Gopher Softball 2022

[ClassOf98Gopher]

…however, the decision to leave valencia in for a 3rd inning, and therefore allowing some batters to see her a second time, defies all logic. absolutely disappointing/unnecessary loss today. i cannot understand that coaching move at all….

You just can’t leave someone with a 57 mph heater to face batters more than once through the order, at most, in NCAA softball. It is not fair to her and the team.

I can see throwing someone with 57 mph speed pitches for an inning to get a change of speed and spin coming off the starter, but not more than an inning and most certainly never more once through the lineup.

 

[dlw4gophers]

Are the two starters that fragile. I don’t know there arm conditions health wise. Pease only pitched7 innings this weekend and Leavitt 8. Why was Pease removed and why no le@vitt in the 7th

 

[junc1929]

Are the two starters that fragile. I don’t know there arm conditions health wise. Pease only pitched7 innings this weekend and Leavitt 8. Why was Pease removed and why no le@vitt in the 7th

pease’s mom has been posting all over facebook about her building back from an injury. i have no idea why not leavitt in an extremely winnable game.

 

[WayOfTheGopher]

Long time reader, first time poster. This season has been very frustrating to watch and today's game was a prime example. At this point what more can you do? Just hope that everyone can make it through without any serious injuries.

 

[Hrothgar]

Are the two starters that fragile. I don’t know there arm conditions health wise. Pease only pitched7 innings this weekend and Leavitt 8. Why was Pease removed and why no le@vitt in the 7th

Pease was pitching a gem. In removing her after only 4 innings, the MN coaches gifted the game to Maryland. I quit watching at that point. What in the world is that all about? It seems in shambles.

 

[Chase the Rise]

Pease was pitching a gem. In removing her after only 4 innings, the MN coaches gifted the game to Maryland. I quit watching at that point. What in the world is that all about? It seems in shambles.

Missing the big picture. Go back and look at game logs, Pease is on a 60 pitch limit. The coaches know more than we do.

 

[Chase the Rise]

Is it possible for MN to transfer in up to 4 really good pitchers in the Portal to try and recapture the needs of this program? I ask because to me their talent has already been proven on the field which IMO (and has been brought up by a poster or two) is a much more accurate read on their talent than their HS days.

Many of us feel we know more than the coaches. That's why we have these forums. But in all honesty, the one thing we all do know for sure is......that the "right head coach" in any sport, will do wonders for that program.

You bring in 4 portal pitchers and you can probs Lu kiss Schwartz and Sippes goodbye

Is it possible for MN to transfer in up to 4 really good pitchers in the Portal to try and recapture the needs of this program? I ask because to me their talent has already been proven on the field which IMO (and has been brought up by a poster or two) is a much more accurate read on their talent than their HS days.

Many of us feel we know more than the coaches. That's why we have these forums. But in all honesty, the one thing we all do know for sure is......that the "right head coach" in any sport, will do wonders for that program.

If they bring in 4 portal pitchers you can probably bet that recruits like Schwartz and Sippes won’t be Gophers for very long. But if that’s a choice they are willing to make, they better find kids that fit the bill of a #1

 

[Hrothgar]

Missing the big picture. Go back and look at game logs, Pease is on a 60 pitch limit. The coaches know more than we do.

I know the game logs. A pitch limit must mean you're injured. I like the old Aussie maxim: If you're injured, you don't play. If you play, you're not injured. If Pease is hurt, why are the coaches having her play? I'm not blaming the athlete (in fact, I admire her pitching style), but I'm questioning the program's roster management. Of course, the Athletic Dept won't issue any memos, so it seems fans are left to speculate, not on how but why the Gophers wound up with essentially a 2-person pitching staff.

 

[Chase the Rise]

I know the game logs. A pitch limit must mean you're injured. I like the old Aussie maxim: If you're injured, you don't play. If you play, you're not injured. If Pease is hurt, why are the coaches having her play? I'm not blaming the athlete (in fact, I admire her pitching style), but I'm questioning the program's roster management. Of course, the Athletic Dept won't issue any memos, so it seems fans are left to speculate, not on how but why the Gophers wound up with essentially a 2-person pitching staff.

I think it’s been discussed about both Dueck and Hostettler leaving in the fall, losing them…you lose depth. Trying to find a portal pitcher that they want to invest in at semester break has to be difficult. Plus they wouldn’t be getting time to actually see what they are capable of. Jones leaving is strange, Hollifield looked to be a 4 at best anyway, Valencia wasn’t brought in to pitch.

But thinking they were just going to go find pitchers at semester break…I haven’t looked at the portal lately but good pitchers usually aren’t in the portal half way through the school year.

The pitching staff is a product of injuries, inexperience, and lack of depth, all of which happened after the school year started. That’s a lot to overcome IMO

 

[Chase the Rise]

I think it’s been discussed about both Dueck and Hostettler leaving in the fall, losing them…you lose depth. Trying to find a portal pitcher that they want to invest in at semester break has to be difficult. Plus they wouldn’t be getting time to actually see what they are capable of. Jones leaving is strange, Hollifield looked to be a 4 at best anyway, Valencia wasn’t brought in to pitch.

But thinking they were just going to go find pitchers at semester break…I haven’t looked at the portal lately but good pitchers usually aren’t in the portal half way through the school year.

The pitching staff is a product of injuries, inexperience, and lack of depth, all of which happened after the school year started. That’s a lot to overcome IMO

And most if not all B10 staffs have 2 pitchers that throw. Some have a #1 that eats up most innings, but suggesting teams have a 4 person. Pitching staff isn’t correct either. We could be like Purdue and have 10 pitchers on the roster….like the saying goes, if you have 10 pitchers, you really don’t have any.

 

[ClassOf98Gopher]

A2022 opening day lineup:

1 Jensen (7)
2 Den Hartog (8)
3 Evans (9)
4 Kinch (2)
5 Cox (DH)
6 Costa (5)
7 Chavez (6)
8 Dray/Hansen (3)
9 Strelow (3)

Pitchers: Pease, Leavitt, Dueck, Hollifield, Hostettler, Jones

I assume much more pitching by committee next year. I don’t know if the younger pitchers are ready to go 7 innings, multiple times through opposing lineups, showing something either different or overpowering.

I’m no expert but the above was my first post of this thread regarding the 2022 season, posted May 24th, 2021 - a year ago. We all knew pitching would be the open question for this team.

And after this weekend, in my mind the answer is crystal clear. Some of you came to this answer much earlier than I did… our pitching is not good enough for us to make a run in the Big Ten tournament. With Pease limited and Dueck, Jones, and Hostettler gone; our depth is so much less than I thought 11 months ago. It’s just a bad situation; resulting in a bad record. Not good at all.

 

[rwlarson]

I’m no expert but the above was my first post of this thread regarding the 2022 season, posted May 24th, 2021 - a year ago. We all knew pitching would be the open question for this team.

And after this weekend, in my mind the answer is crystal clear. Some of you came to this answer much earlier than I did… our pitching is not good enough for us to make a run in the Big Ten tournament. With Pease limited and Dueck, Jones, and Hostettler gone; our depth is so much less than I thought 11 months ago. It’s just a bad situation; resulting in a bad record. Not good at all.

I hate to start talking next year already, but it seems our pitching depth was thin to start the season and is getting thinner due to pitch-count limits, so it may be about that time.

Hopefully Leavitt stays and improves, Pease is fully recovered and can be the #1 we were hoping she would become this year, and Schwartz is as good or better than her sister was as a freshman at Wisconsin. In her brief stint today, Hollifield displayed the best command and location I’ve seen from her, so maybe she will finally be ready to meaningfully contribute if she sticks around.

 

[Hrothgar]

All makes good sense as to what happened. I was wondering more like why? It seems hard to imagine that none of these problems occurred until fall semester started & up they popped without warning signs in advance. Online here there's been mention of Pease having surgery before the school year began; Dueck seems to have had knee problems beginning last year that caused her to give up the game; Jones went into the transfer portal; Hostettler quit abruptly in early fall; Hollifield wasn't ready apparently. Surely the program had inklings of these potential problems long before the fall and could've taken some proactive steps during the off-season, January to the summer, to bolster the corps. If you're going to limit pitchers to 60 pitches, you'd best have more than 2 pitchers ready. My questioning. I'll leave it at that. Way too late now.

 

[4EverAGopher]

You bring in 4 portal pitchers and you can probs Lu kiss Schwartz and Sippes goodbye

If they bring in 4 portal pitchers you can probably bet that recruits like Schwartz and Sippes won’t be Gophers for very long. But if that’s a choice they are willing to make, they better find kids that fit the bill of a #1

First of all I did say UP TO 4 REALLY GOOD PITCHERS .

Second I asked this question with absolutely NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE PITCHERS THEY HAVE RECRUITED and are coming into the program.

Third this question was also based on NO KNOWLEDGE IF PEASE AND/OR LEAVITT WILL RETURN NEXT SEASON.

 

[4EverAGopher]

Just posting three interesting stats up through the Maryland series. There has been a lot of talk of giving more bench players at bats. If anybody sees mistakes, please go ahead and correct them.
Player-At Bats-RBI's-Strike Outs

Espalin 122-22-14
Evans 119-40-25
DenHartog 135-31-25
Jensen 91-11-12
Chavez 100-10-13
Dowell 114-21-19
Kinch 117-30-30
Dray 104-14-30
Strelow 108-21-26
Hansen 36-13-04
Cox 04-01-02
Valencia 11-01-00
Denson 18-00-00
Costa 09-02-05
Lindner 13-01-06

 

[GopherAlum03]

You just can’t leave someone with a 57 mph heater to face batters more than once through the order, at most, in NCAA softball. It is not fair to her and the team.

I can see throwing someone with 57 mph speed pitches for an inning to get a change of speed and spin coming off the starter, but not more than an inning and most certainly never more once through the lineup.

Leavitt throws 65+ but yet we lost the game Saturday. Is it because she throws too hard?

Valencia was brought in for her bat
(2-3 HR, RBI) but probably doesn’t get more at-bats because they can’t afford for another “pitcher” to get injured. Pease is on a 60 pitch limit by Dr’s orders and Leavitt had thrown 150+ pitches the last two days. Do you suppose they risk injury to Leavitt as well just so we can get “the win” while risking the student athlete? Hollifield should be the #3 but her control is spotty.

The season was doomed when 3 pitchers decided to quit after the school semester started. The Coaches are doing the best they can considering the circumstances they were thrust into.
Many, if not all teams, have a 1 and 2 in the circle that they use all season. We don’t even have a 1.
This season is still salvageable. We all know that a team can get hit and crazy things can happen in post season. I will stay behind this team until the final out of the season.
Maroon and Gold forever!

 

[rwlarson]

Just posting three interesting stats up through the Maryland series. There has been a lot of talk of giving more bench players at bats. If anybody sees mistakes, please go ahead and correct them.
Player-At Bats-RBI's-Strike Outs

Espalin 122-22-14
Evans 119-40-25
DenHartog 135-31-25
Jensen 91-11-12
Chavez 100-10-13
Dowell 114-21-19
Kinch 117-30-30
Dray 104-14-30
Strelow 108-21-26
Hansen 36-13-04
Cox 04-01-02
Valencia 11-01-00
Denson 18-00-00
Costa 09-02-05
Lindner 13-01-06

To me, this data demonstrates that in a very limited sampling, Cox, Costa, and Lindner strike out about 50% of the time, whereas the worst of the regulars strikes out slightly less than 30% of the time. It doesn’t mean for certain that the three noted above would keep up that high strikeout pace if they played regularly, but it provides a clue as to why they might not be getting more at bats. It also tell us to a certain extent which hitters are contact hitters vs. which might swing for the fences more often.

To gauge effectiveness in run-scoring situations, I think we need number of runners left on base, and to gauge true clutch hitting, average with two out and runners in scoring position. On the surface, it appears Chloe Evans is having the best season of anyone, despite her penchant for striking out. What also stands out is potentially how much we miss Emily Hansen being healthy enough to be a regular.

 

[ClassOf98Gopher]

Leavitt throws 65+ but yet we lost the game Saturday. Is it because she throws too hard?…

“Throws too hard?” That’s like too much fun — there’s no such thing.

 

[Hrothgar]

To me, this data demonstrates that in a very limited sampling, Cox, Costa, and Lindner strike out about 50% of the time, whereas the worst of the regulars strikes out slightly less than 30% of the time. It doesn’t mean for certain that the three noted above would keep up that high strikeout pace if they played regularly, but it provides a clue as to why they might not be getting more at bats. It also tell us to a certain extent which hitters are contact hitters vs. which might swing for the fences more often.

To gauge effectiveness in run-scoring situations, I think we need number of runners left on base, and to gauge true clutch hitting, average with two out and runners in scoring position. On the surface, it appears Chloe Evans is having the best season of anyone, despite her penchant for striking out. What also stands out is potentially how much we miss Emily Hansen being healthy enough to be a regular.

"With two out and runners in scoring position." Exactly! I doubt if any gopher hitter has a good stat there or w/ ROB in general. A lot of words were spilled (some by me) on Sunday's loss bec. of the late inning pitching, but I think the game was really lost in the bottom of the 5th or 6th. DenHartog led off with a double & I think one other runner was on, too, but no hitters stepped up to drive them in; they were left stranded.

 

[rowdaboat]

First of all I did say UP TO 4 REALLY GOOD PITCHERS .

Second I asked this question with absolutely NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE PITCHERS THEY HAVE RECRUITED and are coming into the program.

Third this question was also based on NO KNOWLEDGE IF PEASE AND/OR LEAVITT WILL RETURN NEXT SEASON.

I'd be surprised if either does return, Pease for durability and Leavitt have seen enough lack of control to repurpose her scholarship if they get transfer pitchers in

 

[rwlarson]

I'd be surprised if either does return, Pease for durability and Leavitt have seen enough lack of control to repurpose her scholarship if they get transfer pitchers in

I am pretty confident that Pease is planning to return. That said, nobody knows whether or not she will be able to carry the load required of a #1 starter due to her shoulder issues. Hopefully she will be at full strength next year.

This coaching staff invested in Leavitt and she was thrown into the deep end before she was ready. She looks like a lot of freshman pitchers in her lack of consistency with her location. At this level, mistakes usually cost you. The difference between being a 5.00 ERA pitcher and a 2.00 ERA pitcher can just be making your best pitches when it matters most. If she is just slightly better with her location and mastery of her off-speed, she could very well turn it around next season.

Then we have Sydney Schwartz, who is considered more advanced than her sister Maddie was at the same age. That gives you three potential starters, with Hollifield as the #4. I presume they would rather groom Valencia to hit going forward.

So, unless we have transfers out, I question whether we would actively pursue a transfer pitcher, unless a good one just happened to fall into our lap.

 

[ClassOf98Gopher]

I am pretty confident that Pease is planning to return. That said, nobody knows whether or not she will be able to carry the load required of a #1 starter due to her shoulder issues. Hopefully she will be at full strength next year.

This coaching staff invested in Leavitt and she was thrown into the deep end before she was ready. She looks like a lot of freshman pitchers in her lack of consistency with her location. At this level, mistakes usually cost you. The difference between being a 5.00 ERA pitcher and a 2.00 ERA pitcher can just be making your best pitches when it matters most. If she is just slightly better with her location and mastery of her off-speed, she could very well turn it around next season.

Then we have Sydney Schwartz, who is considered more advanced than her sister Maddie was at the same age. That gives you three potential starters, with Hollifield as the #4. I presume they would rather groom Valencia to hit going forward.

So, unless we have transfers out, I question whether we would actively pursue a transfer pitcher, unless a good one just happened to fall into our lap.

This seems correct to me. If there was a quality Freshman or Sophomore out there who just badly wanted to come to Minnesota over all other universities for academic/family reasons, I am sure we would try to make that happen. But I don't see us bringing in a quality pitcher through transfer absent a strong desire for that transfer to be on the Minneapolis campus.

 

[Hrothgar]

As usual my wife & I drove 150 miles rt to use our season tickets & see the Gophers take on St. Thomas on a sunny but very chilly Tuesday evening. Surprisingly it was close to a full house and on an ordinary weekday!!! With that strong a fan base, MN softball must keep the program strong & back in the top 20 in the future. Letting it slide any further would be a disaster. IMO they need to keep Kinch, Valencia, Strelow, Chavez, & Evans. DenHartog, too, if she has another year, plus adding some strong newcomers, esp a talented SS. The way rwlarson outlines, bolstering the pitching seems doable. As important as other positions are, improving the team has to start with pitching. It's the old axiom: Good pitching will always beat good hitting.

 

[4EverAGopher]

A lot of talk about our possible Gopher pitching staff for next season. In all honesty, is there any guarantee that Sydney Schwartz will be our next Groenewegen/Fiser? I just feel if the present pitching staff all return, we would want them to be quite improved by next season.

Also, can this program with a very new Coaching Staff still attempting to prove they know how to recruit and coach, move forward like we all are hoping they will?

In wanting this program to not move backwards, I am still holding out that they should bring in an ACE, (already established) pitcher from the portal. IMO there are just way TOO MANY IFS.

 

[rwlarson]

A lot of talk about our possible Gopher pitching staff for next season. In all honesty, is there any guarantee that Sydney Schwartz will be our next Groenewegen/Fiser? I just feel if the present pitching staff all return, we would want them to be quite improved by next season.

Also, can this program with a very new Coaching Staff still attempting to prove they know how to recruit and coach, move forward like we all are hoping they will?

In wanting this program to not move backwards, I am still holding out that they should bring in an ACE, (already established) pitcher from the portal. IMO there are just way TOO MANY IFS.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to think that any of the pitchers that return next season can and will be better than they were this year.

Piper knows the formula Allister employed can be successful. Trachsel didn’t really appreciate the manner in which Minnesota softball had been built, and she tried to turn us into a Power 5 version of North Dakota State, which is understandable as that’s what she knew. Despite that, I remain grateful to her for being smart enough to realize she had a team that was capable of making the WCWS (despite the fact Allister probably wouldn’t have lost Lindaman) and scheduling accordingly, something Allister didn’t do as well (see 2017). It was that non-conference schedule (plus maybe some latent guilt by the Committee for that 2017 fiasco) that ultimately got us the #7 seed despite finishing 3rd in the Big Ten. That in turn allowed us to host regionals and supers, which no doubt helped us reach softball nirvana by making it to Oklahoma City.

We would be foolish to expect that any particular recruit will turn into the next Groenewegen, Fiser, or Moulton. However, Schwartz certainly has the look of someone who could be an effective two-way player for us. Whether intentional or not, is it some kind of foreshadowing (or wishful thinking) that Schwartz’s Signing Day photos have her wearing #17 in the live head shot and #13 in the photo-shopped action shot?

Everybody wants proven ace pitchers. So even if we pursued a sure-fire ace, why should we think she would come here over Oklahoma, Texas, or Oklahoma State, just to name a few programs that have landed high-profile transfer pitchers in recent years?

If Piper’s desire is to return Minnesota softball to the formula that worked so well for Allister, then we would focus on identifying under-the-radar pitchers from the upper Midwest who don’t need the validation of being recruited by Oklahoma or a top SEC or PAC school, and develop them. If one of those that recently “got away” wanted to return, like an Allison Benning or Taylor Hess, we probably would try and make that happen. Otherwise, we may attract a previously solid pitcher who could turn into an ace, but doubtful we would be a realistic landing spot for a legitimate, proven, Power 5 ace pitcher.

 

[Hrothgar]

I don’t think it’s a stretch to think that any of the pitchers that return next season can and will be better than they were this year.

Piper knows the formula Allister employed can be successful. Trachsel didn’t really appreciate the manner in which Minnesota softball had been built, and she tried to turn us into a Power 5 version of North Dakota State, which is understandable as that’s what she knew. Despite that, I remain grateful to her for being smart enough to realize she had a team that was capable of making the WCWS (despite the fact Allister probably wouldn’t have lost Lindaman) and scheduling accordingly, something Allister didn’t do as well (see 2017). It was that non-conference schedule (plus maybe some latent guilt by the Committee for that 2017 fiasco) that ultimately got us the #7 seed despite finishing 3rd in the Big Ten. That in turn allowed us to host regionals and supers, which no doubt helped us reach softball nirvana by making it to Oklahoma City.

We would be foolish to expect that any particular recruit will turn into the next Groenewegen, Fiser, or Moulton. However, Schwartz certainly has the look of someone who could be an effective two-way player for us. Whether intentional or not, is it some kind of foreshadowing (or wishful thinking) that Schwartz’s Signing Day photos have her wearing #17 in the live head shot and #13 in the photo-shopped action shot?

Everybody wants proven ace pitchers. So even if we pursued a sure-fire ace, why should we think she would come here over Oklahoma, Texas, or Oklahoma State, just to name a few programs that have landed high-profile transfer pitchers in recent years?

If Piper’s desire is to return Minnesota softball to the formula that worked so well for Allister, then we would focus on identifying under-the-radar pitchers from the upper Midwest who don’t need the validation of being recruited by Oklahoma or a top SEC or PAC school, and develop them. If one of those that recently “got away” wanted to return, like an Allison Benning or Taylor Hess, we probably would try and make that happen. Otherwise, we may attract a previously solid pitcher who could turn into an ace, but doubtful we would be a realistic landing spot for a legitimate, proven, Power 5 ace pitcher.

A small aside: I think Brandner, the player who came in after Lindaman left, was an even better softball player; she hit as well or better and was brilliant on defense at 1st base. She added a spark on the field.

Your comments are insightful. Hopefully Ritter can develop an in-depth program that stays on track and wins BIG titles, which should be the aim each season, as one other poster always argues. Win the BIG and play the NCAA after that.

If you can't find a nr 1, big-time pitching ace, 3 or 4 sturdy pitchers, who keep the team in every game for a whole season, ain't bad either. Next year a staff of Pease, Leavitt, and a couple of others about as good could win lots of games. There are many very, very good players out there; it's a matter of convincing them to come here and stay. Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting.

 

[GopherAlum03]

Just posting three interesting stats up through the Maryland series. There has been a lot of talk of giving more bench players at bats. If anybody sees mistakes, please go ahead and correct them.
Player-At Bats-RBI's-Strike Outs

Espalin 122-22-14
Evans 119-40-25
DenHartog 135-31-25
Jensen 91-11-12
Chavez 100-10-13
Dowell 114-21-19
Kinch 117-30-30
Dray 104-14-30
Strelow 108-21-26
Hansen 36-13-04
Cox 04-01-02
Valencia 11-01-00
Denson 18-00-00
Costa 09-02-05
Lindner 13-01-06

Denson 19 AB, 3 H, 0 RBI
Costa 9 AB, 0 H, 3 RBI
Valencia 3 AB, 2 H, 1 RBI, HR
Cox 4 AB, 1 H, 1 RBI, 2B

 

[GophersSBfan]

Denson 19 AB, 3 H, 0 RBI
Costa 9 AB, 0 H, 3 RBI
Valencia 3 AB, 2 H, 1 RBI, HR
Cox 4 AB, 1 H, 1 RBI, 2B

I don’t think it’s a stretch to think that any of the pitchers that return next season can and will be better than they were this year.

Piper knows the formula Allister employed can be successful. Trachsel didn’t really appreciate the manner in which Minnesota softball had been built, and she tried to turn us into a Power 5 version of North Dakota State, which is understandable as that’s what she knew. Despite that, I remain grateful to her for being smart enough to realize she had a team that was capable of making the WCWS (despite the fact Allister probably wouldn’t have lost Lindaman) and scheduling accordingly, something Allister didn’t do as well (see 2017). It was that non-conference schedule (plus maybe some latent guilt by the Committee for that 2017 fiasco) that ultimately got us the #7 seed despite finishing 3rd in the Big Ten. That in turn allowed us to host regionals and supers, which no doubt helped us reach softball nirvana by making it to Oklahoma City.

We would be foolish to expect that any particular recruit will turn into the next Groenewegen, Fiser, or Moulton. However, Schwartz certainly has the look of someone who could be an effective two-way player for us. Whether intentional or not, is it some kind of foreshadowing (or wishful thinking) that Schwartz’s Signing Day photos have her wearing #17 in the live head shot and #13 in the photo-shopped action shot?

Everybody wants proven ace pitchers. So even if we pursued a sure-fire ace, why should we think she would come here over Oklahoma, Texas, or Oklahoma State, just to name a few programs that have landed high-profile transfer pitchers in recent years?

If Piper’s desire is to return Minnesota softball to the formula that worked so well for Allister, then we would focus on identifying under-the-radar pitchers from the upper Midwest who don’t need the validation of being recruited by Oklahoma or a top SEC or PAC school, and develop them. If one of those that recently “got away” wanted to return, like an Allison Benning or Taylor Hess, we probably would try and make that happen. Otherwise, we may attract a previously solid pitcher who could turn into an ace, but doubtful we would be a realistic landing spot for a legitimate, proven, Power 5 ace pitc

This seems correct to me. If there was a quality Freshman or Sophomore out there who just badly wanted to come to Minnesota over all other universities for academic/family reasons, I am sure we would try to make that happen. But I don't see us bringing in a quality pitcher through transfer absent a strong desire for that transfer to be on the Minneapolis campus.

Based on this fan board what ACE pitcher would want to come to the Gopher's. It appears that the love of past Pitching Queens that played weak schedules and only arrived to the dance once is huge disadvantage. Time for this board to be real about what needs to be done to have a great a softball program at this school. If you have the hope that this program can rest on the shoulders of 1 or 2 pitchers you have no softball IQ. I have never seen a game won when you don't score more then the other team! It takes runs to win games, very simple score more runs then you give up!

Swinging for the fence is a very bad way to get wins, it is equal to hoping to strike every batter. You have to take walks and string together hits so you can gain off the long ball. The fantasy that one player alone will make the Gophers a better program is a very sad thought process. Wake Gophers fans you need a team that plays together because the Coach inspires them to be better then they are!

Time to think again why would anybody want to come to play here....and make it happen!

Maybe it is time to live up to your moto Minnesota Nice and support with real facts about the program.

Maybe we need to go go back to the days of old and play weak ass teams to make us feel good, since this fan base can't hang with the best programs in NCAA with out falling apart!

 

[4EverAGopher]

Wake Gophers fans you need a team that plays together because the Coach inspires them to be better then they are!

Please......I for one would love it, if you shared your knowledge of the Gopher Coaching staff this season.

 

[GophersSBfan]

Dear GOPHER-A-HOLE members,

Remember players review this site also!

Let us hope Elon buys this site or else I’m getting the boot!

At last week’s game I saw some fans blow some extremely easy catches on FREE -T-Shirts. It is really embarrassing to see such lack of skill set in the stands! You would think that catching a rolled up FREE T-SHIRT wouldn’t be so hard, but it looks like our fan base need some practice in grabbing free stuff. Remember a pitcher had to strike someone out for you to even get the chance to catch that exceptionally large item. No running participated in each of the missed grabs. I did see some great hustle by some fans when it came to finding an item and taking it back to the table…. close call on a few of those! So and you if you are one of the one’s who failed to make a solid catch or you just didn’t have what it takes to get you speed on and you lost out on a win…. go back and practice for the next chance at free stuff. Look at it this way…. At least you don’t have any school work to due this week that would interfere with you becoming a better fan at the field.

Let us start some real dialog about the team by reviewing our season so far…we can take it one game at a time to reflect on how we have arrived at our current status.

A bit of review for everyone…We ended last season in the final against UCLA and we lost! We were the first team of the entire season to keep UCLA scoreless till the 4th. So, our pitching staff must have had what it takes at that point. Even with an ALL AMERICAN on our staff we chose to go with one pitcher. Not sure why but that is the theme of Minnesota softball. UCLA used two pitchers in the game, and we used one. UCLA scored two in the 4th and would score no more. We scored 1 in the 2nd via our most classic method of scoring , a solo HOME RUN by DRAY. We lost because against one of the Top programs in NCAA we could not score another run after that solo home run in the second.

On the pitching side our pitcher had seven strikeouts with 5 in the first 3 innings. UCLA pitching staff combine to throw seven strikeouts using 2 pitchers…pretty much equal. So in the end our pitching was about equal to UCLA. We only needed some hitters to step up and make it happen, but swinging for the fence is not going to happen against Rachel G. We looked pretty good, but that game was just an example of the many games this season where against Top teams we just come up short by 1 or 2 runs. Did we get beat by the long ball? Nope just UCLA stringing together walks and hits to score.

What hurt most last season was the lack of balance on offense, lack of taking walks, no speed, very little contact hitting. When you swing for the fence you have to make it out of the park or it’s just, with a fly out. Not very often in the top programs do out fielders let the ball drop out of their gloves. Maybe we can have a stat lover review the number of fly out we have compared to the teams that are beating us….

Long post so I will go for now…next up our season2022 opener #12 GEORGIA and how we started off where we left off.