MINNEAPOLIS — The Gophers look as though they’ll be without one of their best bats from a season ago when they open their season next week.

Power-hitting junior infielder Hope Brandner is not medically cleared to play, the school announced Tuesday, Jan. 28. No other details were provided.

Brandner transferred to Minnesota prior to the 2019 season and provided the Gophers’ lineup with one of its biggest bats. She was third on the team in batting average (.354), while leading the Gophers in home runs (19) and finishing second in RBIs (59).

The All-Big Ten performer played all 60 games at first base last season. Asked how the Gophers could compensate for Brandner’s potential absence, coach Jamie Trachsel said the Gophers must “just stay in our lanes.”

“We can’t be someone that we’re not,” she said. “We’re not asking players to be anyone that they’re not.”

The bit of preseason adversity is nothing new to the Gophers, who have faced plenty of change over the past couple of seasons and weathered challenges with grace and success.

“Adversity is a thing in its own,” senior infielder MaKenna Partain said. “I think our team handles it really well, and we’re just excited to get after the season.”

Ranking high

Gophers softball will start its 2020 season with a Top 10 ranking in five preseason polls, including the No. 6 spot in the Softball America and FloSoftball polls.

The Gophers return 14 players from last year’s NCAA World Series team, including ace pitcher Amber Fiser, a 2019 first-team all-American who finished the season with a 31-9 record, 1.27 earned-run average and 346 strikeouts.

Minnesota is ranked No. 8 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll and seventh in the ESPN.com/USA Softball and D1Softball polls.

The Gophers finished the 2019 season ranked No. 8 in the major polls.

Fiser, a senior, is one of four Gophers on Softball America’s 2020 College Top 100 at No. 7 overall. The others on that list are sophomore outfielder/DP Natalie Denhartog (40), Brandner (46) and Partain (57).

The Gophers begin the season at the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic on Feb. 7-9 in Clearwater, Fla., where they are scheduled to play N.C. State, Missouri State, Missouri, South Alabama and Kentucky. Their first home games are a March 27-29 series against Nebraska at Jane Cowles Stadium.