Gopher Softball 2024

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PreacherRoe said:
Her first time at bat in the big inning, she struck out swinging at a well-placed fast ball on the outside corner. The second time she got a change-up left too high in the power zone and didn't hesitate.
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Also hit a hard ball to 2nd that couldn’t be handled. Next at bat was the Deborg HR.
I would like to see more at bats for her.
 

PreacherRoe said:
Her first time at bat in the big inning, she struck out swinging at a well-placed fast ball on the outside corner. The second time she got a change-up left too high in the power zone and didn't hesitate.
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So, where has she been all season up til now besides the bench?
 

Does anybody have information on Schwartz out for the season or not?
 




ClassOf98Gopher said:
Now this is a critically important question for this team. We could use Schwartz at 100 percent on the mound.
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She’s in a boot and not in uniform so it may be awhile for her. Agree we could certainly use her now, but I just hope she’s ready for the B1G tourney when pitching depth (or lack thereof) can really make a difference.
 

Gopher hitters were very disciplined without being passive. They need to keep doing it. I haven't seen it mentioned, but Minnesota's defense was stellar - only one error in three games! In addition, they made some very good plays.
In the first game yesterday, it appeared as though the Ohio State coaches were mandated a trip to the circle in every inning. On one of the trips, they had the ground crew repair the circle. That didn't turn out well - the Gophers got 10 runs that inning.
 

rwlarson said:
She’s in a boot and not in uniform so it may be awhile for her. Agree we could certainly use her now, but I just hope she’s ready for the B1G tourney when pitching depth (or lack thereof) can really make a difference.
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Any podiatrists on this site?
 

I saw Schwartz walking in a relaxed way on the concourse in a what appeared a loosely tied boot. My podiatrist says, give most ankle injuries 2 months.
 



PreacherRoe said:
I saw Schwartz walking in a relaxed way on the concourse in a what appeared a loosely tied boot. My podiatrist says, give most ankle injuries 2 months.
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I would think for a pitcher, you're going to need more time to heal. I would think the boot needs to be somewhat tight for it to heal better. You put tape on an ankle for a reason, and you put a boot on for a reason. I'm not an expert, so I could be wrong. We seem to have many experts on this board regardless of sport, perhaps she/he can elaborate.
 

Gopher68 said:
Gopher hitters were very disciplined without being passive. They need to keep doing it. I haven't seen it mentioned, but Minnesota's defense was stellar - only one error in three games! In addition, they made some very good plays.
In the first game yesterday, it appeared as though the Ohio State coaches were mandated a trip to the circle in every inning. On one of the trips, they had the ground crew repair the circle. That didn't turn out well - the Gophers got 10 runs that inning.
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This is key. Each hitter needs to understand their own strength zones and approach each at bat accordingly. Watch the very best hitting teams going against a top pitcher who rarely makes a mistake and you’ll see that in order to beat top pitching you sometimes have to go after a pitch you can handle that isn’t in the strike zone.

This team has been doing that during this red hot stretch. Bottom line: successful hitters rarely take pitches they can handle, and rarely swing at pitches they can’t handle.
 

#2Gopher said:
I would think for a pitcher, you're going to need more time to heal. I would think the boot needs to be somewhat tight for it to heal better. You put tape on an ankle for a reason, and you put a boot on for a reason. I'm not an expert, so I could be wrong. We seem to have many experts on this board regardless of sport, perhaps she/he can elaborate.
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You're right. Don't take me as someone who knows anything. I pretend to no medical expertise. I put this out for conversation, like other posters on this site, mainly to infuse some hope in those who wish for more depth in the pitching corps.
 





Looks like Gophers made a little jump in RPI. After the weekend they sit at #52; if I remember correctly they were at #67 prior (could be wrong with my bad memory) Still lots of work to do but a sweep over Indiana would help. Still think its a long shot to make the tourney, but you never know.
 

DietCokeFan said:
Looks like Gophers made a little jump in RPI. After the weekend they sit at #52; if I remember correctly they were at #67 prior (could be wrong with my bad memory) Still lots of work to do but a sweep over Indiana would help. Still think it’s a long shot to make the tourney, but you never know.
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They are positioned pretty well as far as positive nitty gritty metrics are concerned. They have a winning record against Top 100 teams, something only five of the 10 teams currently in the 30-39 positions can say. They have a decent non-conference strength of schedule (32). Only Nebraska (25) in the B1G has a better one. Plus, they have a Top 25 win, something the Committee also looks at. Believe it or not, among B1G teams only Michigan (2), Penn State and Minnesota (1 each) have beaten a current Top 25 RPI team.

What is keeping their RPI in the 50’s instead of the high 30’s or low 40’s is their four losses to 100+ RPI teams including the 1-0 loss to 200+ Stephen F Austin.
 

DietCokeFan said:
Looks like Gophers made a little jump in RPI. After the weekend they sit at #52; if I remember correctly they were at #67 prior (could be wrong with my bad memory) Still lots of work to do but a sweep over Indiana would help. Still think its a long shot to make the tourney, but you never know.
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It is best for Big Ten teams to just focus on competing for the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships. Big Ten teams shouldn’t even worry about the NCAA tourney. Pretend it doesn’t exist. Big Ten teams need to prepare in the first half of the season and execute in the second half of the season to do well in the Big Ten and then anything after that will take care of itself.

The Big Ten is everything.
 

ClassOf98Gopher said:
It is best for Big Ten teams to just focus on competing for the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships. Big Ten teams shouldn’t even worry about the NCAA tourney. Pretend it doesn’t exist. Big Ten teams need to prepare in the first half of the season and execute in the second half of the season to do well in the Big Ten and then anything after that will take care of itself.

The Big Ten is everything.
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I can assure you that the players and coaches do exactly as you suggest. Once conference play begins, they are laser-focused on winning a B1G regular season championship and/or B1G tournament championship.

The only disagreement I have with your take is that coaches of upper-level B1G teams need to schedule their non-conference in such a way that they achieve two objectives.
These do not have to be mutually exclusive for top B1G teams: 1) Prepare for the conference season, and 2) play a difficult enough schedule to impress the NCAA Selection Committee at the end of the season, thus providing your players a chance to compete for a national championship.
 

rwlarson said:
They are positioned pretty well as far as positive nitty gritty metrics are concerned. They have a winning record against Top 100 teams, something only five of the 10 teams currently in the 30-39 positions can say. They have a decent non-conference strength of schedule (32). Only Nebraska (25) in the B1G has a better one. Plus, they have a Top 25 win, something the Committee also looks at. Believe it or not, among B1G teams only Michigan (2), Penn State and Minnesota (1 each) have beaten a current Top 25 RPI team.

What is keeping their RPI in the 50’s instead of the high 30’s or low 40’s is their four losses to 100+ RPI teams including the 1-0 loss to 200+ Stephen F Austin.
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That Texas tournament was a disaster, but if they continue playing like they have the last two weeks they should be okay. If they get by Indiana they should win each series until they face Nebraska. That series could be decisive.
 

Nipomo 56 said:
That Texas tournament was a disaster, but if they continue playing like they have the last two weeks they should be okay. If they get by Indiana they should win each series until they face Nebraska. That series could be decisive.
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It was even worse watching it in person lol
 

Last weekend was great. Yet there's still plenty to worry about with the Gophers' pitching. They badly need some really good innings from Hambrick. A return of Schwartz would also be good, but probably unrealistic. As I recall the Indiana field, their outfield fences are close in. Maybe that will lend to some MN extra base hitting plus Enter inducing lots of ground balls off opposing bats?
 

ClassOf98Gopher said:
It is best for Big Ten teams to just focus on competing for the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships. Big Ten teams shouldn’t even worry about the NCAA tourney. Pretend it doesn’t exist. Big Ten teams need to prepare in the first half of the season and execute in the second half of the season to do well in the Big Ten and then anything after that will take care of itself.

The Big Ten is everything.
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Knowing a few coaches and knowing what they feel. The B10 is important, but the NCAA tournament is the goal...always. Goal #1 and it isn't close. If all they cared about was the B10, you wouldn't see the the preseason scheduling the way it is. You wouldn't see the concern with RPI. Goal #1 is the NCAA tournament.
 

PreacherRoe said:
Last weekend was great. Yet there's still plenty to worry about with the Gophers' pitching. They badly need some really good innings from Hambrick. A return of Schwartz would also be good, but probably unrealistic. As I recall the Indiana field, their outfield fences are close in. Maybe that will lend to some MN extra base hitting plus Enter inducing lots of ground balls off opposing bats?
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Last weekend was good...not great. While I am encouraged by the comeback win and grittiness of the squad, I think we also need to be able to see that it might not be as great as it seems. Ohio State is in the bottom 3 of pitching for the season in the B10, and last in pitching when it is viewed as conference only. Again, I'm happy the Gophers pulled out a sweep and can hopefully continue that momentum. But Ohio State is not a good team. Indiana should be more of a test.
 

Chase the Rise said:
Knowing a few coaches and knowing what they feel. The B10 is important, but the NCAA tournament is the goal...always. Goal #1 and it isn't close. If all they cared about was the B10, you wouldn't see the the preseason scheduling the way it is. You wouldn't see the concern with RPI. Goal #1 is the NCAA tournament.
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Piper does a good job balancing the dual goals of preparation for the conference season with positioning the team to get the best possible seed in the tournament if they have enough success.

Clearly she learned something from the 2017 debacle when Allister only scheduled two Top 25 games (both at Washington) followed by the great scheduling in 2019 (#1 non-conference SOS) that helped get us a Top 8 seed.
 

Chase the Rise said:
Last weekend was good...not great. While I am encouraged by the comeback win and grittiness of the squad, I think we also need to be able to see that it might not be as great as it seems. Ohio State is in the bottom 3 of pitching for the season in the B10, and last in pitching when it is viewed as conference only. Again, I'm happy the Gophers pulled out a sweep and can hopefully continue that momentum. But Ohio State is not a good team. Indiana should be more of a test.
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Yet Ohio State is the only team to have beaten Northwestern, and the same Emily Ruck who we pounded shut out the Wildcats.

On the other hand, look at Indiana’s stats in-conference vs overall. Their non-conference schedule wasn’t great, but they are hitting and pitching well below what they did in non-conference.

Whether this is telling or simply a regression to the mean situation will unfold this weekend.
 

rwlarson said:
Piper does a good job balancing the dual goals of preparation for the conference season with positioning the team to get the best possible seed in the tournament if they have enough success.

Clearly she learned something from the 2017 debacle when Allister only scheduled two Top 25 games (both at Washington) followed by the great scheduling in 2019 (#1 non-conference SOS) that helped get us a Top 8 seed.
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I seem to recall that during the 2017 season Allister said in an interview that she'd learned a lot about scheduling. That backfired on her.
 



For a bubble team on the wrong side this is definitely a big series.
 


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