Gopher softball 2023

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In all seriousness, this program has seen a fair share of hitting coaches. Is Smith the answer and does she stay? Yes, it seems like we are great at hitting high inside pitching and popping up as a team, while swinging for the fences. IMO HOME PLATE UMPS CAN REALLY CHANGE A TEAM'S APPROACH AT THE PLATE .

Would really like to see us recruit more left handed hitters. Sure would be nice to be able to land another Partain like player or two.

Personally, I don't see why not...but I am hoping the underclassmen decide to stay here at Minnesota.
 
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4EverAGopher said:
In all seriousness, this program has seen a fair share of hitting coaches. Is Smith the answer and does she stay? Yes, it seems like we are great at hitting high inside pitching and popping up as a team, while swinging for the fences.

Would really like to see us recruit more left handed hitters. Sure would be nice to be able to land another Partain like player or two.

Personally, I don't see why not...but I am hoping the underclassmen decide to stay here at Minnesota.
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I don’t think Smith is going anywhere. She was brought here in part because she has some experience and training in helping players deal with mental health issues, which more than one player or former player in recent years cited as an issue that needed to be addressed post-pandemic.

I have heard of nothing but positive vibes regarding team chemistry this season. But this stuff usually is revealed during the off-season so we will see.

Now that we are eliminated, if anyone is planning on leaving, their names will be appearing in the portal very soon.
 

What an utterly disappointing way to end the season. Playing good softball entering the tourney and only manage a win against No. Colorado and two loses to McNeese. Very poor showing for a Big10 team.
 

I know I couldn't believe Chavez and some of her basic mental mistakes during her Freshman season. We absolutely saw a completely different player this year. IMO moving her to lead off was the correct decision.

Oakland had a pretty darn good year for her Freshman year. Here's hoping she stays and she has a Sophomore year like Chavez had.

I really enjoyed both Bradley and Krapf on this team. IMO Bradley was not utilized like she could have been. That girl should have been able to bunt her way onto first all season and/or move a runner.

I also want Krapf to stay. Again, IMO the catcher we were looking for.
 

46Gophers said:
What an utterly disappointing way to end the season. Playing good softball entering the tourney and only manage a win against No. Colorado and two loses to McNeese. Very poor showing for a Big10 team.
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McNeese is much better than people think. They have grit that we lack. In addition, their best power hitter left the team early in the season and transferred to Oklahoma State for next season. Overcoming that shows the chemistry, determination, and mentality the team has.

That said, I think we beat them six out of 10 games, with their wins being close games and ours mostly blowouts. Unfortunately, two of their four squeaker wins came this weekend.
 
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rwlarson said:
McNeese is much better than people think. They have grit that we lack. In addition, their best power hitter left the team early in the season and transferred to Oklahoma State for next season. Overcoming that shows the chemistry, determination, and mentality the team has

That said, I think we beat them six out of 10 games, with their wins being close games and ours mostly blowouts. Unfortunately, two of their four squeaker wins came this weekend.
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I couldn't agree more that McNeese is a pretty good team. The beat several ranked teams, including Washington and LSU, two seeded teams.
 

For people saying/implying that Minnesota can't build a nationally relevant program "because of the cold", I call bullshit. Michigan did it for decades. Look at what Northwestern has built, and they have the added burden of having very high academic standards. If you want examples outside of the B1G, look at Oregon and Washington. It can be done. Setting your sights lower or just being happy to make the NCAA tournament sets the program up for failure. Piper Ritter is one of the best pitching coaches in the country with a pedigree of producing All-American pitchers. Minnesota made the WCWS in 2019. There is no excuse for not being able to recruit well and produce a nationally competitive team. Making supers (or at least being competitive and pushing the regional host team to an if necessary game) should be the expectation for this program.
 

John3298 said:
For people saying/implying that Minnesota can't build a nationally relevant program "because of the cold", I call bullshit. Michigan did it for decades. Look at what Northwestern has built, and they have the added burden of having very high academic standards. If you want examples outside of the B1G, look at Oregon and Washington. It can be done. Setting your sights lower or just being happy to make the NCAA tournament sets the program up for failure. Piper Ritter is one of the best pitching coaches in the country with a pedigree of producing All-American pitchers. Minnesota made the WCWS in 2019. There is no excuse for not being able to recruit well and produce a nationally competitive team. Making supers (or at least being competitive and pushing the regional host team to an if necessary game) should be the expectation for this program.
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Money should no longer be an issue as well
 



John3298 said:
For people saying/implying that Minnesota can't build a nationally relevant program "because of the cold", I call bullshit. Michigan did it for decades. Look at what Northwestern has built, and they have the added burden of having very high academic standards. If you want examples outside of the B1G, look at Oregon and Washington. It can be done. Setting your sights lower or just being happy to make the NCAA tournament sets the program up for failure. Piper Ritter is one of the best pitching coaches in the country with a pedigree of producing All-American pitchers. Minnesota made the WCWS in 2019. There is no excuse for not being able to recruit well and produce a nationally competitive team. Making supers (or at least being competitive and pushing the regional host team to an if necessary game) should be the expectation for this program.
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Yes, I too frown whenever I read something to the effect that “the B1G season/tournament is what really matters. Anything else above that is just a bonus.” Yes, conference championships are a big deal, but in a P5 conference, especially one with the resources B1G schools have, expectations should be competing for national championships.

The interest in softball here rivals just about any school out there. Many schools, even P5, don’t even generate any revenue from ticket sales. We have a season ticket waiting list. I hope our AD and his staff never take the support this program has nurtured and grown for granted. We need to keep investing more into this program just to maintain the status quo, even more so if we want to keep moving it forward to where we want it to be.
 

mngolf said:
Money should no longer be an issue as well
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Money will forever be an issue with NIL money in play. The B10 currently does not even come close to the NIL money the SEC/ACC/Big 12/ PAC throws at softball student athletes. Until that changes, money will be an issue.
 

NIL is overrated as an excuse. Lots of great players and teams in all sports that aren't getting much or any at all. Yes there are a very few exceptions.
 

let'sbeclear said:
Who would have guessed that UCLA would lose two straight? Even after losing the first game, I bet most people thought they'd still come out of the regional. Wow!
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Liberty lost by 1 to Oklahoma and UCLA in february so that wasn't at all surprising. Grand Canyon certainly was, that has to be one of worst losses in tourney history
 



mngolf said:
NIL is overrated as an excuse. Lots of great players and teams in all sports that aren't getting much or any at all. Yes there are a very few exceptions.
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But the exceptions are in the range of an average salary or higher
 




Nice to have home field advantage and sell out crowd behind you. However, finally a McNeese infielder that didn't make a fielding bobble when it counted and they force a game two.
 

Northwestern got themselves in a pickle in the bottom of the 7th. Miami (OH) bases loaded with one out and ball is hit fowl and goes fair down first baseline. NW first base player misses tag at first and throws home, with runner being called out. Play under review and Miami (OH) runner out by a toenail. Next batter up with bases still loaded strikesout in three pitches sending Northwestern the only BIG team to advance to the Super Regionals so far. Indiana still playing.
 

So the season summary is:

-17-6 in Big Ten conference play, 3rd best in the Big Ten

-#3 seed at Big Ten Tournament, advancing, and losing to #2 Indiana.

-A missed opportunity at NCAA Tournament.

-Pitcher of the year for Gophers and other player highlights.

That was a successful season.
 


LSU gave up tying run on intentional walk throwing wild pitch down the middle and then go ahead run leaving one over plate for a single still going for walk
 

John3298 said:
For people saying/implying that Minnesota can't build a nationally relevant program "because of the cold", I call bullshit. Michigan did it for decades. Look at what Northwestern has built, and they have the added burden of having very high academic standards.
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You just wait to see what Northwestern is like next season! They graduate out of eligibility a great group of their players who are absolutely the core of their current team.

I am not saying Northwestern will be bad, just that they will have a season next year very similar to some of the past Gopher seasons many of you have been complaining so vehemently about for years.
 


rowdaboat said:
Looks like mcneese will advance
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And if they finish this game off (4-0, with McNeese batting in the bottom of the 5th, bases loaded and one out), they get Louisiana, not LSU, in the super-regionals. They couldn't have asked for a better draw.
 

let'sbeclear said:
And if they finish this game off (4-0, with McNeese batting in the bottom of the 5th, bases loaded and one out), they get Louisiana, not LSU, in the super-regionals. They couldn't have asked for a better draw.
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Sorry, I blinked. Make that 6-0 now, with McNeese still batting.
 

Kept Vallejo in for 7th after 80+ pitches and Washington tied it
 


Bad coaching to let pitcher get batter around on and bad decision from SS going to second instead of first
 

Once again this year, we have a good number of regional upsets. It appears this could become the norm with the increased popularity of softball and as a result the talent distributed more evenly, with one notable exception.

But perceptions die hard. Here is a conversation about the Seattle regional between two Gopher fans.

Gopher Fan #1: We had two chances to knock off the team that, last I checked, led 6-0 going into the 7th inning of the regional championship game. And we lost both games by one run, one in 13 innings.

Gopher Fan #2: Oh, so we lost two one-run games to Washington and took them to extras in one of them. That’s not so bad. We wanted to see how we would stack up against them, so it seems we didn’t do too badly.

Gopher Fan #1: No. We lost to McNeese twice.

Gopher Fan #2: Oh, that’s terrible. A Big Ten team should never lose to a team like McNeese.
 

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