Gopher Softball 2018

Fiser will be back, Smith might actually be healthy, Brandt is back, Lowary might actually be healthy, and Bailey will have a year of Piper coaching her up. I think next year pitching will be far better than this year.

I certainly hope you're right. Without a second pitcher who's Fiser's equal (and Fiser's very good, of course), they won't get far on a national elite level. I don't see that happening with this staff, but I would love to be wrong. If Lowary keeps her pitches down in the zone, she could be the one. :)
 

I personally don't see Lindaman moving positions. She has been a catcher throughout her high school and club career and is also pursuing a spot on the USA National Team (as a catcher, not utility) - moving positions at this point may not sit very well with her current goals and future plans beyond college. And I think as a College Coach you want as much experience behind the plate as possible when you are working with younger pitchers - it was different when Sara G. was you #1 but realistically this pitching staff will still be young and inexperienced next season. It would be hard for a freshman to manage this staff and Lindaman has learned from Sara G. and already knows these pitchers.
That looks to be a great signing! It might be sacrilege to say this but I think a move to first base would be great for Lindaman next year if this kid can catch. Catching is just so physically demanding I feel like Kendyl could hit 25 homers if she wasn't so beat up and battered.
 

Anyone have any info on White's recruitment. Glad to have her in the program and she sounds like a great recruit. Noticed she had committed to Stanford at one point Why the change of heart.
 


I think I am finally starting to understand that unlike travel softball or pro baseball, colleges typically play the same catcher every game. I had always assumed that catchers would rotate, but that does not appear to be the case. I can't begin to make sense of that, but in the grand scheme of things I am VERY new to following college softball so it's just one of those things that I'll have to accept as normal.

Edit - I originally replied with the wrong quote
 


Fiser will be back, Smith might actually be healthy, Brandt is back, Lowary might actually be healthy, and Bailey will have a year of Piper coaching her up. I think next year pitching will be far better than this year.

I couldn't agree more. I was merely responding to someone else's post expressing the hope that we will "add" superstar pitching next year.
 

I couldn't agree more. I was merely responding to someone else's post expressing the hope that we will "add" superstar pitching next year.

That "someone else's post" was probably mine. I stand by what I wrote. If the Gophers want to win lots more than they lose, and be in the mix for the BIG title and even maybe win it, then what they have is plenty good. But if they want to compete at the elite national level (with the Floridas, UCLAs, Oklahomas, etc.), they need super, super pitching to support and complement Fiser. Nobody on the staff but Fiser has shown she's that good. I certainly hope I'm wrong!!!!
 

That "someone else's post" was probably mine. I stand by what I wrote. If the Gophers want to win lots more than they lose, and be in the mix for the BIG title and even maybe win it, then what they have is plenty good. But if they want to compete at the elite national level (with the Floridas, UCLAs, Oklahomas, etc.), they need super, super pitching to support and complement Fiser. Nobody on the staff but Fiser has shown she's that good. I certainly hope I'm wrong!!!!

That you do. My thinking is always this: be prepared to win the game 1-0. And I might add there is nothing more exciting then two superb pitchers locking up in a big game.
 

I'm loving Lindaman batting in the 2 hole. Extremely high probability of Lindaman and/or Partain getting on base to start followed by 3 very dangerous batters in Houlihan, Dwyer and Wagner, and still followed by Parlich who is sneaky good at getting RBI.
 



10-1 Gophers. The bats are really coming alive. O errors. Maddie makes a great catch in right center and Dani with a strong throw to the plate to throw one out. They looked really good tonight.
 



I agree. I don't think Nebraska will play such terrible defense in the rest of the series.

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Why would you think that. The shortstop committed her 7th error in conference play last night.


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The ladies pitched another shut out today, downing the Huskers 6-0 at Cowles. Played very well in all phases.

Only downside was having Syd Smith leave the game with an injury late. Hoping she's okay.

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Why would you think that. The shortstop committed her 7th error in conference play last night.


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Ha! Well it looks like the Huskers managed an error free game today!

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So would this be a bubble regional host team for a [hypothetical] Big Ten Champion in most years (not including last year's screw job of course)? The numbers below are the Gophers current record against top RPI plus adding 3 more top 26-50 wins assuming a strong finish and wins in the Big Ten Tourney. The Gophers have pretty much dominated the top 50 with all except probable WCWS/Super Regional Host teams.

RPI top 50: 10W 9L
RPI top 25: 3W 7L
RPI top 8: 0W 6L
RPI 9-16: 2W 0L
RPI 17-25: 1W 1L
RPI 26-50: 7W 2L
 

So would this be a bubble regional host team for a [hypothetical] Big Ten Champion in most years (not including last year's screw job of course)? The numbers below are the Gophers current record against top RPI plus adding 3 more top 26-50 wins assuming a strong finish and wins in the Big Ten Tourney. The Gophers have pretty much dominated the top 50 with all except probable WCWS/Super Regional Host teams.

RPI top 50: 10W 9L
RPI top 25: 3W 7L
RPI top 8: 0W 6L
RPI 9-16: 2W 0L
RPI 17-25: 1W 1L
RPI 26-50: 7W 2L

Prior to last year I was pretty much convinced if you were in the top 16 in RPI your chances of hosting a Regional were very good. I had looked at a few years previously and there were some exceptions, but not many. The numbers you've presented are better than I suspected.
That being said, I think Michigan wins the BIG and Indiana gets it's bubble burst next weekend. Although that freaking Indiana is 13-2 and Trainer threw a no hitter today, albeit against Penn State. Trainer vs Beaubien. Beaubien also threw a no hitter today. (Hopefully they both stumble and the Gophers sneak in and your numbers work out to host!)
Speaking of Penn State, how can a team be so lousy? 7 wins on the year?!!
 


The bats are starting to come alive. B1G pitching helping the hitters? No games against Zona, ASU, UCLA, or FSU type teams?

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The bats are starting to come alive. B1G pitching helping the hitters? No games against Zona, ASU, UCLA, or FSU type teams?

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Sure, some of it is easier competition. Not playing WCWS quality teams on the road every week tends to help most stats. But it appears to me that some top Gopher hitters are changing up tendencies and are capitalizing.
 

Weekly report card. Good to see the Gophers in the top 25!

25 Minnesota Big Ten 27-14-0 10-10-0 12-4-0 5-0-0 0-0-0
26 Oklahoma St. Big 12 34-14-0 9-4-0 14-6-0 11-4-0 0-0-0
27 Hofstra CAA 34-8-0 12-2-0 9-5-0 13-1-0 0-0-0
28 Wichita St. AAC 27-17-0 10-6-0 6-7-0 11-4-0 0-0-0
29 Michigan Big Ten 38-7-0 8-4-0 18-3-0 12-0-0 0-0-0
30 California Pac-12 29-13-0 6-7-0 18-3-0 5-3-0 0-0-0
31 James Madison CAA 33-10-0 11-3-0 13-5-0 9-2-0 0-0-0
32 Ohio St. Big Ten 29-11-0 11-6-0 11-3-0 7-2-0 0-0-0
33 Ole Miss SEC 25-18-0 6-8-0 8-2-0 11-8-0 0-0-0
34 Nebraska Big Ten 30-17-0 7-7-0 13-6-0 10-4-0 0-0-0
35 Texas Big 12 27-18-0 6-3-0 3-4-0 18-11-0 0-0-0
36 Northwestern Big Ten 29-13-0 9-5-0 14-6-0 6-2-0 0-0-0
37 Kennesaw St. ASUN 34-14-0 6-6-0 5-3-0 23-5-0 0-0-0
38 Drake MVC 35-9-0 17-3-0 15-6-0 3-0-0 0-0-0
39 Liberty Big South 36-12-0 8-6-0 11-3-0 17-3-0 0-0-0
40 South Fla. AAC 32-18-0 5-7-0 9-4-0 18-7-0 0-0-0
41 FGCU ASUN 33-14-0 8-4-0 8-4-0 17-6-0 0-0-0
42 Houston AAC 29-17-0 8-5-0 4-3-0 17-9-0 0-0-0
43 Notre Dame ACC 29-18-0 10-5-0 12-6-0 7-7-0 0-0-0
44 San Jose St. MWC 27-15-0 8-3-0 12-9-0 7-3-0 0-0-0
45 Louisville ACC 28-16-0 4-6-0 10-4-0 14-6-0 0-0-0
46 Utah Pac-12 20-22-0 4-11-0 11-6-0 5-5-0 0-0-0
47 UNCG SoCon 38-9-0 8-4-0 9-2-0 21-3-0 0-0-0
48 McNeese Southland 33-16-0 12-7-0 8-3-0 13-6-0 0-0-0
49 Boston College ACC 25-18-0 10-10-0 7-5-0 8-3-0 0-0-0
50 Tulsa AAC 27-20-0 6-10-0 15-5-0 6-5-0 0-0-0
51 BYU WCC 25-19-0 6-6-0 14-13-0 5-0-0 0-0-0
52 Lipscomb ASUN 29-13-0 8-4-0 9-4-0 12-5-0 0-0-0
53 Illinois Big Ten 30-15-0 9-8-0 10-6-0 11-1-0 0-0-0
54 South Ala. Sun Belt 25-22-0 5-11-0 8-6-0 12-5-0 0-0-0
55 Wisconsin Big Ten 22-17-0 3-9-0 11-7-0 8-1-0 0-0-0
56 FIU C-USA 26-23-0 8-7-0 5-5-0 13-11-0 0-0-0
57 Georgia St. Sun Belt 25-20-0 6-9-0 6-5-0 13-6-0 0-0-0
58 Cal St. Fullerton Big West 26-20-0 6-1-0 2-6-0 18-13-0 0-0-0
59 North Dakota St. Summit League 25-14-0 9-6-0 16-8-0 0-0-0 0-0-0
60 Pittsburgh ACC 26-16-1 11-7-0 8-7-1 7-2-0 0-0-0
61 UCF AAC 30-19-0 5-7-0 11-6-0 14-6-0 0-0-0
62 Longwood Big South 30-14-0 8-5-0 10-5-0 12-4-0 0-0-0
63 North Carolina ACC 27-23-0 9-8-0 3-6-0 15-9-0 0-0-0
64 Iowa St. Big 12 21-25-0 8-13-0 13-9-0 0-3-0 0-0-0
65 Fresno St. MWC 29-16-0 7-2-0 5-8-0 17-6-0 0-0-0
66 Southeast Mo. St. OVC 27-18-0 7-13-0 11-2-0 9-3-0 0-0-0
67 USC Upstate ASUN 31-16-0 13-7-0 0-3-0 18-6-0 0-0-0
68 Texas Tech Big 12 22-24-0 5-9-0 7-6-0 10-9-0 0-0-0
69 Furman SoCon 34-11-0 4-8-0 5-1-0 25-2-0 0-0-0
70 Mercer SoCon 29-14-0 8-6-0 5-5-0 16-3-0 0-0-0
71 Louisiana Tech C-USA 30-18-0 8-8-0 5-7-0 16-3-0 1-0-0
72 Ohio MAC 28-14-0 12-8-0 9-6-0 7-0-0 0-0-0
73 DePaul Big East 27-14-0 7-6-0 13-5-0 7-3-0 0-0-0
74 Radford Big South 27-15-0 12-8-0 10-5-0 5-2-0 0-0-0
75 Memphis AAC 33-16-0 6-7-0 7-4-0 20-5-0 0-0-0
76 Massachusetts Atlantic 10 26-12-0 8-4-0 9-7-0 9-1-0 0-0-0
77 Ga. Southern Sun Belt 24-22-0 6-14-0 9-3-0 9-5-0 0-0-0
78 Missouri St. MVC 29-16-0 8-8-0 11-3-0 10-5-0 0-0-0
79 Boise St. MWC 31-13-0 15-2-0 12-7-0 4-4-0 0-0-0
80 Iowa Big Ten 19-25-0 4-11-0 8-6-0 7-8-0 0-0-0
 

The bad news, though, is that the remaining schedule is somewhat disastrous for RPI purposes. 2 against #55 Wisconsin, 3 against #171 Purdue, 1 against #198 South Dakota, and 3 against #236 (ouch!!) Penn State. Even if we win every game it would be mathematically impossible to hold on to #25.

As an example, Michigan was #27 last week. This week they swept #146 Maryland, and fell two spots to #29.
 

The bad news, though, is that the remaining schedule is somewhat disastrous for RPI purposes. 2 against #55 Wisconsin, 3 against #171 Purdue, 1 against #198 South Dakota, and 3 against #236 (ouch!!) Penn State. Even if we win every game it would be mathematically impossible to hold on to #25.

Not that I weep for Whiskey, but it's too bad for the Gophers they fell out of the top 50. Seems like record against top 50 is a common metric for seeding.
 

The full BIG:

25 Minnesota Big Ten 27-14-0 10-10-0 12-4-0 5-0-0 0-0-0
29 Michigan Big Ten 38-7-0 8-4-0 18-3-0 12-0-0 0-0-0
32 Ohio St. Big Ten 29-11-0 11-6-0 11-3-0 7-2-0 0-0-0
34 Nebraska Big Ten 30-17-0 7-7-0 13-6-0 10-4-0 0-0-0
36 Northwestern Big Ten 29-13-0 9-5-0 14-6-0 6-2-0 0-0-0
53 Illinois Big Ten 30-15-0 9-8-0 10-6-0 11-1-0 0-0-0
55 Wisconsin Big Ten 22-17-0 3-9-0 11-7-0 8-1-0 0-0-0
80 Iowa Big Ten 19-25-0 4-11-0 8-6-0 7-8-0 0-0-0
115 Indiana Big Ten 21-25-0 7-10-0 3-9-0 11-6-0 0-0-0
121 Michigan St. Big Ten 16-24-0 5-14-0 9-6-0 2-4-0 0-0-0
127 Rutgers Big Ten 17-26-0 6-7-0 9-12-0 2-7-0 0-0-0
146 Maryland Big Ten 18-30-0 3-13-0 8-9-0 7-8-0 0-0-0
171 Purdue Big Ten 13-34-0 3-10-0 5-19-0 5-5-0 0-0-0
236 Penn St. Big Ten 7-35-0 2-13-0 0-11-0 5-11-0 0-0-0


Looks like the top 5 are safely in the field of 64. Every other team can only hope to win the BIG tournament to get in.
 

Just felt like mentioning that the new white helmets look awful with the gold jerseys and maroon pants. They still have the maroon helmets with Goldy on the front. They should wear them with that Sunday gold unis...

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The bad news, though, is that the remaining schedule is somewhat disastrous for RPI purposes. 2 against #55 Wisconsin, 3 against #171 Purdue, 1 against #198 South Dakota, and 3 against #236 (ouch!!) Penn State. Even if we win every game it would be mathematically impossible to hold on to #25.

As an example, Michigan was #27 last week. This week they swept #146 Maryland, and fell two spots to #29.

We aren't going to host a regional so I guess it doesn't matter. Finish strong and then win the B1G tourney! Then go on the road to some SEC team and crush them!
 

We aren't going to host a regional so I guess it doesn't matter. Finish strong and then win the B1G tourney! Then go on the road to some SEC team and crush them!

I hope they get placed somewhere other than a "name brand" SEC team. There is a definite perceived officiating bias in those programs (good ol' home cookin). This bias was just discussed on a recent Fastpitch News podcast.
 





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