Gopher softball 2021

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I have a personal bias here as I know her, but would give Peterson a chance at catching. I saw nothing out of our catchers that said they must play from this past wknd
 

It seems what we're all saying is: The past weekend was a continuation of 2020. What the Gophers had in the years before 2020 that made them special is gone now and hasn't been replaced. Superior talent will make itself felt whether fresh(wo)men or seniors.
 


mngolf said:
I have a personal bias here as I know her, but would give Peterson a chance at catching. I saw nothing out of our catchers that said they must play from this past wknd
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not saying you’re wrong, as i liked what i saw of her bat last year in limited work, and i pretty much think they should run out everyone and give them a chance at this point. but she did struggle to control the run game last year in limited innings. i would guess that's the hang up.
 

If one uses the 2019 year as a baseline, 2 of the top 5 of the order are inferior this year with 1 position (DenHartog) just having a slow start by comparison. Most of the remaining lineup has started slow but could be as good if not better in the long run. Unfortunately, that top 5 is critically important and I don't know if there's a lineup that can match that.

I didn't get to see all the games this weekend, so this list could be off some. Be kind in your bashing my errors!

1PartainPartainsame
2HoulihanBrandtinferior
3BrandnerKemetmuellerinferior
4DenHartogDenHartogslow start but could be improved
5KemetmuellerHansensimilar - potentially better batting
6BurnsDrayslow start - potentially better batting
7ArnesonStrelowslow start - potentially better batting
8/9Lindner/Brandt/OthersKinch/Lindner et alslow start - potential???
 
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Well I go back to offense needs to trump defense at this point. Or at least try.
 

Jocelyn Alo 13 HR 39 RBI in 17 games, has to be frontrunner for player of year
 

I am expecting the Gophers to experiment with some not-insignificant lineup changes against Rutgers and Michigan State this weekend. I will be disappointed if I do not see some just that tomorrow.

Relatedly, their first week’s games were, in whole, probably the most exciting and competitive of all the Big Ten teams. I expect significantly less exciting and competitive games this week. If they are as exciting as week one’s games were, that obviously portends badly for the remainder of the Gopher softball season.
 




More of the same. DenHartog takes called strike three with two runners in scoring position and one out, effectively killing the inning. In past years, she would have driven home at least one in that situation.

This team can't get out of their own way so far in 2021.
 

mngolf said:
Same lineup. Smh
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I’m disappointed and actually a little surprised. I guess, on the plus side, with that information we can now prepare ourselves for fun, close, competitive, low-scoring games this weekend with (check’s notes) Rutgers and Michigan State?

It is now clear that these underclassmen are going to have to take spots from the upperclassman by wowing people with their game performances in the batter’s box. And, they are not going to get too many chances in game situations, so when they get them, they better hit the ball square and drive it.
 

Well, 5 or 6 runners left on base already in this game. Just cannot score for Fiser.

With the exact same lineup as two weeks ago, it does appear this coaching staff has their work cut out for them. Unfortunately, this program does need rebuilding.

Hope this game ends in Gopher's favor.
 

If I remember correctly, FIser has had the same results in the past. Gophers score giving them the lead and then she comes back out and gives up a run or two right after that. She must lose that mental toughness for a batter or two. Too bad.
 



They are being out hit by Rutgers. RUTGERS! With Fiser pitching.
 

The non-played can't do worse. Literally. Why not give them the chance for a whole game?
 

What's most disappointing is that it's the veterans who are letting the team down; players who should be stepping up simply aren't.

That leaves the rookies with too much pressure to perform and they're not ready.
 


Well finally a few hits combined with aggressive running and a couple good fortune, gives some breathing room. Wish they'd have been aggressive 2wks ago.
 

Good, competitive, nail-biting softball. What can be better sports-entertainment than that?

By-the-way, Kinch is showing up to play today.
 



This more how I expect games to go. It's still Rutgers but keep it going.
 


GringaGopher said:
Bats are starting to come alive !
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The 2021 Gophers are just not going to be the team that puts up Oklahoma-style offensive numbers. But, they can win a lot of games through strength and durability of our pitchers, timely hitting, occasional outbursts of power, and utilizing speed through base-stealing. That should be good enough for them to contend for the Big Ten title and be rewarded with our 8th consecutive NCAA tournament invitation.
 

So far the Gophers pitching has been solid, but the hitting remains feeble. I believe in game 1 against Rutgers we had about 6 walks in the 1st 4 innings but didn't drive in any of them. Kinda the same in game 2. Altogether 3 or 4 timely extra base hits and both games could've been run-rule victories. Fiser's unfortunate bottom of the 6th, which started I believe on an error (the streaming was so bad I couldn't see it), would never even have been played with some solid hitting.

Imo Brandt has played her best ball as a starting left fielder, where she made great catches and throws. On a strong team she should be in left field & batting ninth.
 

Hrothgar said:
So far the Gophers pitching has been solid, but the hitting remains feeble. I believe in game 1 against Rutgers we had about 6 walks in the 1st 4 innings but didn't drive in any of them. Kinda the same in game 2. Altogether 3 or 4 timely extra base hits and both games could've been run-rule victories. Fiser's unfortunate bottom of the 6th, which started I believe on an error (the streaming was so bad I couldn't see it), would never even have been played with some solid hitting.

Imo Brandt has played her best ball as a starting left fielder, where she made great catches and throws. On a strong team she should be in left field & batting ninth.
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It’s early in the season but Northwestern looks like that team may be the real deal. Uh oh.
 

It appears that some feel the underclassmen are NOT READY to be put into the lineup. Not playing them at all this season means they will be READY NEXT SEASON? I for one do not think so.

I also wonder at times how much a new Batting Coach effects a player from season to season? Some of these players have seen 2 or 3 for sure.

Right now, if the coaching staff in their minds have the best strategy in both pitching and the starting lineup for this team to win, we are in for a long season. I'm afraid it would even be longer, if we were playing outside of the BIG.

Another thing, we have not seen much of any other pitchers outside of Pease and Fiser since last season. Got to admit that is not good either.
 

4EverAGopher said:
It appears that some feel the underclassmen are NOT READY to be put into the lineup. Not playing them at all this season means they will be READY NEXT SEASON? I for one do not think so.

I also wonder at times how much a new Batting Coach effects a player from season to season? Some of these players have seen 2 or 3 for sure.

Right now, if the coaching staff in their minds have the best strategy in both pitching and the starting lineup for this team to win, we are in for a long season. I'm afraid it would even be longer, if we were playing outside of the BIG.

Another thing, we have not seen much of any other pitchers outside of Pease and Fiser since last season. Got to admit that is not good either.
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And, while we seem to be in a complaining mood, why are there no 2021 stats on the Gophersports website? I need that information.

The 2021 roster is a much bigger effective roster than we are had before (some previous rosters have carried numerous long-term “injured” players while also just being numerically smaller) so that causes more players we would like to see get to have a some chances not get those chances. I, for one, would really like to see Evans, Costa, Cox, and Ehlke among many others get more game-time swings... or game-time swings at all.

The pitching issue is probably a little tougher. I very much would like to see Dueck, Jones, and Hollifield on the mound more, but I am sure Fiser and Pease can claim that they want the ball and they deserve the ball and it is hard to argue with them I guess. They are putting it all out there on the mound for the benefit of the team... I will give those two performers that. Fiser is so strong and such an asset to the Gopher program and Pease has clearly been statistically the best player on the team so far this year.
 

ClassOf98Gopher said:
And, while we seem to be in a complaining mood, why are there no 2021 stats on the Gophersports website? I need that information.

The 2021 roster is a much bigger effective roster than we are had before (some previous rosters have carried numerous long-term “injured” players while also just being numerically smaller) so that causes more players we would like to see get to have a some chances not get those chances. I, for one, would really like to see Evans, Costa, Cox, and Ehlke among many others get more game-time swings... or game-time swings at all.

The pitching issue is probably a little tougher. I very much would like to see Dueck, Jones, and Hollifield on the mound more, but I am sure Fiser and Pease can claim that they want the ball and they deserve the ball and it is hard to argue with them I guess. They are putting it all out there on the mound for the benefit of the team... I will give those two performers that. Fiser is so strong and such an asset to the Gopher program and Pease has clearly been statistically the best player on the team so far this year.
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Some of the first-year players may be really good (hopefully they are!), but rookies shine best when there's a corps of veterans leading the way. So far the veterans haven't performed by driving in runs. If they had, the Gophers could be undefeated at this point. So far, the Gophers can pitch and they can field, but they don't hit. A really good team would have no major problem hitting the BIG pitching seen so far.
 

Just looked at the stats. .207 batting avg which is good for 10th. And we haven't played the best teams yet. How do they expect to get playing time for the underclassmen if they're not playing now? How about mix one in each game prior to playing the better teams?
 

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