Gopher Softball 2024

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I have a lot of respect for Piper and would hate to see her go. Yet there are weaknesses on the field that desperately need to be addressed, especially in the circle and in hitting at some positions. At catcher, with Krapf not hitting and Lindmark gone (where did she disappear to?). At first base and right field and even to some extent 2nd base (though there's been welcome improvement there). Strangely there are several newcomers on the bench whose only use is as pinch runners. If these players never play, are they simply deemed not good enough to play?
 

PreacherRoe said:
I have a lot of respect for Piper and would hate to see her go. Yet there are weaknesses on the field that desperately need to be addressed, especially in the circle and in hitting at some positions. At catcher, with Krapf not hitting and Lindmark gone (where did she disappear to?). At first base and right field and even to some extent 2nd base (though there's been welcome improvement there). Strangely there are several newcomers on the bench whose only use is as pinch runners. If these players never play, are they simply deemed not good enough to play?
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Its even the small things for me; hitting the cut off or keeping the runners out of scoring position. I know this may not fall on Piper, but its the coaching staff in general and experience. Twice over the last couple games outfield is throwing the ball to third attempting to throw the runner out and the batter can then easily take second.
I've watched a lot of softball games over the years, and I can honestly say I can count on two hands how many hard hit balls we've gotten out of Cox and Valencia. The development is just not there.
 

I agree that the HC position needs stability.

However, can someone speak on the pitching at the U of Minnesota outside of the Top 4 (Moulton, Groenewegn, Fiser, Pease) in recent years. Has Piper done an efficient job in developing the other pitchers on these rosters or not?

Our present roster of pitchers has a lot of development ahead of them. So, is Piper with her HC duties able to give efficient time to that along with her pitching duties? I know only Piper can honeslty answer that. Have these added duties as HC become too much of a burden on her or not? It is well known she accepted this position because of her deep roots and love for this program. I applaud her for that.

I agree with others that we are seeing more this season than we should of Basic Softball ERRORS in our fielding. Example yesterday's game Strelow had an easy popup. DeBord comes running in from center field and almost collided with her. It appeared to me Strelow was totally shocked. Now, we have two graduate players not talking to each other out there or what else is going on when something like this happens? As fans, it just becomes mind boggling.
 



4EverAGopher said:
I agree that the HC position needs stability.

However, can someone speak on the pitching at the U of Minnesota outside of the Top 4 (Moulton, Groenewegn, Fiser, Pease) in recent years. Has Piper done an efficient job in developing the other pitchers on these rosters or not?
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Hard to say but only one of those you just listed came out of MN.

It's tough. Just like any sport to compete at the D1 level with mainly MN players. The only one where MN ranks highly with power 5 players would be mens bball.
It's just too cold here to consistently produce top talent, although it is getting better. Heck there are domes all over the state now.
 

Chase the Rise said:
Both were outstanding pitchers, just as good Barber. Not that anything a person does in high school matters. Look at past pitchers in the state and how they turned out. Hostettler, Dueck, the older Schwartz, Armbruster, Mickshl (sp)....along with the newer group like Snippes, Barber, Schwartz, Benning, Hess. They were all outstanding in the state of MN in HS... From that list I'd say only Mickshl and the older Schwartz have had above average college careers. Bottom line is they need to go to the right situation for them to grow and improve....

Who cares if they offered Barber, she's not here. It's like saying did they offer Rothrock or Cagle...just because she's from MN? Unless she's in the portal and transferring into MN what's the point of that discussion?
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Exactly, high school doesn't mean anything. I was basing my opinion on watching them play travel ball and talking to the kids that have faced them.

PS Chloe is lighting it up at Wichita State.
 

I don't know what Cox playing position was before becoming a Gopher but she isn't our answer for first base. If nobody else on the roster can play this besides Schwartz or Krapf, not good!

This UNCG starting pitcher is very hittable. But if we can't get any pitchers to step up today, it again will fall on our bats for the win.
 
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4EverAGopher said:
I don't know what Cox playing position was before becoming a Gopher but she isn't our answer for first base. If nobody else on the roster can play this besides Schwartz or Krapf, not good!

This UNC starting pitcher is very hittable. But if we can't get any pitchers to step up today, it again will fall on our bats for the win.
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And she is 4-18 batting this year as a grad student.
Gophers down 2-5 to a 11-10 UNCG team. Is this pitcher some All American?
Bases loaded, no outs and we don’t score.
 



The whole team dynamics appears down this season. Since the beginning of the season I really felt Enter appeared to have improved for us whereas Hambrick has not. Ugh!

Both Ehlke and Krapf hitting down from last season and I will add Chavez to that.. Oakland performing as we know she can and BB is doing well.
 
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4EverAGopher said:
The whole team dynamics appears down this season. Since the beginning of the season I really felt Enter appeared to have improved for us whereas Hambrick has not. Ugh!
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I get this same vibe. Enter seems to have improved, Hambrick isn't anywhere near where she was last season. Schwartz might have been a difference maker if she were healthy. Hopefully it's nothing serious and she is back throwing soon. I still have faith the team can get things figured out.
 

Well at least DeBord did the right thing these last two hits her way by throwing to second and not allowing the first base runner to advance. That's a plus for this defense.

I just defended Enter and she hits two batters back to back. Again, attitude and does she want to be out there right now? I just read frustration from her many times.
 
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Lord have mercy.
They have to some how figure out how to win this game. This would be a huge RPI killer. UNCG already has losses to Winthrop and Jacksonville State.
 



Jekyll and Hyde, you never know which team is gonna show up. They have one good inning and then are shit the next.
 

OMG you can’t send the runner in that situation. For the love of god!
Piper please go coach third, so tired of the constant mistakes she makes over there!
 

I wish I could say this is our win heading to the bottom of the 8th up 2 runs, but I can't with this Gopher team.
 



Gopher68 said:
Congratulations to Jess Oakland - NFCA Player of the week:
gophersports.com

Oakland Named NFCA Player of the Week - University of Minnesota Athletics

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After a stellar performance over the weekend through four games, sophomore shortstop Jess Oakland has been named NFCA Player of the Week fo...
gophersports.com gophersports.com
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gophersports.com

Jess Oakland - Softball - University of Minnesota Athletics

Jess Oakland (9) INF - PRONUNCIATION Your browser does not support HTML5 audio. 2024 | SOPHOMORE 2024 Big Ten Player of the Year NFCA Second Team All-America...
gophersports.com gophersports.com
 


I know I have been hard on Strelow over the years, but that girl is proving me wrong and I will be the first to admit she has been swinging a hot bat. Now if only they can figure out first base, there has to be someone that can provide a spark on the bench.
 

DietCokeFan said:
I know I have been hard on Strelow over the years, but that girl is proving me wrong and I will be the first to admit she has been swinging a hot bat. Now if only they can figure out first base, there has to be someone that can provide a spark on the bench.
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Yes, the Gophers offense is looking up, especially with Strelow & Burnett hitting better & hoped-for production from Krapf. They aren't going to beat any high-ranked teams, though, without much better pitching, including Schwartz' return & some added catching help for Krapf. (Where Lindmark disappeared to remains an apparent mystery.)
 

This is what we should expect against teams like UNCG. Just wait until we face legit P5 pitching, then we'll see what this team is really made of.
 


I missed the first inning and we loaded the bases again and only scored 1 run. Now, the lead off for Gophers on in 2nd inning and again we never scored. This has got to change to beat a #11 ranked team.

Nice home crowd for Clemson along with some great weather.

In the bottom of the 2nd inning, Clemson led off with a triple as the result of a bad bounce in the outfield. Otherwise, they would not have scored.

Top of 3rd and Gophers again have runners on 1st/2nd with 0 outs....thanks to some poor Clemson defense. Alright a wild pitch and we are are up 2-1. Wow Clemson makes a pitching change and we head to the bottom of the 3rd.

Crap....beautiful throw from Burnett and tag by Krapf but call goes to Clemson. Again, prior to this should DeBord have thrown home? Her throw wasn't even close to getting the runner out and that allowed the batter to go to second and eventually score on that home plate call that was in Clemson's favor.

Right now Minnesota bats need to come alive.
 
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The amount of balls Hambrick throws has to be mentally exhausting for her defense.
Gophers had chance to pound early with the terrible Clemson defense.
 

4EverAGopher said:
I missed the first inning and we loaded the bases again and only scored 1 run. Now, the lead off for Gophers on in 2nd inning and again we never scored. This has got to change to beat a #11 ranked team.

Nice home crowd for Clemson along with some great weather.

In the bottom of the 2nd inning, Clemson led off with a triple as the result of a bad bounce in the outfield. Otherwise, they would not have scored.

Top of 3rd and Gophers again have runners on 1st/2nd with 0 outs....thanks to some poor Clemson defense. Alright a wild pitch and we are are up 2-1. Wow Clemson makes a pitching change and we head to the bottom of the 3rd.

Crap....beautiful throw from Burnett and tag by Krapf but call goes to Clemson. Again, prior to this should DeBord have thrown home? Her throw wasn't even close to getting the runner out and that allowed the batter to go to second and eventually score on that home plate call that was in Clemson's favor.

Right now Minnesota bats need to come alive.
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My view, I had the gal out by 3 feet. Not sure I understand the call on this one. I had no sound so if something happened, I'm not aware of it. Yes, beautiful throw by Burnett and tag by Krapf.
 

#2Gopher said:
My view, I had the gal out by 3 feet. Not sure I understand the call on this one. I had no sound so if something happened, I'm not aware of it. Yes, beautiful throw by Burnett and tag by Krapf.
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Krapf called for obstruction. Apparently, she was covering the throw but her positioning was the problem. IDK the runner slid and easily ended up with her foot across the plate.

Definitely obstruction by the 2nd base player for Clemson that allowed Oakland back to the bag in the top of the 7th, after tieing up the game. Ehlke is not having her best year at the plate and leavaing 2 on. Going to the bottom of the 7th.

This is a winnable game for the Gophers but not with their very very poor plate appearances. Both of our pitchers, Hambrick and Enter, so far are doing a very good job.
 
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Just swinging at everything, gotta score in this inning or it's game over.
 

Do these players know nothing about adjusting their swings? This is starting to get embarrassing.
 

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