Gopher Softball 2022

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Interesting on Hostettler. I was kinda wondering where she fit into the mix with as many pitchers as the team is currently carrying. Pease was always going to be option No. 1 and with Hollifield, Dueck and Leavitt also on hand, it seems like it would have been tough for Hostettler to see much time. Plus, I know the Gophers have at least one instate stud (Schwartz) committed in the circle over the next few years.

Not sure if this is a potential playing time issue, she's homesick or she just doesn't "fit" with the Gophers. But rarely do you see a player leave before she's even officially appeared in a game.
 

My take on the pitchers is that Autumn is the obvious #1, and deservedly so. Her numbers were better than Amber last season and she is a real force in the circle. We need a #2 and it seems like Dueck and Leavitt are the best options at this point. Dueck has the best power to compliment/contrast Autumn's spins. Leavitt has good power and a rise ball that would be a huge asset. 3 starter options would be ideal. Hollifield has looked good in the limited outings so far. I agree, not a lot of velocity but good spots and spins. She and Dueck were absent vs UMD, so I'm assuming a COVID (or other illness) protocol. Dueck was solid in the first Wesleyan game, which was obviously their starters. She had a full game and only gave up a couple of hits and no earned runs, I believe, but that's to be expected against that level of competition. Hostettler looked good against Wesleyan in the second game, as did Hollifield. They both threw a lot of strikes on the plate but it seemed like that game was the back benchers as most of the batters looked pretty shaky and inexperienced.

Regarding Hostetler, I've seen her pitch before and I know she's better than Saturday's outing. There are many reasons to leave a program. Softball may be only a small part of that decision. Life is complicated.

I wasn't thrilled at first about adding Espalin and Dowell because they would be short term fixes at best, but they are both very solid players and will push this team to be more competitive. Valencia and Chavez also look promising. It should be a great Spring!
 

Considering the bad weather and the time of year, yesterday's crowd vs. St. Thomas was impressive indeed. Gophers won 6-1 on 5 unearned runs & not much hitting. Kind of an emotionless, workaday performance, but nice to see the new blood on the field. Leavitt pitched 7 innings. The Gophers' CA & GA players seemed not to freeze unduly. It appeared the dugouts were heated. Hmmmm, is this really MN? Pease, Hansen, & Jensen conspicuous with their absence on the field. Saw Pease outside the dugout and asked, 'Are you picthing?' She replied cheerfully, 'I'm not.' Still wondering what happened to Hostettler. Fans were saying to each other see you next spring. Wonder what that will bring?
 













Still thinking about the upcoming season and… I think Delanie Cox needs regular at-bats; lots of them.
 
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ClassOf98Gopher said:
Still thinking about the upcoming season and… I think Delanie Cox needs regular at-bats; lots of them.
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They need some consistent power hitters with high BAs to back up Den Hartog. If Cox fits that bill, I'm all for it. Even though last year's team won 31 games, they also played some really lackluster games (re: losing to Iowa & PSU). 2022 needs some real fire.
 





ASU/UNC tournaments are very weak fields, needed to take Wisconsin's spot at Clearwater or something with more SEC teams

neutral #8 Georgia x2
@ #27 UCF
neutral #28 Fresno St
@ #21 Arizona St
neutral #24 Wichita St x2
neutral #36 Stanford
@ #6 Oklahoma St x2
neutral #1 Oklahoma
@ #12 Texas x2
@ #19 Michigan x3
 

rowdaboat said:
ASU/UNC tournaments are very weak fields, needed to take Wisconsin's spot at Clearwater or something with more SEC teams

neutral #8 Georgia x2
@ #27 UCF
neutral #28 Fresno St
@ #21 Arizona St
neutral #24 Wichita St x2
neutral #36 Stanford
@ #6 Oklahoma St x2
neutral #1 Oklahoma
@ #12 Texas x2
@ #19 Michigan x3
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What are you taking about! That is a very well balanced schedule for a team like ours. I mean, come on, it is not like we are Florida or something.

I see lots of good teams on that schedule: Georgia x 2, Fresno State, Central Florida, Texas x 2, Arizona State, Stanford!, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State x 2. Wowzers!… that balances extremely good teams (giving us some beat downs) and potential wins (so as to build ourselves back up) very well leading onto the Big Ten season. I love this pre-conference schedule.
 

rowdaboat said:
ASU/UNC tournaments are very weak fields, needed to take Wisconsin's spot at Clearwater or something with more SEC teams

neutral #8 Georgia x2
@ #27 UCF
neutral #28 Fresno St
@ #21 Arizona St
neutral #24 Wichita St x2
neutral #36 Stanford
@ #6 Oklahoma St x2
neutral #1 Oklahoma
@ #12 Texas x2
@ #19 Michigan x3
Click to expand...
The team doesn't get to choose to go to Clearwater. That is by invite only. And from what I've heard, that field of teams were the ones invited to go when COVID messed up the schedule. So the teams invited this year are based on the seasons they had 4 years ago....the 2019 season. That would seem why Wisconsin would be there.
 

Chase the Rise said:
The team doesn't get to choose to go to Clearwater. That is by invite only. And from what I've heard, that field of teams were the ones invited to go when COVID messed up the schedule. So the teams invited this year are based on the seasons they had 4 years ago....the 2019 season. That would seem why Wisconsin would be there.
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Wisconsin was good 4 years ago? Maybe, hard to remember that...
 

Hrothgar said:
Wisconsin was good 4 years ago? Maybe, hard to remember that...
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They were okay, but fattened up on a very soft nonconference schedule before reality set in once the conference season started. If I remember correctly, the Gophs put a nice whopping on them in the regular season, which has been a consistent outcome for matchups with the Badgers in recent years. Nevertheless, I suppose Clearwater probably wanted to mix it up a bit.
 

Hrothgar said:
Wisconsin was good 4 years ago? Maybe, hard to remember that...
Click to expand...

MRJ said:
They were okay, but fattened up on a very soft nonconference schedule before reality set in once the conference season started. If I remember correctly, the Gophs put a nice whopping on them in the regular season, which has been a consistent outcome for matchups with the Badgers in recent years. Nevertheless, I suppose Clearwater probably wanted to mix it up a bit.
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That was the year they beat Oklahoma in Norman in the regionals if I remember correctly. That win alone probably got them the invite.
 

Challenging schedule, although with the ladies' recent track record, they've shown they won't back down against anyone. If they can pull a few non-conference wins and play up to recent years in conference, it'll definitely be another trip to the NCAAs.
 

MRJ said:
Challenging schedule, although with the ladies' recent track record, they've shown they won't back down against anyone. If they can pull a few non-conference wins and play up to recent years in conference, it'll definitely be another trip to the NCAAs.
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First, I want them to win the BIG! it's tiresome of them to let MI have it every year.
 

Hrothgar said:
First, I want them to win the BIG! it's tiresome of them to let MI have it every year.
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Me too, but there are enough questions for me to temper expectations, at least for now.
 

MRJ said:
Me too, but there are enough questions for me to temper expectations, at least for now.
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Pitching, pitching, pitching. That will determine if we are even in a conversation to get past Michigan and Northweatern this year. I am cautiously optimistic… but we as fans won’t know until we can SEE what this pitching staff looks like in live games.

However I have little doubt that we will be good enough to make the NCAA tournament, meaning finish in the top four or so of the B1G. We will be strong enough for that result.
 

ClassOf98Gopher said:
Pitching, pitching, pitching. That will determine if we are even in a conversation to get past Michigan and Northweatern this year. I am cautiously optimistic… but we as fans won’t know until we can SEE what this pitching staff looks like in live games.

However I have little doubt that we will be good enough to make the NCAA tournament, meaning finish in the top four or so of the B1G. We will be strong enough for that result.
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Agreed about the ultimate importance of pitching. But last year's team had a dismal record at run production, esp. w/ runners left on base. Their inability to hit mediocre pitching from teams like Iowa & PSU & others (plus the failure to score runs v. MI at Cowles) cost them at least a share of the BIG title. They MUST hit & score runs big time in 2022. If not, it'll be the same also-ran story as before.
 

Hrothgar said:
Agreed about the ultimate importance of pitching. But last year's team had a dismal record at run production, esp. w/ runners left on base. Their inability to hit mediocre pitching from teams like Iowa & PSU & others (plus the failure to score runs v. MI at Cowles) cost them at least a share of the BIG title. They MUST hit & score runs big time in 2022. If not, it'll be the same also-ran story as before.
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Hrothgar, I agree with this.

However, one small point about last year vs. Iowa and that is I will cut the Gophers some slack about that loss. The pitcher for Iowa (Lauren Shaw) was really dealing that game. And clearly she can pitch because she was able to transfer to UCLA this Fall for her final season.
 

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