Gopher softball 2023

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Piper will definitely have way more to work with than she did last year. And don’t forget about Brianna Enter, the Florida State transfer. I’m sure she didn’t come here to be the third or fourth pitcher on this staff. She’s been there, done that at FSU; the heightened competition should help all the pitchers exhibit their very best.

The key for the three newcomers will be consistency. Whoever exhibits that trait will have the inside track to the #2 spot along with the opportunity to push Pease for #1. Any one of the four pitchers on this roster could conceivably earn that #1 spot, although it will certainly be Pease’s to lose in pre-conference play. If she’s healthy, I doubt Autumn will relinquish it, but we conceivably now have three other arms who could step in and be that ace we so desperately missed last year.
 

Looks like the Gophers will open up the 2023 season at the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic in Gulf Shores AL from Feb. 9-12.

Their first opponent will be Ole Miss, followed by Missouri, James Madison, Notre Dame, and Oregon State.

Great opening week slate, plus the added drama of facing former coaches Jamie Trachsel and Katie Rietkovich and a couple of players who committed to Minnesota originally but followed Trachsel to Ole Miss.

At the time of her departure, it was pretty well-documented here and elsewhere that there was quite a bit of friction between Trachsel and some prominent and influential players, especially in 2018, after which Lindaman left, and even carrying over to 2019 as they made their WCWS run.

However, at this point, the Gophers have only a few players left who appeared in games under Trachsel: Natalie Den Hartog, Autumn Pease, and Sydney Strelow.

I hope these games are available on a reliable streaming platform. This tournament will expose any obvious weaknesses and highlight what will be the strengths of the 2023 edition of Gopher softball.
 

smcouvillion said:
Hambrick did very well at GCU and reminds me a bit of Autumn Pease in that I think she has good ability to move from a smaller conference to the Big Ten and still have some success. She should be the #2 next year if Pease is the #1 and Schwartz still needs some time to adjust to D1 play.
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Bach in February when Grand Canyon beat Minnesota 8-7. Hambrick pitched 3.1 innings. 1 ER, 3 KK's and 0 walks.
 


Now a person who appears to be an actual NFCA official has come out and stated that the news reported about the Leadoff Classic in Gulf Shores was elaborately fabricated by someone posing as an NFCA official.

So back to square one again, insofar as having any knowledge of our actual 2023 schedule is concerned, other than the ACC-B1G Challenge matchups that were already noted In this space.

Regarding Evans landing at UCF, it is an interesting choice. Some speculated that Wisconsin would be a natural landing spot for her, but her playing this summer in Florida was a tip that she might be expanding her horizons outside B1G territory to the southeast. Good addition for Cindy Ball-Malone.

The Gophers added the two pitching transfers they needed to bolster their staff. I’m wondering if they’re entertaining bringing in one or two transfer hitters. I think the current roster is at 18, so depending upon the availability of scholarship dollars, they could conceivably add one or two more players. I don’t think we will ever see the roster above 20 players again as it was heading into fall last year.
 


just came here to see if anyone had seen that and posted it. she said there will still be a leadoff classic the first week but it will take place in Clearwater, FL (so the weekend before Clearwater Elite), so there is still a chance MN plays in it since they traveled to FL last season opening weekend I wouldn't be shocked - plus they participated in 2020.

The one place I think MN could use a transfer would be maybe an outfielder. They only have DenHartog (CF) returning who got significant time in the OF. The other 2 outfielders would be probably Breezy Burnett (FR), but she hasn't played college yet so she could have a difficult time transitioning or Billi Connell (FR) who would have the same issue. Delanie Cox or even Addi Leschber (FR) would be candidates, but definitely think a decent transfer would be the best option. Even a utility player would be good.
 


Cydney Sanders to Oklahoma, they could go undefeated next season
 

I would ask where there getting all of these scholarships for all these players, but heck. Just have a booster write out a check and call it NIL endorsement
 



Michigan has been decimated by out-transfers this summer. Four transfers from Michigan have gone to Oklahoma, Alabama, LSU, and Auburn. Wow, that’s a loss of athletic talent for Carol Hutchins.
 

ClassOf98Gopher said:
Michigan has been decimated by out-transfers this summer. Four transfers from Michigan have gone to Oklahoma, Alabama, LSU, and Auburn. Wow, that’s a loss of athletic talent for Carol Hutchins.
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Can't blame them, they were stuck as average-above average with their roster, better bet with new team to have chance in postseason
 





Odd choice considering how many ASU recruits didn't follow coach and the immediate transfers out from there
 

And Oklahoma just got even better... Haley Lee to Sooners.
They've now picked up what were probably the 4 best transfers - Storako, Sanders, Lee, & Torres.
 


I live 60min from ISU. Boy do they lose alot of transfers every year.
 

Done some digging, and looks like Minnesota is actually going to be opening the season at The Spring Games in Florida. So far these are the teams that will be there:

Butler
Colgate
Marshall
Morgan State
Portland State
Michigan
Minnesota
 


smcouvillion said:
Done some digging, and looks like Minnesota is actually going to be opening the season at The Spring Games in Florida. So far these are the teams that will be there:

Butler
Colgate
Marshall
Morgan State
Portland State
Michigan
Minnesota
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That's a pretty weak slate of games. Maybe they're trying to ease into the season this year with their new freshman pitcher and a previously injured Pease? It's definitely not gonna help RPI come NCAA tournament selection time.
 

dlw4gophers said:
Are there dates and a location to go along with the teams
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No they only say February 9-12 (opening weekend) but not a specific schedule yet.

Here is the website, it includes all D1 teams that have registered for the different dates so far.

app.eventconnect.io

EventConnect

EventConnect
app.eventconnect.io app.eventconnect.io
 
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John3298 said:
That's a pretty weak slate of games. Maybe they're trying to ease into the season this year with their new freshman pitcher and a previously injured Pease? It's definitely not gonna help RPI come NCAA tournament selection time.
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Yes, the Spring Games always have a pretty weak slate of teams with the few P5 schools sprinkled in. I think the circle is looking brighter by the day for the Gophs. If Pease is healthy, along with a decent Hambrick & freshman Schwartz, as well as Brianna Enter for some depth that was much needed next year - that's already 4 pitchers, plus from their Instagram it seems like Nani Valencia has been getting some time in the circle? Not sure that will be the case in the regular season, but who knows?

I think they definitely could have done better, but hopefully you are right in that they are trying to ease into the season. Last year they played an extremely tough schedule, and I don't think Piper wants to do that again as it almost backfired against them, finishing .500.
 
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smcouvillion said:
And Oklahoma just got even better... Haley Lee to Sooners.
They've now picked up what were probably the 4 best transfers - Storako, Sanders, Lee, & Torres.
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How are those freshmen and soph players feeling right now? Just when you thought you could get more playing time only for a transfer to take it up.
 



Thanks, MNMaroonMom. Amani Bradley comes to the U after 4 seasons at Cal. Plays outfield. Had .283 average last season. Plays solid defensively. Bradley started nearly every game her first and second year. Not certain whether there was an injury or not. Two years of eligibility remaining?

https://calbears.com/sports/softball/roster/amani-bradley/20690
 

ecoperson said:
Thanks, MNMaroonMom. Amani Bradley comes to the U after 4 seasons at Cal. Plays outfield. Had .283 average last season. Plays solid defensively. Bradley started nearly every game her first and second year. Not certain whether there was an injury or not. Two years of eligibility remaining?

https://calbears.com/sports/softball/roster/amani-bradley/20690
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Last year's transfer from Cal, Lauren Espalin, worked out pretty well. Hope Amani can be a contributor this year.
 

Just like a said a few weeks ago, MN needed a few outfielders to fill the void and Piper delivered with Reili Gardner from ISU and now Amani Bradley from Cal. I hope these transfers don't mess up the team chemistry, though, that is now 4 or 5 transfers this offseason.
 

That likely concludes the Gophers portal shopping for this year. Can’t wait for fall ball to see exactly what we have for next year.

It looks like this team will have a better balance of speed and power offensively. In the circle, we have more depth, but we need someone to step up and have an ace-caliber year. Defensively, we need someone to grab the shortstop job, otherwise we should be as good or better everywhere else.

A B1G regular-season title will probably be a reach, as Northwestern once again should be Top 10 team, but we could be right in the mix to compete for a Top 20 spot and be a force to be reckoned with in the NCAAs. We saw what happened last year with Oregon State and Arizona.

The only thing stopping us from pulling something like that off is the NCAAs archaic assignments of the regional 2, 3, and 4 seeds based on distance to the host. If the NCAA finally seeds top 32, we would have a decent chance of advancing to supers if we can finish around the Top 20.
 

rwlarson said:
…as Northwestern once again should be Top 10 team,…
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I don’t see that at all. How can Northwestern possibly be a top 10 team without Rachel Lewis (and a couple other key graduations)? I just don’t see Northwestern being THAT good. Still probably the best team in the Big Ten though.
 

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