Gopher softball 2021

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4EverAGopher said:
Pease is no longer resting. She came in the seventh today with the needed save....Gopher's win 2-1.

Obviously, college softball, especially DIvision 1, is a lot more difficult and challenging than High School softball. As stated before, these players come in with some heavy bats. However, they end up struggling at the college level, for whatever reason. That is evident with this year's Gopher team. It isn't just softball, you see this happening in other sports too.

I do not follow the recruiting like others. If the present roster does not have the much needed hitters, are they being recruited in future years? There is a reason these players are recruited in the first place. Just unfortunate they are unable to step up to the plate and advance their careers at this level.

Again, this coaching staff really has their work cut out in both pitching and hitting.
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In fact, Fiser & Pease are pitching great; see their low ERA. But with limited hitting & run support & some shoddy Gopher defense at times vs. Purdue, they pitch every inning with razor thin margin of error. Gophers got only 19 hits in 28 innings vs. an average Purdue pitching staff. With bases loaded & 2 out in the bottom of the 6th today, for example, it's clear the Purdue lefthander has only one pitch, a changeup. Why were the Gophers not sitting on that pitch? If you can't hit slow stuff you know is coming, what can you hit? This pattern started as far back as the Maryland series at the start of the season.
 

If it looked like I was taking a shot at Pease and Fiser, I apologize, because I wasn't. It appears we are not deeper than those two this season for starters and MOVING FORWARD without Fiser and only Pease is certainly a concern. If we can replace Fiser next season with a pitcher presently on the roster and with hopes of the same results, than that is wonderful for this team and coaching staff.

I agree that the next series at Northwestern will tell us a lot and maybe more than what we really want to hear. To me it appears the whole team is playing "tight" softball.
 

ClassOf98Gopher said:
They are resting Pease quite a bit this weekend aren’t they. She has only pitched 7 innings all weekend.
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Her elbow was taped up vs. Illinois. She might have an injury and they’re trying to keep the reps low so she can be healthy at Northwestern.
 

4EverAGopher said:
If it looked like I was taking a shot at Pease and Fiser, I apologize, because I wasn't. It appears we are not deeper than those two this season for starters and MOVING FORWARD without Fiser and only Pease is certainly a concern. If we can replace Fiser next season with a pitcher presently on the roster and with hopes of the same results, than that is wonderful for this team and coaching staff.

I agree that the next series at Northwestern will tell us a lot and maybe more than what we really want to hear. To me it appears the whole team is playing "tight" softball.
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Assuming no transfers in or out, we will have a lot of (6) pitchers on the roster next year. It is possible that Piper will have to manage an entirely different type of pitching game than in the past decade or more where she could rely on workhorse pitchers that did not lose much stuff (velocity and/or movement) through the course of a game or even a season.

Pease will certainly be the number 1 but Dueck, Jones, Hollifield, Leavitt, and Hostettler may all be called in to pitch an inning or two or three on a very regular basis.
 

4EverAGopher said:
If it looked like I was taking a shot at Pease and Fiser, I apologize, because I wasn't. It appears we are not deeper than those two this season for starters and MOVING FORWARD without Fiser and only Pease is certainly a concern. If we can replace Fiser next season with a pitcher presently on the roster and with hopes of the same results, than that is wonderful for this team and coaching staff.

I agree that the next series at Northwestern will tell us a lot and maybe more than what we really want to hear. To me it appears the whole team is playing "tight" softball.
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4EverAGopher, I didn't think you were taking a shot at Pease & Fiser; I guess I didn't express myself very well. The team is putting enormous pressure on those 2 pitchers; they desrve much better support. I'm just astounded at how slow their hitters' bat speed is and how few balls they hit in the air and out of the infield. They're really passive at the plate. Why can't the hitting coach(es) speed their bats up?
 

Hrothgar said:
4EverAGopher, I didn't think you were taking a shot at Pease & Fiser; I guess I didn't express myself very well. The team is putting enormous pressure on those 2 pitchers; they desrve much better support. I'm just astounded at how slow their hitters' bat speed is and how few balls they hit in the air and out of the infield. They're really passive at the plate. Why can't the hitting coach(es) speed their bats up?
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Last statistic I saw was the Gophers were leading the big 10 in home runs. Must be doing something right. Of course we would like everyone to have a .350 average or higher. Go Gophers
 





mngolf said:
Northwestern. . 316
Michigan. .296


Gophers. .233
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IMO, in the end there's only one way to view offensive statistics: How many runs has a team scored? Doesn't matter how they score them. It would be interesting to know the runs-scored totals among NW, MI, IL, and MN. Nothing we'd all love more than a MN sweep vs. NW, but it'll surely require a whole heckuva lot of runs scored.
 

mngolf said:
View attachment 12348
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College pitching (especially pitching depth?) must have improved over the last few years. Comparing these batting average numbers with the 2017 team and it isn’t good at all.

That being said, even that 2017 team, which was a strong all-around team with a good lineup 1-9, lost two games 1-0 to Alabama in the regional. To play two games totaling 16 innings against Alabama and not score a single run suggests even that offense, good as it was, had some problems. some of those problems were hidden by Groenewagen’s pitching strength.

Anyway, while I have so much to say about this team, does it even much matter now as we should learn so very much more going into this Northwestern 4-game weekend.
 

If the Gophers get swept this weekend, we know they will be in a dogfight for 3rd, 4th, or even 5th place in the conference. If they sweep Northwestern they will be clear and convincing favorites for the Big Ten Championship.

Obviously, most likely is the 1-3 or 2-2 result. I assume that means Northwestern will be the champions and the Gophers will fighting Michigan for second. Less likely is a 3-1 Gophers series victory which will give us a good lane to the championship and put Michigan as our potential spoilers. Northwestern has a noticeably harder schedule than we do to close out the 2021 schedule.
 

Hrothgar said:
IMO, in the end there's only one way to view offensive statistics: How many runs has a team scored? Doesn't matter how they score them. It would be interesting to know the runs-scored totals among NW, MI, IL, and MN. Nothing we'd all love more than a MN sweep vs. NW, but it'll surely require a whole heckuva lot of runs scored.
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Northwestern scored 134 runs
Nebraska 95
Gophers 90
Illinois 85
Michigan is 9th with 61. But in 4 less games.
 



Errors:
Northwestern 8
Michigan 9 In 4 less games.
Nebraska 12
Iowa 12
Gophers 17
 

ClassOf98Gopher said:
College pitching (especially pitching depth?) must have improved over the last few years. Comparing these batting average numbers with the 2017 team and it isn’t good at all.

That being said, even that 2017 team, which was a strong all-around team with a good lineup 1-9, lost two games 1-0 to Alabama in the regional. To play two games totaling 16 innings against Alabama and not score a single run suggests even that offense, good as it was, had some problems. some of those problems were hidden by Groenewagen’s pitching strength.

Anyway, while I have so much to say about this team, does it even much matter now as we should learn so very much more going into this Northwestern 4-game weekend.
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Your comments about the MN/Alabama matchup of 2017 hit the nail on the head. That has remained on my mind ever since 2017. I thought it humiliating that a MN team that ran roughshod over BIG pitching for whole season proved helpless vs. Alabama. It seemed to show Groenewegen as the only Gopher capable of competing and winning at the elite level of DI. Maybe I'm wrong, I dunno. Maybe if they'd played Alabama at MN in 2017 it would've been different? Vs. NW this weekend, maybe MN will play aggressively and take it to them.
mngolf said:
Northwestern scored 134 runs
Nebraska 95
Gophers 90
Illinois 85
Michigan is 9th with 61. But in 4 less games.
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As far as I can tell, NW has yet to play a team with a winning record. And I think IL is the only team w/ a winning record MN has played (and that's where MN did their best hitting, on the road.) Who knows. Maybe none of this means anything?
 

So, out of curiosity MNGolf, do you havestats for the top 5 teams in the BIG who have allowed the most earned/unearned runs so far this season?
 


As much as many of us fans want to be optimistic about any Gopher team and their future, we need to remember that eventually good or bad realism does take over because it is always waiting on the sidelines.
 

4EverAGopher said:
As much as many of us fans want to be optimistic about any Gopher team and their future, we need to remember that eventually good or bad realism does take over because it is always waiting on the sidelines.
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I'd venture that optimism is based on having 9 hitters in the lineup w/ a BA of 250 or above, each with the proven possibility of getting a crucial hit on a given at-bat. Bad realism is maybe 2-3 proven hitters at the top and 4-5 at the bottom with a BA under 230, some much lower than that.
 

Hrothgar said:
I'd venture that optimism is based on having 9 hitters in the lineup w/ a BA of 250 or above, each with the proven possibility of getting a crucial hit on a given at-bat. Bad realism is maybe 2-3 proven hitters at the top and 4-5 at the bottom with a BA under 230, some much lower than that.
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And in what is the worst possible thing to do, striking out. Nothing positive comes from an at bat with a K. Anyone can strike out, more is expected.
 

dlw4gophers said:
Last statistic I saw was the Gophers were leading the big 10 in home runs. Must be doing something right. Of course we would like everyone to have a .350 average or higher. Go Gophers
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The Gophers, since at least 2017, have clearly and convincingly established themselves as the home run hitting leader in the Big Ten. This year is certainly no exception.

I think a question is what the power-hitting lineup comparison is against. If you are comparing against Northwestern and Michigan, we are a power hitting lineup with a lot of doubles and triples to go with our home runs. If the comparison is against Oklahoma and Arizona... well that’s going to be very different.

I too have been frustrated by all of the strikeouts, but clearly the Gophers’ coaches believe the lineup was built around players with home run potential making full swings. Many other teams have more players swinging for contact; probably because that is what their lineups are capable of doing.
 

ClassOf98Gopher said:
The Gophers, since at least 2017, have clearly and convincingly established themselves as the home run hitting leader in the Big Ten. This year is certainly no exception.

I think a question is what the power-hitting lineup comparison is against. If you are comparing against Northwestern and Michigan, we are a power hitting lineup with a lot of doubles and triples to go with our home runs. If the comparison is against Oklahoma and Arizona... well that’s going to be very different.

I too have been frustrated by all of the strikeouts, but clearly the Gophers’ coaches believe the lineup was built around players with home run potential making full swings. Many other teams have more players swinging for contact; probably because that is what their lineups are capable of doing.
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Interesting that ASU has been a home run hitting team recently too. I wonder how much impact that factor had with Carly being here.
 


ClassOf98Gopher said:
Thin desert air doesn’t hurt.
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Neither does a short outfield fence. I noticed Georgia vs. Florida this past weekend and was astonished to see the outfield fences were only 190 or 195 feet. Jane Sage Cowles right and left field lines are 205. Isn't the centerfield 220?
 

I hope Minneapolis/St Paul is putting in good bids to host a 2021 regional. I wouldn’t mind it if either of those cities hosted a regional, even if the Gophers were not one of the top 16 seeds in the nation.
 

Here's a strange -- maybe not so strange -- tidbit. In the April 4, 2021, RPI rankings, all 13 SEC teams are ranked higher than the highest ranked Big Ten team (Michigan at #46, with Northwestern at #59 and the Gophers at #68). The SEC teams did get in a non-conference schedule, unlike the Big Ten teams. Of course, the RPI might not mean much, if anything at all, this season.

www.ncaa.com

DI Softball Rankings - NCAA Women's Softball RPI | NCAA.com

Get updated NCAA Softball DI rankings from every source, including coaches and national polls.
www.ncaa.com www.ncaa.com
 
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let'sbeclear said:
Here's a strange -- maybe not so strange -- tidbit. In the April 4, 2021, RPI rankings, all 13 SEC teams are ranked higher than the highest ranked Big Ten team (Michigan at #46, with Northwestern at #59 and the Gophers at #68). Of course, the SEC teams did get in a non-conference schedule, unlike the Big Ten teams.

www.ncaa.com

DI Softball Rankings - NCAA Women's Softball RPI | NCAA.com

Get updated NCAA Softball DI rankings from every source, including coaches and national polls.
www.ncaa.com www.ncaa.com
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RPI needs to just be scrapped. Clearly can't handle when there's less non-conference like how highly it had Colgate in NCAAB.


#4 LSU 21-12 (17th in coaches)

#10 Auburn 19-11 (30th with 8 votes vs Gophers 32nd with 7 votes)

#15 Oklahoma 28-0 (unanimous #1)

#16 Villanova 14-9 (no votes)

#17 Washington 28-4 (ranked #4)

#24 Liberty 22-12 (no votes)

#26 Canisius 5-5 in MAAC

#33 Penn 2-2 in Ivy

#39 Fairfield 6-4 in MAAC

#42 Hofstra 10-6 in CAA

#45 South Carolina 17-13 (no votes)

#50 Utah 12-15

#52 Oregon State 14-14

#53 UAB 15-15 in CUSA

#54 UNC 10-12

#56 Louisville 12-15

#58 Kansas 17-14

#59 Northwestern 18-2

#62 Iona 8-4 in MAAC

#65 BYU 16-13 in WCC

#66 Detroit Mercy 2-2 in Horizon

#67 Virginia 11-18
 



If the games don't get washed out by rain, this weekend is the Gophers' chance to make a big splash (sorry, bad pun!), but they need to shake the passive approach and play like their season depends on it, which it probably does.
 

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