Gopher softball 2021

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goherfan48 said:
Both of her assit. coaches are going to be great. Can you guess who the 2nd one is?
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For what it's worth, I noticed a tweet from Piper that was a talk given by paraolympian Alana Nichols. It was attended by softball and soccer coaches and players. Katie Richardson was one of the attendees. Looked like she had a Minnesota softball logo in the background.
 

Gopher68 said:
For what it's worth, I noticed a tweet from Piper that was a talk given by paraolympian Alana Nichols. It was attended by softball and soccer coaches and players. Katie Richardson was one of the attendees. Looked like she had a Minnesota softball logo in the background.
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think she might be the next ast coach?
 



I know there has also been some chatter here about Ansleigh Hollifield and wondering whether she's still coming to Minnesota despite Trachsel moving south and being a native of Georgia.

Well, here's a little update! :D

 


MRJ said:
I know there has also been some chatter here about Ansleigh Hollifield and wondering whether she's still coming to Minnesota despite Trachsel moving south and being a native of Georgia.

Well, here's a little update! :D

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Very good confirmatory news that all is holding together despite the Spring turmoil. As stated, she was the ‘21 season Freshman recruit I was most worried about bolting when Coach Trachsel left. When Piper was named coach, I was more confident.

We need the pitching depth she provides, and overall athletic depth, and Georgia would be a great recruiting market to open up more broadly.
 
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ClassOf98Gopher said:
Very good confirmatory news that all is holding together despite the Spring turmoil. As stated, she was the ‘21 season Freshman recruit I was most worried about bolting when Coach Trachsel left. When Piper was named coach, I was more confident.

We need the pitching depth she provides, and overall athletic depth, and Georgia would be a great recruiting market to open up more broadly.
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I knew you were nervous, so I figured I'd help alleviate your anxiety! ;)
 

MRJ said:
I know there has also been some chatter here about Ansleigh Hollifield and wondering whether she's still coming to Minnesota despite Trachsel moving south and being a native of Georgia.

Well, here's a little update! :D

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Good to see she is solid.
 
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I suppose I just need to go ahead and get a subscription to SA or DI, but are there any new updates to the NCAA transfer portal effecting the Gophers? I think I remember there may two Gophers on the transfer list as of a couple months ago.
 



ClassOf98Gopher said:
I suppose I just need to go ahead and get a subscription to SA or DI, but are there any new updates to the NCAA transfer portal effecting the Gophers? I think I remember there may two Gophers on the transfer list as of a couple months ago.
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Two definite transfers - Josey White and Shyann Beddow.. Both are no longer on the roster. Neither Kaylen Krueger nor Hope Brandner are on the roster for Fall. I do not think that they are transferring, but are retiring.
 

Kaylen was a Sr. Looks like she choose to just get on with her life after school. Good for her. Whatever Hope is looking for, I hope she finds it. She was a treat to watch for the year she played here and I wish her well in whatever she decides to do.
 

Welcome Home Katie Richardson!!!! Justin’s World of Softball has put it out there that indeed Katie is coming home as an assistant coach. No official announcement from Gopher Softball yet, but this is the coaching staff we wanted!!!!
 






Things really seem to be holding together nicely for the Gophers in this time of transition... so far. Assuming coronavirus dissipates a little and allows the 2021 season to happen, I am quite optimistic this is a potential Big Ten regular season and tournament championship type-of-team.

To do so we will still need a Freshman to emerge as able to put good contact to college pitching (which should be possible given seven new faces that can swing bats) and a young pitcher (Jones/Hollifield/Dueck) to emerge who can regularly get good batters out.

Am I crazy for feeling this positive about our 2021 prospects?
 

This is so exciting. Katie Rich is going to be awesome. She will improve our hitting. Piper will continue to be one of the best pitching coaches. Coach Wynn will take care of the defense. The alumni will come back. The great culture established by Coach Al will be back. Our program will be classy and well-respected throughout the country. It'll be fun to be a Gopher fan again.
 

Obviously, I'm thrilled that Katie has come home!!! :clap:

She was a fantastic player (one of my favorites) and I have no doubt she he will be just as good as a coach alongside Piper and Wynn.

The amount of dedication, loyalty and stability that has endured throughout the process has been extremely impressive. Not one player defection (other than Hope for obvious reasons) and virtually all the recruits are still on board, including all of them for 2021.

In other words, the program appears as strong as ever.

Now, we just have to get COVID-19 under control so the ladies can do their thing in 2021! :D
 

MRJ said:
Obviously, I'm thrilled that Katie has come home!!! :clap:

She was a fantastic player (one of my favorites) and I have no doubt she he will be just as good as a coach alongside Piper and Wynn.

The amount of dedication, loyalty and stability that has endured throughout the process has been extremely impressive. Not one player defection (other than Hope for obvious reasons) and virtually all the recruits are still on board, including all of them for 2021.

In other words, the program appears as strong as ever.

Now, we just have to get COVID-19 under control so the ladies can do their thing in 2021! :D
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I agree with what you say. After Jensen, Partain, & Denhartog, the hitting still concerns me, though. They need some more power hitting of the Brandner type. I don't mean to nitpick, but you wrote no player defections "other than Hope for obvious reasons." Were there obvious reasons? Just curious.
 

Hrothgar said:
I agree with what you say. After Jensen, Partain, & Denhartog, the hitting still concerns me, though. They need some more power hitting of the Brandner type. I don't mean to nitpick, but you wrote no player defections "other than Hope for obvious reasons." Were there obvious reasons? Just curious.
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Seems she quit softball due to continued injury issues. I might be wrong there, but that's the impression I got.
 

Hrothgar said:
I agree with what you say. After Jensen, Partain, & Denhartog, the hitting still concerns me, though.
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That middle of the batting order is going to be key. As I have written before, I expect between Strelow, Costa, Ehlke, Cox, Kinch, Ceynowa, Jones and even Hollifield, someone has got to be able drive the ball to join Kemmetmueller and Hansen in the middle of the lineup (or even push those upperclassmen into the 7 or 8 spot.) That is too many people for none of them to be able to hit college pitching square up.

As to the bottom of the order, Peterson, Densen and Beckstrom likewise have to be able to push Van Der Heide, Lindbner, and Brandt. There are just too many new players that have potential. Honestly, that should be as good or better of a bottom six of the order as Northwestern, Michigan, or Wisconsin. And those teams will really struggle to keep up with our first three batters and our pitching When considered together. Given the whole team, I like our chances. Of course, maybe Corol Hutchins and other Michigan fans are saying the same thing.
 

EdinaSBfan said:
This is so exciting. Katie Rich is going to be awesome. She will improve our hitting. Piper will continue to be one of the best pitching coaches. Coach Wynn will take care of the defense. The alumni will come back. The great culture established by Coach Al will be back. Our program will be classy and well-respected throughout the country. It'll be fun to be a Gopher fan again.
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Great interview with Katie. She discusses some of the responsibilities that the coaches will have. Couldn't be happier to have her back home!
minnesotanewsnetwork.com

Richardson thrilled to be back with Gopher softball as assistant coach (AUDIO) - Minnesota News Network

(Minneapolis, MN) — New University of Minnesota assistant softball coach Katie Richardson says she is excited to be returning to where she was an all-American third baseball for the Golden Gophers. New head coach Piper Ritter completed her coaching staff with the announcement of the Richardson...
minnesotanewsnetwork.com minnesotanewsnetwork.com
 
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Gopher68 said:
Great interview with Katie. She discusses some of the responsibilities that the coaches will have. Couldn't be happier to have her back home!
minnesotanewsnetwork.com

Richardson thrilled to be back with Gopher softball as assistant coach (AUDIO) - Minnesota News Network

(Minneapolis, MN) — New University of Minnesota assistant softball coach Katie Richardson says she is excited to be returning to where she was an all-American third baseball for the Golden Gophers. New head coach Piper Ritter completed her coaching staff with the announcement of the Richardson...
minnesotanewsnetwork.com minnesotanewsnetwork.com
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Another goodie from Fox 9....

Katie Richardson feature
 

ClassOf98Gopher said:
That middle of the batting order is going to be key. As I have written before, I expect between Strelow, Costa, Ehlke, Cox, Kinch, Ceynowa, Jones and even Hollifield, someone has got to be able drive the ball to join Kemmetmueller and Hansen in the middle of the lineup (or even push those upperclassmen into the 7 or 8 spot.) That is too many people for none of them to be able to hit college pitching square up.

As to the bottom of the order, Peterson, Densen and Beckstrom likewise have to be able to push Van Der Heide, Lindbner, and Brandt. There are just too many new players that have potential. Honestly, that should be as good or better of a bottom six of the order as Northwestern, Michigan, or Wisconsin. And those teams will really struggle to keep up with our first three batters and our pitching When considered together. Given the whole team, I like our chances. Of course, maybe Corol Hutchins and other Michigan fans are saying the same thing.
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And I forgot about Chloe Evans; yet another batter who very well may be able to square up against college pitching. That is a big roster, but I like our odds of putting a really good team on the field in 2021.

I am just increasingly worried about not getting a 2021 softball season in due to this Coronavirus problem we are having.
 


ClassOf98Gopher said:
And I forgot about Chloe Evans; yet another batter who very well may be able to square up against college pitching. That is a big roster, but I like our odds of putting a really good team on the field in 2021.

I am just increasingly worried about not getting a 2021 softball season in due to this Coronavirus problem we are having.
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Far more likely to get softball in than other sports. Smaller crowds and playing outside reduce the risk of spread of the virus. Perhaps a greater risk is the financial disaster that could wreak havoc on non revenue sports if football isn't played. I don't know if that cancels a season, but it could change the landscape substantially with severely reduced budgets and dropped programs.
 

ClassOf98Gopher said:
And I forgot about Chloe Evans; yet another batter who very well may be able to square up against college pitching. That is a big roster, but I like our odds of putting a really good team on the field in 2021.

I am just increasingly worried about not getting a 2021 softball season in due to this Coronavirus problem we are having.
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Looking at some old video from last year, Chloe Evans looks to have some serious bat-speed from the left side.

Eight new bat swingers to add to last year’s team, minus White, Krueger, and Beddow. I would expect a lineup with even more punch if only one or two of those Freshman hit the ground running in their Freshman year.
 

ClassOf98Gopher said:
That middle of the batting order is going to be key. As I have written before, I expect between Strelow, Costa, Ehlke, Cox, Kinch, Ceynowa, Jones and even Hollifield, someone has got to be able drive the ball to join Kemmetmueller and Hansen in the middle of the lineup (or even push those upperclassmen into the 7 or 8 spot.) That is too many people for none of them to be able to hit college pitching square up.

As to the bottom of the order, Peterson, Densen and Beckstrom likewise have to be able to push Van Der Heide, Lindbner, and Brandt. There are just too many new players that have potential. Honestly, that should be as good or better of a bottom six of the order as Northwestern, Michigan, or Wisconsin. And those teams will really struggle to keep up with our first three batters and our pitching When considered together. Given the whole team, I like our chances. Of course, maybe Corol Hutchins and other Michigan fans are saying the same thing.
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Totally agree, the batting order needs a serious retooling. But I think the new coaches will have a positive effect on the hitting. These girls were recruited for a reason. They are all capable. It's the small things that will get them to have success at the plate.
Competition will also be good for the hitters. I expect the batting order to look very different next year with all so many players vying for a spot. One that you didn't mention is Dueck. She was the best hitter in the state in 2019 and played for the 14th ranked club team in the country. I believe Dueck, Costa and Sara Kinch (#1 ranked club team) are the only up and comers that have already shown that they can have success against that level of pitching. Some of the others could definitely still have success without Premier experience, Strelow is a good example, but most are not coming in as proven hitters at the top level.
 

Jaydee said:
Totally agree, the batting order needs a serious retooling. But I think the new coaches will have a positive effect on the hitting. These girls were recruited for a reason. They are all capable. It's the small things that will get them to have success at the plate.
Competition will also be good for the hitters. I expect the batting order to look very different next year with all so many players vying for a spot. One that you didn't mention is Dueck. She was the best hitter in the state in 2019 and played for the 14th ranked club team in the country. I believe Dueck, Costa and Sara Kinch (#1 ranked club team) are the only up and comers that have already shown that they can have success against that level of pitching. Some of the others could definitely still have success without Premier experience, Strelow is a good example, but most are not coming in as proven hitters at the top level.
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I agree. Kemmetmueller and Hansen need to produce big results or be dropped to the bottom of the order. (Hansen isn't a natural at first base either. They need better defense at that position; she likely needs to play someplace else.) Above all else, they team desperately needs explosive big bats in the middle to drive in Jensen, Partain, & Denhartog, who are cinches to be on base often.
 

Hrothgar said:
I agree. Kemmetmueller and Hansen need to produce big results or be dropped to the bottom of the order. (Hansen isn't a natural at first base either. They need better defense at that position; she likely needs to play someplace else.) Above all else, they team desperately needs explosive big bats in the middle to drive in Jensen, Partain, & Denhartog, who are cinches to be on base often.
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My revised guess at what the team will look like on game one of 2021:

Partain - 2b (backed up by Strelow)
Jensen -CF
DenHartog - LF
Kinch or Evans - C (I’m being hopeful)
Hansen - 1b (Pushed by Ehlke)
Strelow - DH (Pushed by Cox/Costa)
Kemmetmueller - 3b
Jones - RF (Pushed by VanDerHeide/Denson)
Brandt - SS (Pushed by Beckstrom)

P - Fiser, Pease, Hollifield, Dueck, Jones

And all that guesswork gets thrown out the window based upon who performs in 2021 games.

Two Big questions I have:

1. Who shows the most growth/capability over the next 7 months to demand being in the regular lineup (Cox/Peterson/Dueck/Lindner / Denson/Hollifield/Ceynowa)? Meaning who demonstrates they can touch Fiser and Peace’s pitching?

2. What pitcher/hitters (Dueck/Hollifield/and maybe Jones) are identified to focus only on pitching? Maybe the one that demonstrates the nastiest “out-pitch”. Or, oppositely, the one with the least pop-in-their-bat.
 

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