#0: Gopher softball (Last Week: -1). There should be more publicity about this team. They currently enjoy a 14-game winning streak after claiming the program's third softball conference title over the weekend. The ousted the second-ranked team in the country, Michigan, in 10 innings by a score of 4-3 on an error. Sara Groenewegen (talk about players who don't receive enough pub) pitched all three games for the Gophers in State College, Pa., a total of 24 innings, striking out 11 Wolverines in the championship game. Groenewegen was named Player Of The Week by USA Softball. The Gophers have risen to #15 in the national rankings, and they earned an automatic bid to participate in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year.
So they didn't get a national seed? They aren't good enough to host a regional? How do you figure? (Meanwhile, you could say that Michigan had nothing to play for, and you can at least say that their title game loss didn't hurt them; they are the #2 overall seed even after losing to the U.) In fact, they were placed in the same regional as the host and 11-seed in the tourney, Washington, along with Weber St. and the Gophers' first opponent this (Friday) evening, North Dakota St., a team, BTW, that was the nemesis in a midweek doubleheader that was cancelled due to inclement weather. So, if you go strictly by the S-Curve (and I know you shouldn't, since the softball tournament places teams sort of by region) Minnesota is only the 21st-best team in the nation. And if they win this regional, they likely will have to travel to 6-seed Alabama in the super regional. That doesn't seem to be fair for a club that finished the season 41-12 and 19-3 in-conference. And that's why I'm giving this squad only a 0 -- disrespect that pushes this team to an unenviable spot.
Regardless, good luck to the Gopher softballers. Right now, they seem to be our only hope in this godforsaken sports landscape.
#-1: Gopher baseball (Last Week: -3). Oh-oh. They followed up a road sweep of B1G bottom-dweller Purdue (although Friday's 4-3 result had to go to ten innings) with a ten-inning loss at South Dakota St. and, last (Thursday) evening, a 3-2 defeat at home at the hands of Ohio St. Finally, Pitching Coach Todd Oakes was moved to hospice care this week. It is the third time he has battled cancer, but when you go to hospice, well, I'm afraid it's the last ride. Maybe that's weighing on the team, and that's why they're on a two-game losing streak and in jeopardy of not winning the conference regular season title. (Although they're a half-game ahead of Indiana for the lead.) Hey, a series of bad results from here on out and the U. may slide out of the tournament altogether.
Meanwhile, the Buckeyes have won seven in a row (tops in the Big Ten) and they themselves have a chance to win the league this final weekend. And they face the Goofs two more times at Siebert. I should be at Saturday afternoon's season finale, which begins at 2, assuming I leave work early enough.
#-2: Twins (Last Week: -Infinity). 2-5 for the week. They managed to win a series in Cleveland over the weekend, but then got swept for the eighth time this year over the workweek in Detroit. Tuesday's game was particularly galling; Phil Hughes kept the Tigers scoreless but had to leave in the sixth inning, and the bullpen, as it has done way too frequently this year, choked on a 2-0 lead. And last (Thursday) night, Ervin Santana couldn't keep Toronto scoreless long enough as the Blue Jays eventually notched it at 2, then grabbed a 3-2 lead in the 11th that they didn't relinquish.
I'm telling ya, only two things are hurting the Twinks right now: Hitting and pitching. Fix those two things and everything will be fine. They are at Target Field the rest of the week; after finishing their four-game series over the weekend vs. Toronto, the World Champion Kansas City Royals come to town for three.
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