Gopher Softball 2024

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Games like yesterday are what caused me to limit my attention this year. Man that's brutal.
 

mngolf said:
Games like yesterday are what caused me to limit my attention this year. Man that's brutal.
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I too have been much more “checked-out” this season than in many, many seasons. These types of seasons are inevitable, and I don’t feel bad for me or for my fellow Gopher fans.

I do feel bad however for our starting shortstop, who I think is one of NCAA softball’s rare talents.
 

Bats were alive today and we pitched well enough to win. Macy with 6.1 innings and Jessa with the last two outs. Let’s get the series win tomorrow
 




Anyone know why Enter was not in the game yesterday . I’m hoping she gets the start today
 


ClassOf98Gopher said:
I too have been much more “checked-out” this season than in many, many seasons. These types of seasons are inevitable, and I don’t feel bad for me or for my fellow Gopher fans.

I do feel bad however for our starting shortstop, who I think is one of NCAA softball’s rare talents.
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Yes, the SS has carried the team all season. I for one have remained a spectator loyal to her and Krapf (for doing all the catching), less to the team or the coaches.
 





I for one was pretty excited about Sunday's game vs. Rutgers, but it showed early the Gophers learned nothing from Friday to Sunday how to adjust to Boyd. There seem to be only 4 true D1 hitters in the MN lineup. Will the program find better bats next year?
 

PreacherRoe said:
I for one was pretty excited about Sunday's game vs. Rutgers, but it showed early the Gophers learned nothing from Friday to Sunday how to adjust to Boyd. There seem to be only 4 true D1 hitters in the MN lineup. Will the program find better bats next year?
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Might be worse. I have a feeling the few bats we have will be in the portal.
 




DietCokeFan said:
Might be worse. I have a feeling the few bats we have will be in the portal.
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Wouldn't blame someone like Oakland for transferring for remaining years, next couple years for program look pretty dismal with current season + adding teams to conference next year
 

PreacherRoe said:
Interesting. I talked to the parents of a couple of Gophers' underclassman pitchers yesterday. They're hoping your feeling is wrong.
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Other than Syd and the Freshman, are there any pitchers with eligibility next year
 

rowdaboat said:
Wouldn't blame someone like Oakland for transferring for remaining years, next couple years for program look pretty dismal with current season + adding teams to conference next year
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and with the new portal era I wouldn't be shocked to see Krapf and Chavez gone too. I really really hope I am wrong, but unless some serious changes happen (still think we need better more experienced assistant coaches) I can't blame them for leaving.
 


I've been off the grid a little and haven't paid attention to everything that is going on but here are some things I'm thinking/seeing.

1. As much as we as fans want to place "blame" on the shortcomings of the team, why can't it be that maybe we aren't as good as we thought they were going to be. examples: Indiana sweep-their hitting was better than our pitching: Rutgers lost 2 of 3-Maddie Boyd is a very good pitcher, top 3 in the B10 right now: We really haven't been dominant at anytime-OSU and IL are not good teams and shouldn't count as quality wins.

2. Not having Schwartz, even as a #3, has hurt the team. Richardson has been serviceable, but with no true "ACE" that can eat quality innings, we have had to use the committee approach and we don't have the depth. Enter has been better than anticipated this season, Hambrick not so much. Snippes and Grayson need to show marked improvement for next year. I'm guessing they are in the portal looking for one or two pitchers this off-season.

3. Our inability to manufacture runs is entirely on the coaches. There have been waaaaay too many times when we have runners on 1st or 1st and 2nd with no one out and fail to even move runners over. Like we are playing for the huge inning all the time, when one or two make change the perception of the game. Our inability to bunt/steal absolutely kills us...even our fastest runners can't bunt. It's somewhat embarrassing.

4. While I understand the portal, just assuming that the "best" players will leave if we don't do well is grossly underestimating while they came here in the first place. The vast majority of players that play at JSC will never play past college ball. Why leave, the best players are on full rides, some NIL money..While it's entirely possible they may leave, to do so with 2 years or fewer left means they weren't really all that bought in anyway. Especially if they are playing. I'd be more concerned with the freshmen/sophomores that aren't playing much leaving. What does Richardson's value look like in the portal? Or even Schwartz's now for that matter if she is indeed a redshirt. Pitching arms matter...we saw that this year. Those are the kids you need to keep around.

5. With all of those things, I still wonder about team dynamics and senior leadership from this group. They just strike me as a team that doesn't play for each other. The enthusiasm isn't always there. The body language after a poor at bat is telling and you see it from the leaders. Just wonder how much of this is just a bad chemistry or team dynamic.

Total disclaimer: These are my observations and could totally be wrong on every level.
 

#4 would just be if they have aspirations of making WCWS once it clearly isn't happening here
 



Panthadad2 said:
Whoa. I knew there were pitching issues but I can't remember ever seeing the Gophers at the bottom of conference ERA. Opponents are batting .344 against the Gophs.

View attachment 31136

2024 Softball - Conference Statistics - Big Ten Conference

The official 2024 Softball cumulative statistics for Big Ten Conference
bigten.org bigten.org
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This is bad. Combined with our inflated batting totals considering who we have played. Everytime we see a quality #1 we can barely hit. Happened against Indiana with Klieman, happened with Wyche at Maryland, happened with Boyd at Rutgers, even happened with Magnanimo at Wisconsin. So we actually hit against OSU and Illinois and beat up on the #2's...ERA's in the mid 5's
 


Panthadad2 said:
Whoa. I knew there were pitching issues but I can't remember ever seeing the Gophers at the bottom of conference ERA. Opponents are batting .344 against the Gophs.

View attachment 31136

2024 Softball - Conference Statistics - Big Ten Conference

The official 2024 Softball cumulative statistics for Big Ten Conference
bigten.org bigten.org
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Like a broken record, I keep repeating myself. MN hasn't recruited a stellar pitcher out of high school since Fiser 8 years ago. There's no hope without elite pitchers. Given that fact, these pitching stats above are to be expected. Imagine if Pease hadn't miraculously appeared from Idaho State.

The whole MN program has been in a slow decline since the recruiting class of 2016-17. Except for a few individuals (like DenHartog) & some transfers, the lack of in-depth hitting & the low run-scoring plus high numbers of runners LOB have been even weaker aspects at times than the pitching. In 2024, as long as they could somehow pitch around DeBord, Chavez, Oakland, & Krapf, opposing pitchers with experience have breezed through 5 to 8 in the MN batting order in game after game.
 

Chase the Rise said:
5. With all of those things, I still wonder about team dynamics and senior leadership from this group. They just strike me as a team that doesn't play for each other. The enthusiasm isn't always there. The body language after a poor at bat is telling and you see it from the leaders. Just wonder how much of this is just a bad chemistry or team dynamic.
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Have you spoken to any players or parents about the team dynamic. I have heard that really get along together and enjoy playing with each other. So, unless you have information to the contrary, I am going to disagree with this assumption.
 

PreacherRoe said:
Like a broken record, I keep repeating myself. MN hasn't recruited a stellar pitcher out of high school since Fiser 8 years ago. There's no hope without elite pitchers. Given that fact, these pitching stats above are to be expected. Imagine if Pease hadn't miraculously appeared from Idaho State.

The whole MN program has been in a slow decline since the recruiting class of 2016-17. Except for a few individuals (like DenHartog) & some transfers, the lack of in-depth hitting & the low run-scoring plus high numbers of runners LOB have been even weaker aspects at times than the pitching. In 2024, as long as they could somehow pitch around DeBord, Chavez, Oakland, & Krapf, opposing pitchers with experience have breezed through 5 to 8 in the MN batting order in game after game.
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Not true. Emily Leavitt was a top 30 recruit. She is 9-1 with a 2.75 ERA at A&am. Too bad it didn’t work out here
 

PreacherRoe said:
Like a broken record, I keep repeating myself. MN hasn't recruited a stellar pitcher out of high school since Fiser 8 years ago. There's no hope without elite pitchers. Given that fact, these pitching stats above are to be expected. Imagine if Pease hadn't miraculously appeared from Idaho State.

The whole MN program has been in a slow decline since the recruiting class of 2016-17. Except for a few individuals (like DenHartog) & some transfers, the lack of in-depth hitting & the low run-scoring plus high numbers of runners LOB have been even weaker aspects at times than the pitching. In 2024, as long as they could somehow pitch around DeBord, Chavez, Oakland, & Krapf, opposing pitchers with experience have breezed through 5 to 8 in the MN batting order in game after game.
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Who did Trachsel recruit who was All B1G caliber from Day One who is now a senior or fifth year senior? Or a senior or fifth-year senior who sat the bench for two years but became a solid player in her last two years? That is a large part of the current staff’s depth of talent problem right there.

But we have Oakland and Chavez, and the transfer Krapf who were recruited by this staff. These players were solid contributors since Day One. We also have some local or regional players sitting the bench right now who have bought in to Gopher softball, and who are being developed just like they were during the Allister era.

The loss of Ava Dueck to medical and Emily Leavitt because she never bought into what the coaches were selling as a vision for Minnesota softball really hurt us. That’s why we have three freshman pitchers on the roster. None were that highly-regarded coming out of high school, so they will need to be developed. Richardson and Snippes in particular have plenty of velocity and enough spin, but in the case of Richardson she loses focus and throws too hittable a pitch in certain critical situations. Snippes is learning that hitters at this level won’t swing at the stuff she used to throw for “strikes” in HS and club. Once she figures it out, she could be very good. Grayson needs more velocity. She has to be too perfect to be effective right now.

When Piper was hired she said she wanted to bring stability back to the program and continue the Minnesota winning culture that was established under Allister. Those teams always had a few star players from the west coast co-mingled with regional or local players who were developed to step in and contribute as upper-classmen. That is the direction I see us heading but because the pitching situation is so dire we have to give it a little more time.

In other words, I will be renewing my season tickets.
 

rwlarson said:
Who did Trachsel recruit who was All B1G caliber from Day One who is now a senior or fifth year senior? Or a senior or fifth-year senior who sat the bench for two years but became a solid player in her last two years? That is a large part of the current staff’s depth of talent problem right there.

But we have Oakland and Chavez, and the transfer Krapf who were recruited by this staff. These players were solid contributors since Day One. We also have some local or regional players sitting the bench right now who have bought in to Gopher softball, and who are being developed just like they were during the Allister era.

The loss of Ava Dueck to medical and Emily Leavitt because she never bought into what the coaches were selling as a vision for Minnesota softball really hurt us. That’s why we have three freshman pitchers on the roster. None were that highly-regarded coming out of high school, so they will need to be developed. Richardson and Snippes in particular have plenty of velocity and enough spin, but in the case of Richardson she loses focus and throws too hittable a pitch in certain critical situations. Snippes is learning that hitters at this level won’t swing at the stuff she used to throw for “strikes” in HS and club. Once she figures it out, she could be very good. Grayson needs more velocity. She has to be too perfect to be effective right now.

When Piper was hired she said she wanted to bring stability back to the program and continue the Minnesota winning culture that was established under Allister. Those teams always had a few star players from the west coast co-mingled with regional or local players who were developed to step in and contribute as upper-classmen. That is the direction I see us heading but because the pitching situation is so dire we have to give it a little more time.

In other words, I will be renewing my season tickets.
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I've felt the core problem in very recent years has been the lack depth in the circle. In 2021, 2022 & 2023, they scored enough runs (despite our griping about runners LOB) and played good enough defense to have been able to win the Big Ten. But they needed two outstanding starting pitchers each year. 2021 was close, but Fiser lost some of her former edge. In 2022 they had no outstanding starters. In 2023, only one. 2024 has been very weak in the circle.
 

rwlarson said:
The loss of Ava Dueck to medical and Emily Leavitt because she never bought into what the coaches were selling as a vision for Minnesota softball really hurt us.
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I find the loss of Rachel Lowery due to medical reasons also set back the pitching situation quite a bit.
 

rwlarson said:
Who did Trachsel recruit who was All B1G caliber from Day One who is now a senior or fifth year senior? Or a senior or fifth-year senior who sat the bench for two years but became a solid player in her last two years? That is a large part of the current staff’s depth of talent problem right there.

But we have Oakland and Chavez, and the transfer Krapf who were recruited by this staff. These players were solid contributors since Day One. We also have some local or regional players sitting the bench right now who have bought in to Gopher softball, and who are being developed just like they were during the Allister era.

The loss of Ava Dueck to medical and Emily Leavitt because she never bought into what the coaches were selling as a vision for Minnesota softball really hurt us. That’s why we have three freshman pitchers on the roster. None were that highly-regarded coming out of high school, so they will need to be developed. Richardson and Snippes in particular have plenty of velocity and enough spin, but in the case of Richardson she loses focus and throws too hittable a pitch in certain critical situations. Snippes is learning that hitters at this level won’t swing at the stuff she used to throw for “strikes” in HS and club. Once she figures it out, she could be very good. Grayson needs more velocity. She has to be too perfect to be effective right now.

When Piper was hired she said she wanted to bring stability back to the program and continue the Minnesota winning culture that was established under Allister. Those teams always had a few star players from the west coast co-mingled with regional or local players who were developed to step in and contribute as upper-classmen. That is the direction I see us heading but because the pitching situation is so dire we have to give it a little more time.

In other words, I will be renewing my season tickets.
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Moulton
Moulton - Groenewegen
Groenewegen
Groenewegen - Fiser
Fiser - Smith
Fiser - Pease
Pease
??

We're in a new age. I'm guessing some significant NIL money will be needed to get back to the quality dual pitching scenario. Can PJ recruit softball too?
 

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