Gopher softball 2023

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Strelow is hitting barely over .100 now and just made 2 more errors. She's a liability on both offense and defense at this point. Find someone, anyone else to play 2B.
 

This was a great day for Minnesota. By far the most complete they have looked all season. Got quality innings from all 4 pitchers and they showed consistency at the plate. If they can play like this, they will definitely be a contender in the B1G.
 

John3298 said:
This was a great day for Minnesota. By far the most complete they have looked all season. Got quality innings from all 4 pitchers and they showed consistency at the plate. If they can play like this, they will definitely be a contender in the B1G.
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I totally agree. The offense is coming through with timely key hits and pitching decisions by Coach Ritter were great as the shockers never got the opportunity to get familiar with any pitcher. Good to see Enter getting extended innings.
 

The Wichita State announcer was an interesting study. At the start he seemed convinced of WSU's superiority, incredulous that No. Col. could have led WSU by 1-0 after an inning. A batting order featuring a .600 hitter and a record-setting HR hitter seemed sure to swamp all comers. By the time MN led 5-1, his attitude calmed. I thought MN's athletes looked more athletic, faster, and better conditioned.
 




John3298 said:
Strelow is hitting barely over .100 now and just made 2 more errors. She's a liability on both offense and defense at this point. Find someone, anyone else to play 2B.
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In all respect to you, John3298, but it's a game that humbles players but also can raise them up. Surely Strelow feels pretty good after the AZU game.
 

Hrothgar said:
In all respect to you, John3298, but it's a game that humbles players but also can raise them up. Surely Strelow feels pretty good after the AZU game.
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Glad to see Strelow’s bat coming alive. With a 2B and HR this should lift her confidence substantially. Three wins against increasingly tougher opponents with two being top 25. Should be a great boost to our RPI. Biggest test lies ahead with OSU. Go Gophers 🐿️🥎
 



I've called for her change as well. Strelow with a big day is great to see. Now build on that and cut out the errors.
 

Second inning, bases loaded and only one out and nothing. Yeah exactly.
 
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Talking about the ASU v. MN game, the OSU announcer said there were a couple of plays that could have been reviewed. Nr. 1 was apparently Strelow's homer. Nr. 2 was maybe the obstruction call in inning 7. Doe anyone know details about those two?
 

Hrothgar said:
Talking about the ASU v. MN game, the OSU announcer said there were a couple of plays that could have been reviewed. Nr. 1 was apparently Strelow's homer. Nr. 2 was maybe the obstruction call in inning 7. Doe anyone know details about those two?
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Home run hit the top of the padding on the wall and bounced back into the field of play. I’m sure the discussion was if it actually went out of play.

Play 2 was a hard late slide at 2nd (runner on 1st no outs) ground ball tried to turn the double play. Strelow got taken out.

Ruling was ejection for the player going to second on the slide and the out at first (double play) due to the interference

Side note. Strelow had a nice day, but it doesn’t change who she is. Wish we had another option at 2nd.
 



Chase the Rise said:
Home run hit the top of the padding on the wall and bounced back into the field of play. I’m sure the discussion was if it actually went out of play.

Play 2 was a hard late slide at 2nd (runner on 1st no outs) ground ball tried to turn the double play. Strelow got taken out.

Ruling was ejection for the player going to second on the slide and the out at first (double play) due to the interference

Side note. Strelow had a nice day, but it doesn’t change who she is. Wish we had another option at 2nd.
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Was it purposeful targeting against Strelow if her home run was disputed (frustration maybe? I saw Arizona State had just lost a close 1-0 to OSU)?
 

Hrothgar said:
Was it purposeful targeting against Strelow if her home run was disputed (frustration maybe? I saw Arizona State had just lost a close 1-0 to OSU)?
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Highly unlikely. They were trying to win the game. Without that call they are still sitting with a runner at first and only one out. That call, while entirely appropriate from what I saw, really killed their chances, with two outs and no one on. I think it happens with anyone playing second.
 

Chase the Rise said:
Highly unlikely. They were trying to win the game. Without that call they are still sitting with a runner at first and only one out. That call, while entirely appropriate from what I saw, really killed their chances, with two outs and no one on. I think it happens with anyone playing second.
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Thx for the info. I just followed the stats, which makes it hard to know any details.
 


ClassOf98Gopher said:
In my opinion, this has been a wildly successful pre-conference season for this 2023 squad.
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I agree. One glaring weakness needs to be addressed.

We have zero team speed, no threat of stealing bases…even watch out initial leads at pitch release…other teams know we are not a threat to steal. Secondly, we are flat out awful at bunting/moving runners….as evident by numerous base runners that get stranded and don’t even get advanced.

Having the bases loaded with no outs and not pushing even one run across is an embarrassing feat for any school, let alone one that has aspirations of making the NCAA tournament. Just my opinion.
 

Minnesota’s success on the softball field is never guaranteed year to year. However, we do clearly have several players on this team who can play Big Ten level softball at a very high level in the conference. Krapf, DenHartog, Oakland, and maybe Chavez as well all appear to fit that bill. Then we have a group of 4-5 mostly young players that can successfully round out the batting order of a top tier Big Ten team.

And finally and most impressive to me, Pease is statistically the best pitcher in the conference right now.

It appears to me that we have a good chance of staying in the top three of the Big Ten for yet another year. Who knows what next year will bring given Pease’s last year of eligibility being completed, but this year should be good yet again.

Go Gophers.
 

ClassOf98Gopher said:
Minnesota’s success on the softball field is never guaranteed year to year. However, we do clearly have several players on this team who can play Big Ten level softball at a very high level in the conference. Krapf, DenHartog, Oakland, and maybe Chavez as well all appear to fit that bill. Then we have a group of 4-5 mostly young players that can successfully round out the batting order of a top tier Big Ten team.

And finally and most impressive to me, Pease is statistically the best pitcher in the conference right now.

It appears to me that we have a good chance of staying in the top three of the Big Ten for yet another year. Who knows what next year will bring given Pease’s last year of eligibility being completed, but this year should be good yet again.

Go Gophers.
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Hopefully Piper can keep building the team as intelligently as she has 2023 over 2022 but with even more quality players and especially pitching depth year after year. It's about win, win, win as many games as possible over time. At the core is a deep staff of pitchers like Oklahoma St seems to have. OSU apparently has about 3-4 starters they can put up v. anybody in the country and have a chance to win. That's what Piper has to shoot for IMO. A big order but...
 

Hrothgar said:
Hopefully Piper can keep building the team as intelligently as she has 2023 over 2022 but with even more quality players and especially pitching depth year after year. It's about win, win, win as many games as possible over time. At the core is a deep staff of pitchers like Oklahoma St seems to have. OSU apparently has about 3-4 starters they can put up v. anybody in the country and have a chance to win. That's what Piper has to shoot for IMO. A big order but...
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We should probably accept the possibility that it goes the other way starting next year. Pease in 2023 is a lot like Moulton/Groenewagen/Fiser between 2013 and 2021 - assuring their team an excellent shot at a win each game they started on the rubber.

We will have a lot of pitchers on the roster next year but time will tell of any of them can emerge, with Ritter’s tutelage, to be at that level.
 

ClassOf98Gopher said:
Minnesota’s success on the softball field is never guaranteed year to year. However, we do clearly have several players on this team who can play Big Ten level softball at a very high level in the conference. Krapf, DenHartog, Oakland, and maybe Chavez as well all appear to fit that bill. Then we have a group of 4-5 mostly young players that can successfully round out the batting order of a top tier Big Ten team.

And finally and most impressive to me, Pease is statistically the best pitcher in the conference right now.

It appears to me that we have a good chance of staying in the top three of the Big Ten for yet another year. Who knows what next year will bring given Pease’s last year of eligibility being completed, but this year should be good yet again.

Go Gophers.
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And we've gotten some positive performances out of some other pitchers. So we have "some" depth.
 

Hrothgar said:
Hopefully Piper can keep building the team as intelligently as she has 2023 over 2022 but with even more quality players and especially pitching depth year after year. It's about win, win, win as many games as possible over time. At the core is a deep staff of pitchers like Oklahoma St seems to have. OSU apparently has about 3-4 starters they can put up v. anybody in the country and have a chance to win. That's what Piper has to shoot for IMO. A big order but...
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I like that Piper has shown a willingness to use multiple pitchers in a game this year. I've never understood why coaches think they need to stick with a starter until it's too late. Change of pace is a real thing and can get you a few more wins in a season. Also provides your #1 a little breather.
 





Hrothgar said:
I looked at the NCAA 1 coaches poll. There the Gophers don't appear in the top 25. It seemed they didn't even receive any votes. Or did I miss something? Or look at the wrong week?
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There are two different polls. They are ranked in the Softball America poll.
 

Gopher68 said:
There are two different polls. They are ranked in the Softball America poll.
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True. My point is that it seems strange the Gophers would be ranked in one poll but apparently (my key word) not even RV in the other. I wonder: Did I read the Coaches poll wrong?
 

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