The 2022 Gophers softball season is quickly approaching. On Feb. 11 in Orlando, Fla. their campaign will begin in the UCF Tournament against Georgia.
After going 31-13 and earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament last season. Minnesota will look to build on its 2021 success, and hopefully carry momentum into this season with a talented roster.
Replicating 2021 Offensive Success
Second year head coach Piper Ritter will be losing three of the Gophers seven players to record 100 or more at bats last season. Longtime 2B MaKenna Partain will be the biggest loss. Last season she led the team in batting average (.329), total hits (47) and total runs (37).
The Gophers still return a lot of their offensive production from last season’s team, led by senior outfielder Natalie DenHartog who was the team’s best power hitter last season, with a team-high 15 home runs and 42 RBI.
The rest of the outfield will be rounded out by redshirt-senior Ellee Jensen, sophomore Mackenzie Denson, sophomore Chloe Evans and senior Ali Lindner.
Jensen led the group with a .318 batting average last season, ranking third overall on the team, while Evans had three home runs, tying for fifth best on the team.
The infield will be the area that will have to replace the most production from 2021, as all three departing players spent most of their time playing infield positions last season.
Senior Emily Hansen was second on the team last season with 25 RBI, and posted the team’s sixth best batting average .246.
Junior Sydney Strelow and graduate student Megan Dray will both likely have big roles in 2022. Strelow tied for fourth on the team with 17 RBI, while Dray had 17 total hits after appearing in only 29 of the team’s 44 contests last season.
The Gophers will look to get creative for the final starting infield role, and utility player Chloe Evans might find herself starting often in 2022, or a player like sophomore Rylie Costa might be asked to play more this season.
Sophomore catcher Sara Kinch will round out the offense, after posting a respectable .252 batting average a season ago.
Finding a No. 2 pitcher
The Gophers had two starting pitchers last season. Amber Fiser has graduated from the program, while senior Autumn Pease is back for another season.
Pease posted a team high 1.75 ERA last season, and a 12-3 overall record, in 116 total innings pitched. Fiser led the team in innings pitched (167.2), strikeouts (142), and games started (25).
Fiser’s replacement will likely be a player who did not play much last season, as Ava Dueck, the only other player to pitch more than one inning last season, has also graduated from the program.
The No. 2 starting role and main reliever will likely be a combination of sophomore Ashleigh Hollifield and freshman Emily Leavitt, who are the only other pitchers on the roster.
