Gopher Softball 2024

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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.
 

Now it is up to Enter to shut Clemson down and get the win. Ehlke finally with a base hit and, after 4 strikeouts at the plate, Breezy B with a huge hit. Gophers up by 2 going to the bottom of the 9th.

The right fielder for Clemson helped us out too. Terrible decision to throw to third and she has made two fantastic catches during this game.

Okay Enter...two more outs. I like her reaction on the mound with those up the middle hits. Then Cox drops the easy out at first. Great job by Enter and we come out with a win 5-3.

This is when we need pitching depth and we just don't have it going to the second game today with Clemson. Unfortunately, we need all three available to pitch and be on......Schwartz, Hambrick and Enter. So, now there is no doubt the bats need to be there the second game.
 
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I don't think I could make it to the weekend after watch USWNT match against Canada and now this. God damn it's exciting and thrilling, but it's taking years off my life.🤯😵
 

Not going to lie when Cox dropped that ball I thought it was over lol
 


I really hope Richardson can settle in and throw 4-5 good innings, already having used both starters in game one. They're gonna have to rely on their bats for this one.
 



WayOfTheGopher said:
I really hope Richardson can settle in and throw 4-5 good innings, already having used both starters in game one. They're gonna have to rely on their bats for this one.
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Richardson is showing me a great deal of promise despite the HR. She throws hard enough that if she gains more command and refines that off-speed a little, she could become a very good pitcher for us.
 

rwlarson said:
Richardson is showing me a great deal of promise despite the HR. She throws hard enough that if she gains more command and refines that off-speed a little, she could become a very good pitcher for us.
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I felt the same after seeing her pitch in Fall ball, but she got no support from her hitters. Batters 5-8 are producing next to nothing even when ahead in the count, which is when pitches need to be driven into the outfield.
 
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Richardson kept us in the game only for the offense to crap out. Split with #10 Clemson, few more timely hits and it could've been a sweep. Complete opposite of the first game.
 




If the pitching continues to improve and if reawakened power hitting arrives from Krapf and Ehlke, the Gophers could win a lot of games from here on. These are ifs; it'd be interesting to hear other fans' assessments.
 

Conference should be pretty winnable

SCHOOLCONFPCTALLPCTHOMEROADNEUTSTREAK
Indiana0-0.00015-4.7894-02-29-2W5
Penn State0-0.00015-4.7890-01-414-0L3
Ohio State0-0.0008-4.6670-02-26-2W1
Rutgers0-0.00013-7.6500-02-311-4W1
Northwestern0-0.0008-6.5710-01-17-5W1
Michigan0-0.00011-9.5500-01-410-5W1
Minnesota0-0.00011-9.5500-05-26-7L1
Iowa0-0.0006-5.5450-00-06-5L2
Purdue0-0.0009-8.5290-03-36-5W1
Michigan State0-0.00011-10.5240-03-38-7W2
Nebraska0-0.0008-10.4440-41-17-5L4
Wisconsin0-0.0009-12.4290-01-28-10L3
Maryland0-0.0007-12.3681-02-74-5W1
Illinois0-0.0005-9.3570-00-15-8L1
 

PreacherRoe said:
If the pitching continues to improve and if reawakened power hitting arrives from Krapf and Ehlke, the Gophers could win a lot of games from here on. These are ifs; it'd be interesting to hear other fans' assessments.
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This double header with Clemson was really the first time I’ve felt good about the potential of our pitching staff this year and beyond. It also proved that we can rally for a win against a top pitcher (Valerie Cagle). I still think we are too vulnerable to pitchers like Millie Thompson who have good command of the zone and a tough offspeed offering. And we should have scored more than one run against Clemson’s Game 2 pitcher, although Clemson must feel they should performed better against Richardson as well.

Hitting-wise, very encouraging to see Krapf and Burnett coming through in the clutch. Nobody seems to have noticed the work Breezy has done from Year 1 to Year 2 on her reading of pitchers when on base, resulting in her 10 for 10 stolen base mark.

Assuming Strelow is a fixture at second and Cox will be getting a lot of at bats at 1B, those two are great at drawing walks, but they both take way too many hittable 1st and 2nd strikes. Hard to have a high batting average when you hit from an 0-2 hole half the time. Strelow is, and always has been, a gamer, and her toughness and determination permeate the entire team in a positive way, even when she is hitting more poorly than she is this year.

DeBord has been a pleasant addition. If Enter and Hambrick can find the zone, and we get Schwartz back, with Richardson developing, we could still have a very successful season.
 

Valencia has also shown some life with the bat lately. As a freshman, she looked like a potential star. Maybe she'll bloom as a hitter the rest of the schedule? (The box score listed her as a freshman, so 4 more years? (Just joking.)
 

DietCokeFan said:
I never said it was her fault for those teams being added; however it is her responsibility for the recruits she brings into the program.
You see all these upsets each week, (including Fordham over Kentucky) yet this program can’t beat a top 25 team.
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We got Kentucky’s best pitcher and Fordham didn’t. Remember our first game against Kentucky? Extra innings loss 3-2 and we only saw schoonover at the very end of the game.
DietCokeFan said:
I never said it was her fault for those teams being added; however it is her responsibility for the recruits she brings into the program.
You see all these upsets each week, (including Fordham over Kentucky) yet this program can’t beat a top 25 team.
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Bad weather forecast today altered scheduling. Did Mercer get sent home? Or did they opt out? The Gopher win seemed work[wo]manlike enough, the kind of games past Gophers' teams in the past would lose to teams they should beat. I kept expecting Oakland or Krapf to open it up with a long blast, but no such luck. Enter seems to have upped her velocity quit a bit. She came through again. No BOB in over 5 innings.
 

PreacherRoe said:
Valencia has also shown some life with the bat lately. As a freshman, she looked like a potential star. Maybe she'll bloom as a hitter the rest of the schedule? (The box score listed her as a freshman, so 4 more years? (Just joking.)
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Why is everyone referring to Valencia as a freshman?
 




rwlarson said:
Valenica is a freshman. Valencia is a junior. 🤪

Seriously, they load names into Statsbroadcast before the season, so any misspelling will show up game after game unless/until someone fixes it.
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Back in the Stone Age of my childhood, I listened to Mutual Radio's MLB game broadcasts. An announcer read off game reports from a ticker tape with a few embellishments. It was primitive, but better than nothing. Present-day Stats is also better than nothing, but you'd think modern tech could invent some modest streaming or TV setup of even the most obscure contests and charge fans game-by-game. It seems sure loyal fans would pay to see games rather than read them.
 

PreacherRoe said:
Back in the Stone Age of my childhood, I listened to Mutual Radio's MLB game broadcasts. An announcer read off game reports from a ticker tape with a few embellishments. It was primitive, but better than nothing. Present-day Stats is also better than nothing, but you'd think modern tech could invent some modest streaming or TV setup of even the most obscure contests and charge fans game-by-game. It seems sure loyal fans would pay to see games rather than read them.
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Agreed. Especially when they have the cameras in place for these tournaments but only show the games where the host is playing. I’d rather listen to an announcer reading statsbroadcast than just reading stats broadcast myself! Bring back the Stone Age!
 




It appears this weekend is pretty crucial for showing how the Gophers have progressed, esp. in the circle. They face two ranked teams and a pair of Big Ten opponents. Sadly, the games are mainly featured only on Stats
 

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