Clare Ceynowa is listed as a catcher. Dray and Strelow have both played catcher.
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Gopher Softball 2022
- Thread starter rugger14
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Espalin also has plenty of experience at catcher.
With so many players coming and going to and from the roster, it's hard to keep track of who's who. Olivia Peterson spent at least a whole season with the Gophers and I had to look her up on the 2021 roster to even remember who she was/is. She wasn't the only 'forgotten' one, it seems. Forgotten to me anyway.
Thanks for clarifying. I misinterpreted your statement.
4EverAGopher
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Has anybody watched Olympic softball? I am hoping to catch the games tomorrow morning on tape delay. With my financial/TV programming situation, I decided to pay the $4.99 for Peacock Premium.
Does anybody know if Groenewegen is pitching for Canada?
Does anybody know if Groenewegen is pitching for Canada?
she pitched 4 innings in their game last night.
Sara started and got the win in Canada’s 4-0 win over Mexico. She threw 54 pitches in four hitless innings with three K’s and one BB.
Danielle Lawrie is still considered Canada’s #1 pitcher. She pitched the final two innings against Mexico and I expect her to get the start tonight against USA, but Sara should be ready to go if needed.
Another incoming player, Leilani (Nani) Valencia power hitting infielder from Georgetown Kentucky. She will join the other freshman that signed in November.
Leilani Valencia
@nani_valencia19
I’m excited God has led me to start a new journey. I am extremely blessed to announce I will be continuing my athletic and academic career at The University of Minnesota!!! I cannot thank my parents, coaches, & teammates enough for believing in me!! #GoGophs
@GopherSoftball
3:23 PM · Jul 28, 2021·Twitter for iPhone
Leilani Valencia
@nani_valencia19
I’m excited God has led me to start a new journey. I am extremely blessed to announce I will be continuing my athletic and academic career at The University of Minnesota!!! I cannot thank my parents, coaches, & teammates enough for believing in me!! #GoGophs
@GopherSoftball
3:23 PM · Jul 28, 2021·Twitter for iPhone
Jess Oakland is the Bay Area Softball Player of the year.
westcoastpreps.com
Bay Area Softball Athlete of the Year » West Coast Preps
She simply put up one of the greatest seasons ever imagined. St. Francis junior infielder Jessica Oakland was unstoppable at the plate and made great ... To SUBSCRIBE and READ this story then click here for a Monthly Subscription that cost just $8.99 per month or here for a Yearly Subscription...
westcoastpreps.com
Good solid posts by many of you. Looking forward to 2022 as it appears that we will have a solid team. Seems like pitching is always a crap shoot. You never know who is going to blossom and have a solid year.
I get the feeling there will be plenty of talent on the team in '22. But a lot of it is unproven. With that said, there is a high level of performance that is expected within the program and it'll be interesting to see how the younger players handle it. Over the years, names have changed but the level of play has remained high. We'll see if the trend continues in 2022.
ClassOf98Gopher
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I honestly don’t get this addition, with pur roster size such as it is. I hope Valencia contributes over the years and I am proven wrong.
It seems as though there are not enough balls to go around for all these Gopher players with these three new additions (Espalin, Dowell, and Valencia) but maybe there is rhyme or reason that I am not aware of. And to be fair, Dowell, with only one year remaining of eligibility, is by far the most understandable addition given the key position that the Short Stop is.
Valencia had been committed to Western Kentucky (where her older sister is on the current roster). At some point this year, she re-opened her recruitment, and she drew plenty of attention from P5 coaches with strong play this spring and summer.
I want our coaches constantly looking for players who can improve the talent level within the program while maintaining positive team chemistry. Unlike most years, when late commits are often signed to plug obvious holes in roster depth, and may not accomplish either of the above objectives, the fact that the coaching staff thought enough of Valencia to add her to an already historically large roster is a very positive signal to me.
Ski U Mah Gopher
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With a roster this big, how about having a couple of intersquad games at Cowles this fall.
Kianna lands at North Carolina.
ClassOf98Gopher
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Good for Kianna Jones. Obviously North Carolina is a great university and I hope Kianna is successful. I admit, I kinda didn’t want her to transfer out yet but rather get a good shot for next year, but maybe all of the pitching sports are taken up, so she saw the writing on the wall if she wanted to pitch at all.
The reason I have been a little cranky about this roster size growth, especially as it relates to Espalin and Valencia, is out of fear that more current players that have been short on playing opportunities will feel slighted.
I understand that Valencia was 1st team all state for the big schools in Kentucky… she may be great (on the field - which is all I care about) and I very well could be wrong. I just like the idea of making a commitment to the players who made commitments to the U of M as 16-17 year olds. And if gopher players are given opportunities and can’t perform at the needed level, then they need to move on - Jones and Peterson may well have fallen into that category - I don’t know for sure.
Either way, go Gophers.
Understand your concern but think, just like with PJ, you need to trust that Piper and the coaches are doing what's best for the team and program, long term and short term.
Spot on. Piper has been around for a long time. She knows what the program needs, so lets not underestimate her.
I too like the idea of making a commitment to players who’ve made a commitment to us. On the other hand, the window to capitalize on our WCWS run from a recruiting perspective doesn’t last forever. We need to remain nationally relevant right now. We are currently a member of a select group of teams who’ve actually made it to Oklahoma City within the last five years, and if we have the chance to bring in players who pass current players on the depth chart, we owe it to the program and its fans to do so as long as it doesn’t disrupt the winning culture Piper helped establish with Allister and Merchant.
Too large a roster? I see the concern, but....why not put everybody out there beginning in Sept. and see who can play at this level and who can't? In 2019 most fans had never heard of DenHartog, Brandner & Burns; they performed. For 2022 the Gophers desperately need superior talent at key positions; especially a SS who's superior in the field and can hit big. That's just one position; RF & the whole infield + pitching depth. There's great talent out there for recruiters who can find it. The Gophers' young asst coaches are hopefully hitting the trail....
Since Hope entered the portal (2 1/2 months ago), I have not seen or heard of her going anywhere to play this year. In addition to her being out of the game for 2 years, she may not have been in school. I have no inside information. I also do not know all the rules and regulations regarding the transfer portal. But, here is my guess in why she was placed in the portal:
1. Coaches asked if she was planning to return to the Gophers. She probably said no.
2. Since she wasn't returning the coaches need to free up any financial support she was getting.
3. In order to free up the money, she needed to be placed in the portal.
This is all pure speculation on my part, so take it for what that's worth. Someone likely has better information than I. Since the money became available, it may have led to the late roster activity that we saw take place.
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Wow! This explains a lot.
ClassOf98Gopher
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Welp! Uh, that’s bad.
Trachsel better hope no member if the Mississippi Republican Party (which runs the state) checks out the Running Poles Blog because they are not going to like a coach on a state university payroll telling 18-22 year old players who to vote for… especially if it is the opposing party! She will be fired for sure.
In more seriousness, I freely admit that I was probably the biggest Trachsel (and Reitkovich) supporter over the last couple years since I joined this message board. Clearly, many of you fellow posters knew a lot more than me.