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Gophers softball struggles in Metrodome double-header

Some say the Metrodome is a football stadium that never quite looked right for baseball. True or not, it certainly looks strange for softball. The baseball dirt mound, as well as the dirt are surrounding the bases, have to be leveled and covered with green patches. A series of 40 plastic white fences sit anywhere from 112 feet to 193 feet in front of the regular outfield wall — which, when struck by a ball, are liable to fall over. A bullpen is setup beyond the fence in right field, around where a major league right fielder might play. The infield gives truer hops, according to players, but the balls come a lot faster. ThatâĂ„Ă´s especially important in softball, where the infield is smaller. The Gophers softball team struggled with the new conditions Thursday, being swept by Western Illinois by scores of 6-3 and 11-3. In their first game, the Gophers committed five errors that lead to five unearned runs. âĂ„ĂşThatâĂ„Ă´s pretty uncharacteristic of us,âĂ„Ăą said co-head coach Julie Standering, whose team finished top-10 nationally in fielding percentage last season. âĂ„ĂşWe know weâĂ„Ă´ll get back on track.âĂ„Ăą The games kicked off the Metrodome Classic Tournament, which is MinnesotaâĂ„Ă´s longest weekend tournament of the season. TheyâĂ„Ă´ll have played six games by Sunday evening, against Western Illinois, Northern Iowa, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Arkansas and Drake. They are the only games the Gophers will play in the Dome this year, which is about right for senior pitcher Brianna Hasset. âĂ„ĂşI love playing outside, so itâĂ„Ă´s definitely fun going down south and playing on a real field,âĂ„Ăą Hasset said. âĂ„ĂşBut itâĂ„Ă´s a great opportunity to be here and know that weâĂ„Ă´re not going to get rained out or anything.âĂ„Ăą Most of the teamâĂ„Ă´s nonconference schedule is broken into weekend tournaments. After this weekend they have tournaments in Corpus Christi, Texas, Fullerton, Calif., Tucson, Ariz. and Louisville, Ky. The length of the games (seven innings, instead of the traditional nine in baseball) makes it possible to play five games in a weekend. The Gophers stuck with their rotation of just two pitchers, with Hasset pitching the first and freshman Alissa Koch pitching the second. Last season, Hasset and then-junior Katie Dalen combined to pitch every inning for the Gophers, which isnâĂ„Ă´t uncommon among softballâĂ„Ă´s top teams. Dalen, who had never had an at-bat before this season, became a utility player to make way for Koch. Hasset, who pitched two complete game shutouts in Tampa Bay, Fla. last weekend, had her numbers improved by the defenseâĂ„Ă´s errors, finishing with just one earned run while striking out nine and walking four. Koch gave up a season-high 10 earned runs. Catcher Shannon Stemper had three RBIs in the first game, including MinnesotaâĂ„Ă´s first home run of the year. The two losses dropped the Gophers to 3-4. âĂ„ĂşItâĂ„Ă´s really nice waking up in the morning knowing we arenâĂ„Ă´t going to rained out and knowing itâĂ„Ă´ll be 70 degrees and weâĂ„Ă´ll be playing in front of our friends and family,âĂ„Ăą senior Colleen Conway said. âĂ„ĂşSo weâĂ„Ă´re really excited for the rest of this weekend, even though it might not have looked like it today.âĂ„Ăą

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