Gopher Softball - 2016

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Sure didn't help Michigan last night to play the 2nd quarterfinal. To compound things, there was also the long weather delay. The game ended very late and Michigan was really tired, which showed in their play. They pretty much gave us every single run with some sort of gaffe. That said, we have nothing to apologize for. SG was able to get out of numerous jams (seemed like every inning they had 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs) and our team was resilient. Congrats to the ladies on a well deserved championship. Now to see where we are going and actually make a super regional...
 

I haven't heard anyone mention that on the winning run Fabian did a great job of, in addition to avoiding getting hit by the ball, screening the shortstop. That had something to do with the error. Then she followed it up with a great slide.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

From the Detroit Free Press article

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Whether it was the extended rain delay, the short rest time in between games, the pitching of No. 23-ranked Minnesota's right-hander, Sara Groenewegen, or a combination of the three, the No. 2 Michigan softball team met its match in its first encounter against a ranked opponent in conference play.

“(Minnesota coach Jessica Allister) was saying ‘go, go go,’ so there’s always a chance and I had a good visual slide, so I slid and it worked out,” Fabian said. “I thought there was going to be a play at third, but then Coach Alister said get up, and I just kept going.”

As extra innings began, the Wolverines were in new territory: It was their first extra-inning game of the season while it was Minnesota’s second, and first in conference play.

In her three complete-game starts in the tournament, Groenewegen threw an astounding 395 pitches and struck out 29 batters, including 11 in the final.

Michigan lost for the first time in its last 20 games and scored its fewest runs in a game since a shutout loss in early April.

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/c.../05/14/michigan-softball-penn-state/84394796/
 

Hutchins with a some questionable decisions.
First and foremost, goes with Alexander at catcher. First start of the year for the Alexander. Decides to do this in the B1G championship game. 2 passed balls and a wild pitch. Gophers eventually ran at will taking second base.
Second, not sure if it is on Hutchins or the runner, but in the second inning Michigan had the pinch runner, Sbonek, running for Blanco after she doubled. Next batter, Montemarano, singled to right field. Fabian had to go to her left and recede towards the right field corner to field the ball. Runner was held up at third. Now this was a pinch runner! Has to score on that play.
Third, in the 9th, ran Sierra Lawrence with one out and Romero at the plate. Took the bat right out of her hands as the Gophers then intentionally walked Romero (arguably the best hitter in the nation), Minnesota able to avoid any damage.
Last, but not least, what in the world was the reason to allow Sierra Lawrence to take center field in the bottom of the 10th with her warm up jacket on?!! On the play that Fabian scored on, she made a horrendous throw, up the line and high. The play was right in front of her. Thought it was fitting that she had to make the throw.
Was going to mention replacing Betsa with Driesenga, but.....
 



Conference Tourney Winners-Automatic Qualifiers 32

American Athletic-Tulsa
Atlantic Coast-Florida State
America East-Maine
Atlantic 10-Looks like Fordham at the moment
Atlantic Sun-USC Upstate
Big 12-no tourney, Oklahoma
Big East-Butler
Big Sky-Weber State
Big South-Longwood
Big Ten-Minnesota
Big West-no tourney, Cal State Fullerton
Conference USA-Florida Atlantic
Colonial Athletic-James Madison
Horizon League-Valparaiso
Ivy League-Princeton
Mid-American-Miami(Ohio)
MEAC-Florida A&M
Mountain West-Fresno State
Metro Atlantic-Marist
Missouri Valley-Wichita State
Northeast-LIU Brooklyn
Ohio Valley-Jacksonville State
Pac 12-no tourney, Oregon
Patriot League-Boston U
Southeastern-Auburn
SWAC-Alabama State
Southern-Samford
Southland-McNeese State
Summit League-North Dakota State
Sun Belt-Louisiana-Lafayette
Western Athletic-CSU Bakersfield
West Coast-no tourney, BYU

Right on down the line RPI wise for the 32 non-qualifiers
Florida SEC
Michigan Big Ten
Alabama SEC
Washington Pac 12
Missouri SEC
Tennessee SEC
Baylor Big 12
UCLA Pac 12
LSU SEC
Kentucky SEC
Texas A&M SEC
Georgia SEC
South Florida AAC
Arizona Pac 12
South Carolina SEC
Oregon State Pac 12
Texas Big 12
Ole Miss SEC
Notre Dame ACC
Utah Pac 12
UCF AAC
Nebraska Big Ten
Oklahoma State Big 12
North Carolina ACC
Long Beach State Big West
California Pac 12
Mississippi State SEC
Arizona State Pac 12
Ohio State Big Ten
Virginia Tech ACC
South Alabama Sun Belt
Texas State Sun Belt

Last year the SEC had 11 teams in the tournament. Pac 12 had 7. ACC had 7. Big 12 had 4. Big Ten had 4.




Just missing if all one goes with is RPI
Northwestern Big Ten RPI OF 45
 


overpass said:
Wow, Illinois and Northwestern got in.
Click to expand...

What is it, 6 Big 10 teams getting in, and the team that finishes 2nd during the conference season and who wins the Big 10 tournament, can't get a seed in the top 16 (actually 21), but the SEC has 7 in the top 16? Give me a break.
 

minny01 said:
What is it, 6 Big 10 teams getting in, and the team that finishes 2nd during the conference season and who wins the Big 10 tournament, can't get a seed in the top 16 (actually 21), but the SEC has 7 in the top 16? Give me a break.
Click to expand...

Well I'm surprised we got 6 in. Softball in the Big Ten isn't particularly good. Either is baseball. So the RPI hit of playing most Big Ten teams hurts us a lot. And we simply lost too many games to teams we shouldn't have early in the season. Plus the two to Wisconsin really sealed the deal. Washington bracket isn't so bad. I just want to see us finally get past the first regional...
 





The Gophers should have quite a few fans there.

Seattle is only 2 hours from Sarah G.'s hometown of White Rock, BC.
 

Seed-RPI
Florida-1-1
Michigan-2-2
Oklahoma-3-3
Auburn-4-5
Oregon-5-9
Alabama-6-4
James Madison-7-7
Florida State-8-6
Kentucky-9-16
LSU-10-11
Washington-11-8
UCLA-12-15
Tennessee-13-14
La-Lafayette-14-10
Missouri-15-12
Georgia-16-19

Took every team with RPI of 16 or lower except for Baylor. Bears are #13 in the RPI (the new one just came out today). Georgia from the SEC took that spot. Baylor gets sent out to Oregon, tossed in the bracket with the #5 seeded Ducks.
 




Gophers first opponent out in Washington is, of course, North Dakota State. The Bison went 38-13 overall and 17-0 in conference with 3 more wins in the conference tournament. The Bison and the Gophers were scheduled to play a double header in Minneapolis, but it was cancelled due to weather, as was a double header they were to have had with Wisconsin.
In the circle Jacquelyn Sertic has started 30 of their games and made 41 appearances. The sophomore right hander has thrown 196.2 innings with 151 hits given up along with 66 base on balls. She averages a touch more than a strikeout per inning with 199. They also throw right handed freshman Kaitlyn Leddy. She has made 21 starts with 28 appearances. She has 129.1 innings, 130 hits, 56 base on balls and 75 strikeouts.
They go pretty much with the same lineup every game except for some switching at DP. Leading hitter is the shortstop, senior Logan Moreland. Really good player. Hit .431 with 13 home runs and 49 RBI's. Also has 32 stolen bases in 33 attempts. As a team they like to run, 106 of 120 on stolen bases.
Think they have played 12 games against teams in the tournament. Have a 4-8 record in those games. One of the victories was against Alabama, a 2-1 contest when the Tide were ranked #2 and they did it in Tuscaloosa. Sertic threw a 4 hitter giving up 3 singles and a double to the Tide. They've also beaten North Carolina and twice defeated Cal. Eight Californians on their roster. This is their 7th Regional in the last 8 seasons.
 

Groenewegen’s Grit Earns National Plaudit

She wins the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week award for the first time this season. She has won the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Pitcher of the Week twice, an espnW Player of the Week plaudit once, two Big Ten Player of the Week awards and five Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors. She is a top-10 finalist for National Player of the Year.

http://www.gophersports.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/051716aab.html
 

Nebraska gets the Big Ten off on the right foot with a 3-2 win over Louisville. Game-winning run in the bottom of the 7th. They play the winner of BYU/#15 Missouri tomorrow.
 

Illinois falls to Utah 1-0 today.
Northwestern beat OK State 2-1.
Ohio State-Arizona is delayed.
Nebraska beaten handily by Missouri 8-0. (Was just going to say that the Huskers are in a good region. Make sure to not listen to me.)
 

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Gophers are the home team.

0-0 after one complete. (Really choppy video, at least on my computer.)
NDSU goes up 1-0 on a one out home run.
Macken drives in Fabian who doubled, to tie it at 1 going into the top of the 4th.
Bottom of the fourth, Wenner singles and is knocked home by a Dwyer double. Dwyer moves to third on a throwing error and scores on a wild pitch. Gophers up 3-1.
Top of the 5th, #6 batter doubles and Groenewegen hits the next batter with an 0-2 count. Now bases are loaded after an infield single. Still no outs. Groenewegen gets a K. Groenewegen gets another K. Now faces their best player, Moreland. Ran the count full and struck her out.
Gophers with the top of the order up in the bottom of the 5th.
Parlich with a one out double and Houlihan follows suit with a two bagger also, to make it 4-1. LeMay singles to drive in Houlihan. 5-1 now.
Palkovich homers to make it 7-1.
Groenewegen facing the 3, 4, 5 hitters in the top of the 6th. Scratch that. Nikki Anderson enters to pitch.
Anderson walks the first hitter. Gophers turn a double play. Same Bison player hits another home run. 7-2.
Now the top of the 7th. Still 7-2. Anderson will face the 7, 8, 9 hitters. Anderson retires the side in order and the Gophers get the W.
Groenewegen with 5 innings, 3 hits, 1 run on the homer and 11 K's. She threw 86 pitches, 60 strikes.
 


Nebraska beat BYU 2-0 to stay alive.
Michigan beat Valpo 8-0.
Ohio State and Arizona had their game suspended.
Louisville is the first team sent home after 2 quick losses.
#1 Florida crushes Alabama State 11-0.
Two of my favorites: James Madison won 7-0 over Princeton and Florida Atlantic lost 1-0 to Central Florida.
Huskies all over Weber State. 11-4 in the 5th inning.
Washington ended up beating Weber State in 5 innings by a score of 14-6. They had 14 hits, 9 of those went for extra bases.
So it's the Gophers and the Huskies today at 3 PM. (Wasn't aware of it, Groenewegen leads the nation in wins.)
 

1 through 16 seeds

#1 Florida, 11-0 over Alabama State, Florida 5-0 over UCF
#2 Michigan, 8-0 over Valparaiso, Michigan 6-0 over Miami
#3 Oklahoma, 7-2 over Wichita State, Oklahoma 9-1 over Mississippi
#4 Auburn, 2-0 over Jacksonville State, Auburn 6-1 over USC Upstate
#5 Oregon, 8-0 over Fordham, Oregon 6-0 over Baylor
#6 Alabama, 3-0 over Samford, Alabama 3-1 over California
#7 James Madison, 7-0 over Princeton, James Madison 10-1 over North Carolina
#8 Florida State, 1-0 over Florida A&M, Florida State 4-0 over South Carolina
#9 Kentucky, 2-0 over Butler, Utah 3-0 over Kentucky, Kentucky 6-1 over Butler
#10 LSU, 10-2 over LIU Brooklyn, LSU 4-1 over McNeese State.
#11 Washington, 14-6 over Weber State, Washington over Minnesota 5-2
#12 UCLA, 7-0 over Cal-State Bakersfield, UCLA 3-2 over Cal State Fullerton
#13 Tennessee, 10-2 over Marist, Arizona 4-0 over Tennessee
#14 La-Lafayette, 9-5 over Boston U, La-Lafayette 9-1 over Texas
#15 Missouri, 9-0 over BYU and 8-0 over Nebraska, Missouri 9-0 over Nebraska, Missouri advances
#16 Georgia, 6-0 over Maine, Georgia 5-2 over Northwestern
 


Ohio State lost to Arizona 2-0 after their suspended game finished this morning. Big Ten goes 3-3 in their first games. Currently 4-3 with the aforementioned Nebraska win over BYU in the losers bracket.
 


It's not on ESPN3?? There are like 8 games on ESPN3 on right now...this is not one of them. Nice. Also, the UW feed is awful, like someone holding a cell phone in the audience, but without sound.
 

Gophers fall behind 1-0 after one inning. Groenewegen gave up 3 singles in the bottom half of the frame. 3 strikeouts also for her.
After 2 innings still 1-0.
Gophers in a jam bottom of 3rd with Washington having runners at first and second, no outs. Sara G strikes out their clean up hitter for one out. Ground ball to Macken gets out number two. Fly ball to center and they escape.
Gophers have runners on the corners and 2 out with Wenner up. Wenners singles to tie it up!!
Go to the bottom of the 4th knotted up. 7, 8 and 9 hitters due up.
Huskies go scoreless in the 4th leaving 2 runners on.
Gophers have to solve this Huskie pitcher. Wenner the only Gopher with any hits.
Houlihan lines into a double play with Macken at second on a HBP and Parlich at first after a single. Go to the bottom of the 5th. (Streaming video stopped working for me.)
Game moves to the top of the 6th tied 1-1. Groenewegen, LeMay and Palkovich due up. All hitless thus far today.
Sara grounds out. LeMay walks. Huskies change pitchers, go to a lefty. Strange, 3 appearances on the year. Palkovich walks. Wenner pops up for the 2nd out. Dwyer singles in the go ahead run on a full count! Fabian pops up for the 3rd out.
2-1 bottom of the 6th and Groenewegen to face 6, 7, and 8 hitters. Groenewegen strikes out the lead off hitter. Another strike out for out number two.
Surrenders a single to the number 8 hitter. Walks the number 9 hitter on 4 straight pitches and now must face one of the best hitters in the PAC 12, Aguilar, with runners on. Hits her with a pitch. Bases loaded, two out. Falls behind the next batter 2-0. Doubles on a 2-2 count. 4-2 Washington. Next batter singled making it 5-2.
Gophers down to their last 3 outs. Top of the order, Macken, Parlich and Houlihan.
Macken pops up for out number 1. Parlich out on a fly ball. Houlihan flies out. Gophers on the losing end 5-2.
 


fan of Ray Williams said:
2-1 bottom of the 6th and Groenewegen to face 6, 7, and 8 hitters. Groenewegen strikes out the lead off hitter. Another strike out for out number two.
Surrenders a single to the number 8 hitter. Walks the number 9 hitter on 4 straight pitches and now must face one of the best hitters in the PAC 12, Aguilar, with runners on. Hits her with a pitch. Bases loaded, two out. Falls behind the next batter 2-0. Doubles on a 2-2 count. 4-2 Washington. Next batter singled making it 5-2.
Click to expand...

And that's the magic of a lazy infield single with 2 outs late in the game. Those kind of things shake the faith of even the best of players. A couple of pops to shallow LF that just made the fence kept the inning alive. Opportunity lost.
 

Gophers likely to have a rematch with North Dakota State. They lead Weber State 4-1 going into the bottom of the 5th. Sertic, the pitcher the Gophers faced, is throwing a 3 hitter with 10 strikeouts. Now 5-1 in the 6th.

The Illini taking #9 seed Kentucky into extra innings. 2-2 in the top of the 8th with Illinois being the home team.
 

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