Gopher softball 2021

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Tucker said:
Maybe somewhat surprisingly we are:
1st in doubles
1st in HRs
1st in BB
3rd in RBI
4th in triples
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The fences are way deep in Leesburg, so the Home runs are way down for all teams. This tells me that DenHartog and Kinch are way strong and Kemmetmueller has a great pull-it-down-the-line home run swing.
 

Good comeback by the Gophers today to scratch out a double sweep this weekend.

Pease continues to roll. Fiser is looking better as she gets into her groove too. Definite room for improvement at the plate, but at least signs of life there.

It was really nice to see Elle Jensen out there this weekend!
 

That MSU leadoff double is why bad teams lose. Nice to get back on track with sweep
 

I haven't watched last two games. Is Kinch a possibility in the second batting slot? Glad they are trying to find a different answer at first.

Not blowing up the stats, but winning. All this team and coaches can do is keep working on it little by little to try and figure out what will be the best for this team.

Maybe it is a blessing we are only playing in the BIG. It appears these new players need to be eased into DIvision 1 softball.
 

Big series with Illinois next. Need to sweep there too. I won't be there this time, so that improves the Gophers chances.
 


Best lineup I think off current roster

Partain 4
Jensen 9
Hansen 3
Denhartog 7
Kinch 2
Kemmetmueller 5
Dray DP
Brandt 6
Denson 8
Pease 1/flex
 

rowdaboat said:
Best lineup I think off current roster

Partain 4
Jensen 9
Hansen 3
Denhartog 7
Kinch 2
Kemmetmueller 5
Dray DP
Brandt 6
Denson 8
Pease 1/flex
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I doubt they would take Strelow’s athleticism out of the lineup. I think she is a starter. My preferred lineup:

Partain 4
Jensen 7
Denhartog 8
Kinch 2
Hansen DP
Kemmetmueller 5
Strelow 6
Dray 3
Denson 9
Pease/Fiser 1/flex

But I could easily see putting Jones in Right (9) at the ninth batting position if I could see that in my above preferred lineup, as it played out in a game, Jensen and Denson’s styles were too redundant to make sense together in that lineup.
 

ClassOf98Gopher said:
I doubt they would take Strelow’s athleticism out of the lineup. I think she is a starter. My preferred lineup:

Partain 4
Jensen 7
Denhartog 8
Kinch 2
Hansen DP
Kemmetmueller 5
Strelow 6
Dray 3
Denson 9
Pease/Fiser 1/flex

But I could easily see putting Jones in Right (9) at the ninth batting position if I could see that in my above preferred lineup, as it played out in a game, Jensen and Denson’s styles were too redundant to make sense together in that lineup.
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I like both of these suggested lineups, especially DenHartog up to 3rd. Jensen needs to be batting 2nd or 9th either just after or just before Partain. I can't see keeping Brandt's bat in the lineup at all or keeping Strelow's out of it. If Strelow can play SS, put her there. First base is a problem; Hansen is not good there defensively & Dray hasn't hit much. There must be some hitters on the bench we haven't seen. I vote for Hope Brandner as the best all-around player ever at MN, for her defensive genius at first and her prowess at the plate. Too bad she can't be replaced; her level of play is missed. Come to think of it, where'd she go? Nobody ever said.
 

rowdaboat said:
That MSU leadoff double is why bad teams lose. Nice to get back on track with sweep
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You're right. The Gophers did a patient job of waiting for MSU to give them the game with: 1) a walk, a wild pitch, and a stolen base to Kemmetmueller; 2) dropping a foul popup giving DenHartog a second chance to drive Kemmetmueller in w/ run nr. one; 3) overrunning second base, like you said; 4) flubbing a 3rd-out ground ball allowing run nr. 2 to score, and 4) in obvious frustration throwing the first pitch to Kinch down the middle of the plate.
 



Hrothgar said:
You're right. The Gophers did a patient job of waiting for MSU to give them the game with: 1) a walk, a wild pitch, and a stolen base to Kemmetmueller; 2) dropping a foul popup giving DenHartog a second chance to drive Kemmetmueller in w/ run nr. one; 3) overrunning second base, like you said; 4) flubbing a 3rd-out ground ball allowing run nr. 2 to score, and 4) in obvious frustration throwing the first pitch to Kinch down the middle of the plate.
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You might as well add that if the Gophers don’t bobble a ground ball in the first and have a passed ball. MSU never scores.
 


Really nice honors for two of our Gophers...........

SOFTBALL | 3/16/2021 3:01:00 PM

Story Links​

University of Minnesota's MaKenna Partain and Sara Kinch have garnered Big Ten weekly accolades, announced today by the league office. Partain was named the Player of the Week, while Kinch received Freshman of the Week honors. It marks Partain's third Big Ten Player of the Week honor of her Gopher career and first of Kinch's short tenure.

Partain, a fifth-year senior from Banks, Ore., batted .421 last weekend to help guide the Gophers to six-straight wins. Starting and leading off in all six games, Partain had eight hits, scored eight runs and had three RBIs. She also added two triples and two doubles in 19 at bats. She had two walks and two hit-by-pitch. In addition, Partain also added six putouts in the field for a perfect fielding percentage.

In her first collegiate hit, Kinch also delivered her first collegiate home run. On the weekend, the Temecula, Calif., native hit .400 and started five of six games behind the plate. In 15 at bats, Kinch had six hits, scored four runs, added two home runs and two doubles. Her second double of the weekend came when she plated the game-winning run Sunday against Michigan State.
 






I thought Fiser was throwing more like her normal self in the MSU series. Forming sort of a duo with Pease seems to take some of the pressure off Fiser.
 

Tucker said:
I got questions on a topic, if anybody has opinions, softball included, but also college sports generally:

How much do you expect a college athlete to improve during their time?
How many players get better every year of their college time?
How many peak their freshman year?
How many regress instead of get better?
How much does the coach have to do with improvement of their individual players?

Any other thoughts on this?
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As it applies to softball players, by the time a female athlete is 18 years old, count me as a “if they got it, the got it” vote.

Improvement, aka “development,” may take place some on the margins, especially in a pitcher developing another “out pitch” or a player improving defensively. Mostly, especially in regards to if a player can hit a pitch, I believe a player is who they are as a freshman and, absent injury, there should be quite small-scale performance improvements throughout their college career. Injuries in their college years, obviously, could diminish performance.

Boys/men may be slightly different in as much as their bodies complete their growth a little later so there may be slightly more change in an athlete throughout their college career as compared to the moment they first walked through the college doors.

I am interested in if others think I am way off base.
 

I agree with Classof98Gopher about women college softball players, but I'm a male so I don't know exactly. My observations watching Gopher softball are that players (other than pitchers maybe) peak as sophomores & juniors, then plateau as seniors, especially as hitters. I remember one woman softball coach saying: "If you want to win big at college softball, do it with underclass[wo]men; they're living in the moment." Seniors either get too panicky in their last year for a big win or their minds are on the future after school. Sam Macken said as a senior, "I'm hitting less but enjoying it more." I've argued here that if a young woman is truly gifted it will show from the very beginning,as Classof98Gopher wrote above. Further improvement seems to be just honing skills. It's individual, ofc. Groenewegen regressed as a hitter her 4th year but produced even more in the circle, and with the hitters aound her she didn't need to hit much senior year.

Imho opinion development is often different for males. I played 8 years of varsity baseball in hs & college. As 18-year-olds we were still essentially children; by 22-23 we were just growing into our strength & power (to the extent we had any). Don't know how that feels for women, and I don't wanna sound like a sexist pig. It's an interesting question. I'd like to hear what women say.

I think a lot of college athletes are pretty tired, if not sick, of the routine as senior year winds down. The VERY best thing a good coach can do is psychological --- keep athletes motivated and focused on the game at hand, so it still feels like a joyous game to them and their skills are sharpened. I think Kemmetmueller is the best defensive 3rd baseman/woman ever at MN; it's a joy to watch the spirit and skill she shows fielding her position. I suspect she's had some great coaching. /Nuff said. Anyone else?
 



Tucker said:
I sort of subconsciously assumed players improved through their college careers. But as I think about it, I question that.

Maybe more players can make a quantum leap, or have a "breakthrough" season than can develop significantly each year.

Sara Wilhite for Gopher Volleyball improved tremendously her senior year.
Gopher Women's Hockey has a junior player this year, Abigail Boreen, who has gotten significantly better thru each of her years. But she wasn't very good as a freshman and I think is unusual to improve so much 2 consecutive years.

I think, ultimately, good college teams need to have players get better through their careers but It's more difficult to do that than I originally assumed.
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At the top levels of D1, there's a huge amount of scouting. By the time a good first- or second-year player is a junior or senior, his/her game has been analyzed. Then it's up to the individual player to work on weaknesses. Maybe some don't have the energy to do that?
 

SomeGopherFan said:
No BTN+ coverage for the Illinois series...?
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Maybe they'll bring in the BTN+ streaming crew from Leesburg, FLA, with a stationary camera aimed permanently at the right-field fence? Just joking. We may have to watch volleyball this weekend, which won't be so bad.
 

Tucker said:
Forecast
Friday 5pm Partly Cloudy 56° 8 WSW
Sar 1pm Mostly Cloudy 66° 16 SSW
Sat 3:30 Mostly Cloudy 68° 15 SW
Sun noon Sunny 52° 17 NW

Games are still strangely missing from the BTN+ schedule. I still think there's a decent chance they will appear.
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I just checked Gopher Sports.com and all games at Illinois and next week here with Purdue will
be on BTN+. I suspect most games home and away will be on BTN+.
 

Anyone have season tickets get any email updates? Saw espn ticker that big ten is allowing fans for spring sports
 




Story just posted on Star Tribune site says only will allow coaches and guests of student athletes for remaining spring sports games. No public attendance.
 



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