Gopher Softball 2019

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Indiana looks to be a monsoon the rest of the day. Curious what happens with the championship game.

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They came back and hit better after the rain delay but fell short 3-2.
 

I felt very disappointed with the Gophers' play all weekend. Only Fiser and Brandner really stood out. The team has them to thank for getting as far as they did. MN is better than MI, IMHO, but they seemed really unmotivated. Partain's and Houlihan's at-bats in the 7th inning v. MI were really mediocre. The team had its best hitters at the plate and a runner on base, but couldn't produce a win. Regardless of what happens with the NCAA seedings, they blew a chance at a BIG 10 title. That leaves me feeling very sad, because I'm convinced they're the most talented team in the Conference.
 

Very good game today I thought. Sydney pitched pretty darn well and of course Fiser is amazing.

Emma Burns hitting the top of the wall and Kemmetmuellers smash getting caught on a really nice play by the Michigan left fielder were both 'oh so close'.

Burns shot especially I thought was going out:mad: It would have been really fun to see what the Gophs would have done with a tie game at that point.

edit: for the record that was Twitterless Chell that hit the smash to left that was caught on the nice play, not Kemmetmueller......
 
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Tucker said:
Very good game today I thought. Sydney pitched pretty darn well and of course Fiser is amazing.

Emma Burns hitting the top of the wall and Kemmetmuellers smash getting caught on a really nice play by the Michigan left fielder were both 'oh so close'.

Burns shot especially I thought was going out:mad: It would have been really fun to see what the Gophs would have done with a tie game at that point.
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Gophers were hitting the ball all game but right at people. Burns' inches miss Hr was the cherry on top. Sometimes the softball gods just don't allow a win.

MI now has three top ten RPI wins and none of them were against the pitching ace as starter. I think the WA win against the 3rd stringer.

Mackenna looked liked she was in serious pain at the plate. I feel bad for her; bad timing.

Gotta give it to MI though. They played great defense and did what they needed to even if they didn't face a fresh Amber Fiser. In that vein, I've always thought the BG10 format was flawed. There's no reason a team should have to play back-to-back for the championship game; especially when the other team gets a few hours rest. That almost ensures subpar performance somewhere. The SEC takes a day off before the championship game which is the way it should be.
 



The committee has made it clear that they do not put a lot of weight on these conference tournaments. The win would have been great, but the Gophers will be just fine. They will be seeded anywhere from 8-11. My guess is still 8.
 

Quoted the wrong post!
 
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Carlie Brandt hit the ball hard twice against Northwesterm yesterday I thought, and hard again once against Michigan with no hits to show for it. Although she got what could have been a key walk in the 7th inning.

I thought I'd give her a shout out and pay her some respect because it seems obvious coaches one way or another like to have her on the field :cool:
 



That was an exciting weekend of softball. So much great defense. That great defense carried Michigan to the title, as their defense won it for them in their first game and against the Gophers, who hit the ball hard on Saturday with little to show for it. Northwestern, for their part, also played great D to keep them in the game against the Gophers.

The Gophers showed again that they are an excellent team, and losing to Michigan just barely hardly qualifies as disappointing, as another poster put it. Rather, they proved they belong with the best. Having your best hitter up and hitting a deep out on the final play - one that would win the game were it hit another 10-15 feet - is about as exciting a losing ending as one can have. Great season so far by the Gophers, now go and show your stuff in the Tournament.
 

There is an irony in that Lindaman left to play against "tougher competition" while the Gophers had the "toughest" out of conference schedule in the nation. For those curious, she's either the best or second-best hitter on UF, with .341, 14 HR, 51 RBI, 28 R. I'm going to be honest, and suggest that given her presence on the Gophers this year would likely have them hosting a Super Regional and a good chance to make the CWS, at least for this particular year, her decision seems to be a lateral move, at best. Those looking at her at the national team(s) level already had their eyes on her, she didn't have to go to UF for that. Having her and Brandt as a 3/4 punch would have been some combo to go along with our other top-order players; meanwhile, her presence as best or second-best bat on a similarly-ranked team suggests that without her, this year's Gopher team would be better than UF. *shakes head*
 

cncmin said:
There is an irony in that Lindaman left to play against "tougher competition" while the Gophers had the "toughest" out of conference schedule in the nation. For those curious, she's either the best or second-best hitter on UF, with .341, 14 HR, 51 RBI, 28 R. I'm going to be honest, and suggest that given her presence on the Gophers this year would likely have them hosting a Super Regional and a good chance to make the CWS, at least for this particular year, her decision seems to be a lateral move, at best. Those looking at her at the national team(s) level already had their eyes on her, she didn't have to go to UF for that. Having her and Brandt as a 3/4 punch would have been some combo to go along with our other top-order players; meanwhile, her presence as best or second-best bat on a similarly-ranked team suggests that without her, this year's Gopher team would be better than UF. *shakes head*
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I think you meant Brandner. I also think that KL felt like she wasn't improving as a hitter at Minnesota.

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Getting back to the actual team we have here (and players that actually want to be here), I have seen seeding projections anywhere between 8-11 for the ladies. As most folks know, I have no trust or faith in the softball selection committee to actually do the right thing, so it'll be interesting to see where the ladies ultimately end up.

If I had to guess, I think anywhere from 9-11.

I highly doubt the committee really wants to send some southern team to Minnesota for a super regional, therefore I would guess they'll fall somewhere in that range. Even if they're not in line to host a super (should seedings hold), it'll be fun to actually host a regional for the first time since 2014. And it could be with the highest seed the ladies have ever received. After all, in 2014 they were seeded 16 and in the minds of most, they're a lock to go higher than that this time around.
 



I think it's already been noted here that Texas (RPI #6) lost to Oklahoma State (RPI #12) and to Iowa State (RPI #59) in the Big 12 tournament. That could help the Gophers' (RPI #8) seeding and hopes to host a super regional. Hurting the Gophs might be Florida's (RPI #10) winning the SEC tournament, beating South Carolina (RPI #20), LSU (RPI #9), Auburn (RPI #21), and Alabama (RPI #7) in the process.
 

I think Florida will be above us and Texas will be below us. Losing to UM will not hurt us. Beating Texas twice and them getting knocked out of the Big 12 early should help us.

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cncmin said:
There is an irony in that Lindaman left to play against "tougher competition" while the Gophers had the "toughest" out of conference schedule in the nation.
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Not to mention that she would have been an all time Gopher legend. One thing is for sure - Burns is a VASTLY superior defensive catcher.
 

rugger14 said:
I think you meant Brandner. I also think that KL felt like she wasn't improving as a hitter at Minnesota.

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Yes, Brandner. Also, her 2019 statistics suggest that she has not improved as a hitter from last year, either, just as she didn't much improve from F to S seasons. It's very possible she maxed our her abilities already as a frosh. It happens. I don't blame her for looking to get better, but as a Gopher fan, I'm obviously disappointed in her decision and there is no evidence yet that her move helped her individually, either.

MNsoftballfan said:
Not to mention that she would have been an all time Gopher legend. One thing is for sure - Burns is a VASTLY superior defensive catcher.
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Burns is amazing behind the plate. What a gun.
 

rugger14 said:
I think Florida will be above us and Texas will be below us. Losing to UM will not hurt us. Beating Texas twice and them getting knocked out of the Big 12 early should help us.

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But as MRJ said, I don't think any of us could possibly be surprised to see the committee screw the Gophers again. They protect the southern teams, against all reasonable ethics and morals.
 

fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me
(committee is on my s*** list forever)
I won't be watching tonight but I'll be watching the Gophers play their next game, wherever and whenever that may be.
 

Crazy to think that Burns was not even recruited as a catcher. Obviously the coaches saw something with her. On another note, the fact that we got to play NU and MU in the B1G tourney should help us with the committee. The year we got screwed we did not get to play Michigan because they got beat. Taking 3 of 4 from a highly ranked NU team is a good thing.
 

I listened to the pre-selection committee podcast from FPN's Inner Circle. They are highly critical of the Big 10 administrators because of the unbalanced schedule which effectively screws the good teams when it comes to post-season play and rankings. The weak schedule disallows building any top 25 or top 50 wins and is terrible for RPI. They contrasted how Michigan played noboby while lowly Iowa had a killer schedule (relatively).

Fix the schedule to allow the perennially good teams to play each other more and allow the bottom feeders to pull themselves up (like the NFL).

https://fastpitchnews.com/inthecircle
 

Panthadad2 said:
I listened to the pre-selection committee podcast from FPN's Inner Circle. They are highly critical of the Big 10 administrators because of the unbalanced schedule which effectively screws the good teams when it comes to post-season play and rankings. The weak schedule disallows building any top 25 or top 50 wins and is terrible for RPI. They contrasted how Michigan played noboby while lowly Iowa had a killer schedule (relatively).

Fix the schedule to allow the perennially good teams to play each other more and allow the bottom feeders to pull themselves up (like the NFL).

https://fastpitchnews.com/inthecircle
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Interesting. I suspect the BIG ten indifferently tilts the scheduling to favor MI. However, a good many of the conference's programs are quite weak, especially in the east. Teams like PSU, MSU, Maryland, Rutgers offer MI no competition at all. But I still blame the Gophers for losing to MI yesterday; they should have won. The game was right there for the taking. To become an elite program they need to win those games.
 

The east division of the BIG, the teams Michigan will play every year, are mediocre to poor. That does not help Michigan. It hurts them. If you don't understand that, than you do not know the first thing about the importance of the RPI.
 

Panthadad2 said:
I listened to the pre-selection committee podcast from FPN's Inner Circle. They are highly critical of the Big 10 administrators because of the unbalanced schedule which effectively screws the good teams when it comes to post-season play and rankings. The weak schedule disallows building any top 25 or top 50 wins and is terrible for RPI. They contrasted how Michigan played noboby while lowly Iowa had a killer schedule (relatively).

Fix the schedule to allow the perennially good teams to play each other more and allow the bottom feeders to pull themselves up (like the NFL).

https://fastpitchnews.com/inthecircle
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Fastpitch news is not any better informed than folks who follow this stuff. Their opinion is just an opinion of some writer
 

rugger14 said:
Fastpitch news is not any better informed than folks who follow this stuff. Their opinion is just an opinion of some writer
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An observation that the BG10's weird scheduling (every single year) hurts RPI and post-season aspirations for the top teams doesn't require "being informed". It's just logic. And I hope the scheduling eventually gets adjusted.
 
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Panthadad2 said:
An observation that the BG10's weird scheduling (every single year) hurts RPI and post-season aspirations for the top teams doesn't require "being informed". It's just logic. And I hope the scheduling eventually gets adjusted.
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We did fine this year because NU is good and we avoided a loss to a team like Penn State this year. The West is better than the East in softball. I guess we could crossover with Michigan and tOSU every year. But that could screw up your chance to win the B1G. Should conference schedules be made with RPI in mind? I think we should play all the West teams and rotate the East teams. Sometimes it won't be in our favor. Oh well. Schedule a tough NC slate and win your conference games.
 

What are the predictions for the regional? Gophs hosting and Drake as the 2 seed in the regional?
 

Gopherholefan said:
What are the predictions for the regional? Gophs hosting and Drake as the 2 seed in the regional?
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I think the Gophs host a regional with a low teens seed. Drake and NDSU would make total sense. Maybe too much sense for the NCAA.

I saw one projection that had Drake going to Washington, but Stanford going to Minnesota. That same projection had Minnesota paired up with Florida in a super regional. I hope this scenario doesn't happen. I've had enough with the drama of those two big exits from the team the last couple of years. I would rather celebrate our current team including new faces instead of living in the past.
 

Panthadad2 said:
I think the Gophs host a regional with a low teens seed. Drake and NDSU would make total sense. Maybe too much sense for the NCAA.

I saw one projection that had Drake going to Washington, but Stanford going to Minnesota. That same projection had Minnesota paired up with Florida in a super regional. I hope this scenario doesn't happen. I've had enough with the drama of those two big exits from the team the last couple of years. I would rather celebrate our current team including new faces instead of living in the past.
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The only thing for certain is that the committee will do its best to hose the the Gophers no matter how it ends up. Maybe get to host, but some underseeded high talent team is sent here. Would not surprise me to see them get sent on the road again, although having two qualifiers in driving distance is very helpful for hosting. I obviously don't follow all sports closely, but softball has to be the most corrupt insider controlled administration I have ever seen. Would not be shocked that a system which downplayed conference tournaments in the past, all of a sudden sees renewed importance in them after Michigan's win yesterday, and giving the Wolverines a better seed. People who don't pay attention have heard of Michigan. Many think Minnesota might be near California. Here's hoping for the best and expecting the worst.
 

Well, so much for being screwed! [emoji16][emoji15]

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