (freshman Jensen excluded). Obviously I don't need to bring this up, but compared to last year, all their offensive stats are all down, some way down. Even a casual observer like me can see that this lands squarely in the lap of the coaching staff. "You don't fix something that ain't broke", however if you broke it, you better be able to fix it and make it better than it was before you got your hands on it.

The impact of the freshman over the past two seasons has been impressive and needed. It doesn’t seem that this year’s class (excluding Jensen) have had any impact at all. I was surprised when I didn’t find this kid on the Gopher’s roster:

http://www.northernsun.org/news/201...ille-slugger-national-player-of-the-week.aspx

Jim Paulsein (Star Tribune) picked her “All Metro” first team 3 times and she was also selected “All State” 3 times. How does a kid like this slip through or get over looked by the local school?
 

Hooklineandsinker said:
.......The impact of the freshman over the past two seasons has been impressive and needed. It doesn’t seem that this year’s class (excluding Jensen) have had any impact at all. I was surprised when I didn’t find this kid on the Gopher’s roster:

http://www.northernsun.org/news/201...ille-slugger-national-player-of-the-week.aspx

Jim Paulsein (Star Tribune) picked her “All Metro” first team 3 times and she was also selected “All State” 3 times. How does a kid like this slip through or get over looked by the local school?
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Welcome to the board! On your last comment, I can only guess that Allister didn't emphasize recruiting a 2017 catcher with a 2016 All-American catcher in Lindaman already on the roster. Brenn has some OMG incredible stats though. I might have to search to see if any UMD softball games are streamed! I tried to catch one on FloSoftball in Florida but the signal was terrible.
 

Welcome to the board! On your last comment, I can only guess that Allister didn't emphasize recruiting a 2017 catcher with a 2016 All-American catcher in Lindaman already on the roster. Brenn has some OMG incredible stats though. I might have to search to see if any UMD softball games are streamed! I tried to catch one on FloSoftball in Florida but the signal was terrible.

Thanks for the welcome. Based upon Lindaman's high school stats, Allister knew she had a great player coming in, but it would be a tough sell to convince me Allister was predicting the level of success Lindaman achieved last season. Most if not all of the 2017 class were signed before Lindaman played a single regular season game as a Gopher.
 


Hooklineandsinker said:
Long time (casual) Gopher softball fan here and new to this board.
First off, kudo's to the regular contributor's to this website! The depth of your passion and in-sight regarding this program is astonishing. What is even more astonishing is how tactfully you've been able to convey your thoughts and comments. As i mentioned above, compared to the regulars on this site, I am merely a casual Gopher softball fan.

Offensively, the squad is merely a shell of it's former self. It's not just one player, it's the whole team (freshman Jensen excluded). Obviously I don't need to bring this up, but compared to last year, all their offensive stats are all down, some way down. Even a casual observer like me can see that this lands squarely in the lap of the coaching staff. "You don't fix something that ain't broke", however if you broke it, you better be able to fix it and make it better than it was before you got your hands on it.

The impact of the freshman over the past two seasons has been impressive and needed. It doesn’t seem that this year’s class (excluding Jensen) have had any impact at all. I was surprised when I didn’t find this kid on the Gopher’s roster:

http://www.northernsun.org/news/201...ille-slugger-national-player-of-the-week.aspx

Jim Paulsein (Star Tribune) picked her “All Metro” first team 3 times and she was also selected “All State” 3 times. How does a kid like this slip through or get over looked by the local school?
Click to expand...

Welcome to the board! Good topic of discussion. I am a big Jess Bren fan and I think she could hit the ball in D1. Not sure where you would put her on defense with Linda at C, Parlich at 3B, and Dwyer at 1B. So she could DP. Not sure she slipped through either. Softball is not a full scholarship sport so the coaches are constrained by how much money they have available. I am sure that bringing in Finucane and Smith as transfers the last two years was costly as far as scholarships go.

As far as freshmen contributing, where do you want them to? All defensive starters but Macken returned and Jensen slid into that role and then to CF when Wagner got hurt. I think Velasquez should get some additional ABs. She has shown she can get some hits. The freshmen pitchers are buried behind Fiser, Brandt, and Smith and Lowary has been hurt. Miller is behind Linda and Rozelle at C. Gill is middle infield. Do you see her unseating Arneson or Partain? In the OF, Thompson is hurt. I think the best chance is Velasquez at DP. So, in theory, we could have Bren competing for ABs at DP with a slew of others...
 

Hooklineandsinker said:
Welcome to the board! On your last comment, I can only guess that Allister didn't emphasize recruiting a 2017 catcher with a 2016 All-American catcher in Lindaman already on the roster. Brenn has some OMG incredible stats though. I might have to search to see if any UMD softball games are streamed! I tried to catch one on FloSoftball in Florida but the signal was terrible.

Thanks for the welcome. Based upon Lindaman's high school stats, Allister knew she had a great player coming in, but it would be a tough sell to convince me Allister was predicting the level of success Lindaman achieved last season. Most if not all of the 2017 class were signed before Lindaman played a single regular season game as a Gopher.
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Welcome to the board! I would love to have Bren on the team but for whatever reason she isn't. I am fairly confident that the staff didn't "miss" on her. In a partial scholarship sport there are so many variables that don't exist in sports like football and basketball.

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Many reasons for the Gophers' results in 2018 can be shown, and we've discussed them all - statistics, injuries, probable scouting reports, tougher schedule, etc. I remain convinced that the major difference so far between 2017 & 2018 is Sara G.'s graduation. She pitched 2 out of every 3 games in 2016 & 2017; those two games were guaranteed wins, given her low ERA and the confidence she exuded. Fans who were at every game could see the qualitative aspect, that is, the visibly greater confidence and gusto her teammates showed when she was pitching. Any coach, new or old, would have difficulty replacing Sara G., and I suspect this year's staff has struggled with that, maybe was even taken by surprise by it. It seemed to me that even on opening week in 2018, when the team went 5-0, that there was a flatness to their performance. And when the expected hitting prowess didn't develop, the flatness increased. None of this year's freshmen shows the promise of becoming a new Sara G., as all could've hoped. But we're hopeful the team has turned the corner. Fiser has been heroic in the circle in 2018. A couple/three hitters need to step up and show the way on offense.
 

ComoGopher said:
Welcome to the board! Good topic of discussion. I am a big Jess Bren fan and I think she could hit the ball in D1. Not sure where you would put her on defense with Linda at C, Parlich at 3B, and Dwyer at 1B. So she could DP. Not sure she slipped through either. Softball is not a full scholarship sport so the coaches are constrained by how much money they have available. I am sure that bringing in Finucane and Smith as transfers the last two years was costly as far as scholarships go.

That sure seems to make the most sense.

As far as freshmen contributing, where do you want them to? All defensive starters but Macken returned and Jensen slid into that role and then to CF when Wagner got hurt. I think Velasquez should get some additional ABs. She has shown she can get some hits. The freshmen pitchers are buried behind Fiser, Brandt, and Smith and Lowary has been hurt. Miller is behind Linda and Rozelle at C. Gill is middle infield. Do you see her unseating Arneson or Partain? In the OF, Thompson is hurt. I think the best chance is Velasquez at DP. So, in theory, we could have Bren competing for ABs at DP with a slew of others...
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That's my point. To be more specific, to date, Jensen has been the only one to "break out" and earn a starting spot in the line up. I think you're spot on with Bren, defensively she'd be buried with the rest of the freshman competing for the DP spot and the occasional cameo in the field.
 

Hrothgar said:
Many reasons for the Gophers' results in 2018 can be shown, and we've discussed them all - statistics, injuries, probable scouting reports, tougher schedule, etc. I remain convinced that the major difference so far between 2017 & 2018 is Sara G.'s graduation. She pitched 2 out of every 3 games in 2016 & 2017; those two games were guaranteed wins, given her low ERA and the confidence she exuded. Fans who were at every game could see the qualitative aspect, that is, the visibly greater confidence and gusto her teammates showed when she was pitching. Any coach, new or old, would have difficulty replacing Sara G., and I suspect this year's staff has struggled with that, maybe was even taken by surprise by it. It seemed to me that even on opening week in 2018, when the team went 5-0, that there was a flatness to their performance. And when the expected hitting prowess didn't develop, the flatness increased. None of this year's freshmen shows the promise of becoming a new Sara G., as all could've hoped. But we're hopeful the team has turned the corner. Fiser has been heroic in the circle in 2018. A couple/three hitters need to step up and show the way on offense.
Click to expand...

I agree on Groenewegen. When you hit the field with her pitching, you literally had a legitimate chance to beat any team in the nation by scoring one run. You didn't have to field the ball on some outs because of her strikeouts and on a lot of occasions the batter wasn't able to square up the ball and as a result the ball wasn't hit hard, easier to field. Michigan, it appears, was able to replace Betsa with Freshman Beaubien.
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
I agree on Groenewegen. When you hit the field with her pitching, you literally had a legitimate chance to beat any team in the nation by scoring one run. You didn't have to field the ball on some outs because of her strikeouts and on a lot of occasions the batter wasn't able to square up the ball and as a result the ball wasn't hit hard, easier to field. Michigan, it appears, was able to replace Betsa with Freshman Beaubien.
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Yes, Sara G.'s many strikeouts hid some fielding deficiencies on the Gopher infielder. It's possible the present team will eventually solidify; we can hope so before it's too late. They have ample talent, just need on-field leadership. My main worry is how good the coming recruiting classes will be.
 

Hrothgar said:
Yes, Sara G.'s many strikeouts hid some fielding deficiencies on the Gopher infielder. It's possible the present team will eventually solidify; we can hope so before it's too late. They have ample talent, just need on-field leadership. My main worry is how good the coming recruiting classes will be.
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Which class? The incoming freshmen or the class signing in the fall?

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MNsoftballfan said:
Flosoftball is not terribly impressed with the Gophers 2018 recruiting class, ranking them #56. For what it's worth.

https://www.flosoftball.com/articles/5059246-top-2018-college-recruiting-classes
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The problem I have with Flo is that they only rate you if you play in the big national events and showcases. They make no effort to try to go out and find players and rate them. They expect the players to come to them. Trachsel held onto Allister's 2017 class. I don't know what changes were made to the 2018 class between Allister leaving and Trachsel arriving. I will be interested in the 2019 class. Can Trachsel recruit the next Ace pitcher? I imagine we need a pitcher in that class with none in the 2018 class.

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rugger14 said:
Which class? The incoming freshmen or the class signing in the fall?

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I was just speaking in general about the upcoming years, beginning with those who will arrive in the fall of 2018. I know nothing about who's being recruited. I hope it's some really elite pitching talent.
 

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