What have I learned so far from the WCWS?

[default]

At first I thought it was crazy. But obviously he felt comfortable enough to pitch his number 2. He even said it, she doesn't do well in back-to-back games. Like a game of chess, planning ahead. So what if he pitched her in this game and Bama wins it? Knowing what he knew, they'd lose the championship. It's a double standard. These ladies would have ripped him tomorrow if Hannah pitched tonight and struggled.

That's why you're not seeing a clear-cut ace much anymore in college softball, but more co-ace's and a third one as an inning eater early in the season.

 

[default]

I've already voiced my opinion and it's these as yours . It's horrible . I guess I've learned the guy from Florida is crazy . To not throw his ace is crazy . Gator fan but footing for Bama to make a come back .

Yeah, maybe OK with throwing #2 for a bit, but with a quick hook. Bringing the freshman in mid-game just amazed me~
but looks like a genius if he gets away with it and gets 2 younger pitchers that experience.

 

[default]

Well it's over. Congratulations to Fla. for their win and first ever national championship. To reflect back on the series and the post season in general I'm sorry but I am going to pat myself on the back just for a second. I stand by my first post on this thread and believe it came true except for 1 thing. I didn't expect Traina to get tired-------------mentally tired. Her mechanics fell off and the ball quit moving in her usual predictable manner and she simply didn't have the inner strength to overcome it. give credit where due, Fla. wore her down.

On this same topic, take a good look at all the hits Fla. put together thru most of the post season. Many were not the pitches we teach kids to hit. Fla. overcame Ala. by being aggressive outside the strike zone. This is something I believe we need to be more in tune with when it comes to girls. They are afraid to swing at a bad pitch (or what we consider bad) so they struggle with hitting confidence. We need to be teaching them to hit--------hit anything, then hone them in to learn the strike zone instead of the opposite. Get creative with the bat. The best way to do this is to have the girls try to hit every pitch at batting practice whatever the location. Work on getting the coordination of their eyes and bat to the ball at every opportunity. If you want their confidence to go up, quit telling them they're wrong every time they go after a pitch out of the zone unless it's over their head or in the dirt.

Help make hitters out of your players not batters rewarded for nonperformance, especially at a young age.

 

[default]

I've already voiced my opinion and it's these as yours . It's horrible . I guess I've learned the guy from Florida is crazy . To not throw his ace is crazy . Gator fan but footing for Bama to make a come back .

I've learned there are reasons Walton is coaching a Div-I national champion (and NPF) and ManDan is coaching 12U... ;&

Walton was crazy like a fox - he had his reasons for starting Haeger and rare defensive errors made it look questionable. I liken it to last year when Gasso starting Gascoigne in game 2.

 

[default]

A few observations:

1) Was it Mendoza that was going on about how she always went 'all out' for her number 1 pitcher? How would you like to be the number 2 knowing that Mendoza is out there mailing it in?

2) How classy is Jaclyn Traina? Her ineffectiveness in the series pretty much boils down to not getting that inside corner call. That would have destroyed some pitchers, but she never stopped smiling, gave up, or stopped supporting her teammates. I was sure to point this out to the DD.

3) After hearing Walton's explanation, not starting Rogers was a no brainer. She didn't appear to be quite as sharp last night as she was on Monday, so he obviously knows his pitcher. Had he burned her in game 2, and they lost, he would really be in trouble in game 3 facing a motivated Bama team with the same problem of having his stud pitcher with no rest.

 

[default]

Surely these team's number 2 pitchers are pretty good, better than some may give them credit for. Good enough that on certain days they are better than the number 1 in some situations. The #1 is tired, mentally and physically. And very importantly, the opposition has seen her multiple times throughout the year since they conference rivals. At some point, you run out of things to fool the hitters on because they have already seen everything you have. Take that familiarity combined with being slightly less effective due to fatigue and that #1 might not look so good. The hitters are good enough to win the battle sometimes, why not let them see something different.

Throwing a tired #1 in a Sunday championship game works when you have a team that has never seen her or has only seen her a little. In college, maybe not so much and it played out just like that.

 

[default]

Rogers pitches to contact, so her pitch counts aren't as high as most #1 pitchers. For example, she only threw 80 pitches in game 1. This also positively affects how the defense plays behind her as they expect the ball to be hit on every pitch. Pitchers that typically go to long counts that result in mostly K's and walks aren't going to get the same level of defense behind them.

I don't think fatigue was as big of a factor as familiarity in starting Rogers in back-to-back games against the same team. She successfully pitched consecutive days plenty of times in the postseason, just not against the same team. Florida has a very talented staff and Walton found they were more successful overall by mixing them in multigame series.