Softball
- Thread starter HuffyCane
- Start date
Hopefully that 'friend' of the program's girl transferred.
I heard they’re not allowed to have bats at practice!! And they have to hold the fat end of the bat and hit with the skinny end!! Friends daughter told me.
Holding the fat end of the imaginary bat at practice sounds really hard.
They're a good mix of youth and upperclass players, at least in the batting lineup and field players. Where TU will struggle this year is in the circle. That is a place where they have some talent but they are so young in terms of game experience. No more running Watson out there for 3 games every weekend and amassing 40+ strikeouts in a series.
So a bit like having a talented young qb or point guard then I would guess, moments of brilliance and moments of learning. I can't think of the last time I thought about their pitching, seems they have had a really good run of shut down #1s.
I tend to really pay attention after basketball is over though and by then the team is always moving into its groove.
Yeah, Watson was so good at moving the ball around and changing the batter's eye levels. She had a really good change-up too and it always looked like she was coming with high cheese when she threw it. Watson seemed to run into trouble when the umpires were squeezing the zone. In general, NCAA softball umpires (and baseball from what I've seen) are pretty generous with their strike zones and at the very least call the limits as defined by the rulebook. Every now and then you get one that won't call the corners or the one at the knees or the one at the letters. Since Watson didn't necessarily over power hitters all the time, she relied on placement and guile. I also think Bargfeldt helped in that area.
While she is not to Watson's level yet, I do think Pochop has some talent. The new FR, Chenise Delce has some good stuff too. There is a JR transfer from Texas Tech who has some promise. Higley and Meinen IMO are strictly relief pitchers when used. Both are effective for about 1 time through the order before the other team catches on...there's nothing wrong with that. You need those types of pitchers as well. That's what was great about Watson....teams never seemed to find a rhythm against her no matter how late in the game.
Yeah I can see how Watson's mix of pitches really made her an asset in being able to work her way through a team multiple time. Having 3 decent starts and 2-3 different relievers gives us more flexibility in rest though.
Curious if we'll see him use the relievers together to help set up rotations going into series. I know the difference in motion leads to fewer problems, but a fresh pitcher throwing different stuff than the day before can truely make life difficult for batters.
Curious if we'll see him use the relievers together to help set up rotations going into series. I know the difference in motion leads to fewer problems, but a fresh pitcher throwing different stuff than the day before can truely make life difficult for batters.
Tulsa beats Arkansas 2-1!! Let’s get it ladies!!
Men’s tennis also took down #23 OKState.
Beat Nebraska 6-5 in 8 innings today. Second game TU 4 KU 0
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They’re having a good weekend. The FR P Chenice Delce spun a gem against KU in the 2nd game. 2 hitter. The bats are starting to come alive too. The first game against KU on Friday they scored 8 in the top half of a late inning to win 7-5.
Teams whose pitchers find their stiff early and get on a roll will go far. If the bats keep it up and give the pitchers some wiggle room will go far. Give pitchers a reason to be aggressive and throw strikes. If you’re afraid to do that or you try to nibble corners too much and give away free bases that’s when teams get in trouble.
Seems our pitching is zoning in. Great sign, especially since we have had good run support generally this year.
TU beats #21 OKState 3-0. Chenice Delce 1-hit the Cowboys and TU got a 3 run HR from Tori Stafford.
UCF. I think TU was 3rd. Would assume USF was 2. Wichita State and Houston are also usually in the mix.
I like TUs pitching depth with 2 quality starters.
Houston and USF both seem pretty close to equal with UCF. And Tulsa and even ECU are close if not equal as well. Should be a tight race. Could see another four bids to the National Championships equal to last year, maybe even five.
