Pitching

[j2d2]

After Ricketts and Gascoigne graduated Kelsey was on board and Patty had recruited two more pitchers. One of them transferred and the other either transferred or quit softball. As my unreliable memory recalls. We rode Kelsey all season in 2014 but it took something out of her and she couldnt control her pitches last year so Patty recruited Chestnut and Finney both having excellent credentials. It took even Kelani two years to become competitive. The one year that we had only Kelsey has killed us. Now Patty has recruited two pitchers that were rated #1. One dropped only because of injury. So next year we will have Paige, Chestnut, Finney, Olmos and Lopez. Next year. This next game will measure the grit in this young team. Our bats need to show up.

 

[bluesooner17]

2013 Pitchers:
Georgia Casey R/R INF/RHP So. Sydney, Australia (Mount St. Benedict College)
Michelle Gascoigne R/L LHP Sr. Benicia, Calif. (Benicia HS)
Taylor Hodges R/R RHP Fr. McAlester, Okla. (McAlester HS)
Leslie Miller R/R RHP Fr. Blanchard, Okla. (Blanchard HS)
Keilani Ricketts L/L LHP Sr. San Jose, Calif. (Archbishop Mitty HS)

2014 Pitchers:
Georgia Casey R/R INF/RHP Jr. Sydney, Australia (Mount St. Benedict College)
Taylor Hodges R/R RHP So. McAlester, Okla. (McAlester HS)
Leslie Miller R/R RHP So. Blanchard, Okla. (Blanchard HS)
Shelby Pendley L/R INF/RHP Jr. Rio Rancho, N.M. (University of Arizona)
Kelsey Stevens R/R RHP 5-10 So. Albuquerque, N.M. (Stanford)

2015 Pitchers:
Taylor Hodges R/R RHP Jr. McAlester, Okla. (McAlester HS)
Leslie Miller R/R RHP Jr. Blanchard, Okla. (Blanchard HS)
Paige Parker L/L LHP Fr. Independence, Mo. (Truman HS)
Shelby Pendley L/R INF/RHP Sr. Rio Rancho, N.M. (University of Arizona)
Kelsey Stevens R/R RHP Jr. Albuquerque, N.M. (Stanford)
*Georgia Casey was listed as an INF only

2016 Pitchers:
Jayden Chestnut R/R RHP Fr. Mustang, Okla. (Mustang HS)
Brittany Finney R/R RHP Fr. Wichita, Kan. (Bishop Carroll Catholic HS)
Paige Parker L/L LHP So. Independence, Mo. (Truman HS)
Kelsey Stevens R/R RHP 5-10 Sr. Albuquerque, N.M. (Stanford)

 

[j2d2]

I know that Casey, Hodges and Miller were listed as pitchers. If they actually pitched more that 3 innings I dont remember. I cant believe that I'd forgotten that Shelby provided rescue service for Kelsey in 2015. There were still two more that were signed but never competed I cant remember.

 

[Speedy17]

After Ricketts and Gascoigne graduated Kelsey was on board and Patty had recruited two more pitchers. One of them transferred and the other either transferred or quit softball. As my unreliable memory recalls. We rode Kelsey all season in 2014 but it took something out of her and she couldnt control her pitches last year so Patty recruited Chestnut and Finney both having excellent credentials. It took even Kelani two years to become competitive. The one year that we had only Kelsey has killed us. Now Patty has recruited two pitchers that were rated #1. One dropped only because of injury. So next year we will have Paige, Chestnut, Finney, Olmos and Lopez. Next year. This next game will measure the grit in this young team. Our bats need to show up.

Say what, She went 32-10 with a 1.24 ERA as a frosh and shut down Washington in Game 1 of the Supers beating the National Player of the Year Danielle Laurie 2-0 before OU lost the series in Seattle. Washington went on to win the national title. In 2011, she struggle to a 1.48 ERA and took the team minus her catcher Shults to the WCWS for the first time in like 7 years. Yeah, her junior and senior years were historic but she was great from day 1 and not just competitive but dominant.

 

[scrybe]

After Ricketts and Gascoigne graduated Kelsey was on board and Patty had recruited two more pitchers. One of them transferred and the other either transferred or quit softball. As my unreliable memory recalls. We rode Kelsey all season in 2014 but it took something out of her and she couldnt control her pitches last year so Patty recruited Chestnut and Finney both having excellent credentials. It took even Kelani two years to become competitive. The one year that we had only Kelsey has killed us. Now Patty has recruited two pitchers that were rated #1. One dropped only because of injury. So next year we will have Paige, Chestnut, Finney, Olmos and Lopez. Next year. This next game will measure the grit in this young team. Our bats need to show up.

With all due respect, I don't believe making it to the WCWS championship series exactly qualifies us for "killed" status.

 

[Speedy17]

I know that Casey, Hodges and Miller were listed as pitchers. If they actually pitched more that 3 innings I dont remember. I cant believe that I'd forgotten that Shelby provided rescue service for Kelsey in 2015. There were still two more that were signed but never competed I cant remember.

Georgia never panned out as a pitcher but was a great 2B/SS. Taylor Dewberry Hodges was great travel ball and HS in Oklahoma but was ordinary and not elite. Leslie Miller was from Blanchard and did not have the stuff on the mound but I did see her hit an impossible homer to beat Baylor in Waco against a 35 mph wind. They also signed Maggie Hamm who won 42 for Butler CC and had transferred from ULL but she was a total bust and did not pitch at OU except in Fall ball.

By the way, Kelsey was the reason OU made the WCWS in 2014. She 38 games and started 50 games which are both OU school records. Somewhere she lost the mental makeup. Yes, I agree with anybody who says that if we were not going to pitch Paige yesterday, it should have been Jayden. However, Kelsey didn't lose the game, the team did.

 

[j2d2]

It killed us because there was no one in training behind her. She pitched very well. It was the following years that killed us when Kelsey failed and there was only Shelby to fall back on.

 

[tycat947]

Georgia never panned out as a pitcher but was a great 2B/SS. Taylor Dewberry Hodges was great travel ball and HS in Oklahoma but was ordinary and not elite. Leslie Miller was from Blanchard and did not have the stuff on the mound but I did see her hit an impossible homer to beat Baylor in Waco against a 35 mph wind. They also signed Maggie Hamm who won 42 for Butler CC and had transferred from ULL but she was a total bust and did not pitch at OU except in Fall ball.

By the way, Kelsey was the reason OU made the WCWS in 2014. She 38 games and started 50 games which are both OU school records. Somewhere she lost the mental makeup. Yes, I agree with anybody who says that if we were not going to pitch Paige yesterday, it should have been Jayden. However, Kelsey didn't lose the game, the team did.

+1

 

[SoonerSpock]

Speedy, I have been trying to get info on Lopez's performance her senior year after her injury and can find nothing on the internet. Olmos, no problem. Do you have any info on Mariah?

 

[Speedy17]

Speedy, I have been trying to get info on Lopez's performance her senior year after her injury and can find nothing on the internet. Olmos, no problem. Do you have any info on Mariah?

Here is an article talking about how she did rehab. You can follow her HS's twitter feed and her Maxpreps feed is below.

http://www.dailynews.com/sports/201...us-softball-come-full-circle-to-beat-valencia

http://www.sauguscenturionsoftball.com

http://www.maxpreps.com/athlete/mariah-lopez/wOIOcvTuEeKZ5AAmVebBJg/default.htm

 

[womenssports]

It killed us because there was no one in training behind her. She pitched very well. It was the following years that killed us when Kelsey failed and there was only Shelby to fall back on.

That would be last year, correct? And Paige was the starter and Shelby did pitch some. That was the year Kelsey just couldn't do what she had done the previous and then again this year.

I was wondering if instead of or in addition to, that Kelsey might have had some type of physical injury. Not necessarily one that would be obvious (and I certainly know nothing about this) but could a tendon, ligament, muscle, something just change....be not as strong, be lengthened, be in a slightly
different position and this cause a person to not be able to pitch as well.
Even if we haven't heard of it, I wouldn't doubt that it would be a condition
that could be found in the future. So much about the body that we do not know. LIKE I mentioned, just wondering.

 

[womenssports]

After Ricketts and Gascoigne graduated Kelsey was on board and Patty had recruited two more pitchers. One of them transferred and the other either transferred or quit softball. As my unreliable memory recalls. We rode Kelsey all season in 2014 but it took something out of her and she couldnt control her pitches last year so Patty recruited Chestnut and Finney both having excellent credentials. It took even Kelani two years to become competitive. The one year that we had only Kelsey has killed us. Now Patty has recruited two pitchers that were rated #1. One dropped only because of injury. So next year we will have Paige, Chestnut, Finney, Olmos and Lopez. Next year. This next game will measure the grit in this young team. Our bats need to show up.

Who is that? And is she not still coming to OU? Is that Mendes?

 

[sybarite]

Who is that? And is she not still coming to OU? Is that Mendes?

He is referring to the fact that Lopez had been rated as the top prospect in the nation for this year for a number of years. But, due to an injury, her rating dropped to #9. She is still coming to OU.

 

[Speedy17]

That would be last year, correct? And Paige was the starter and Shelby did pitch some. That was the year Kelsey just couldn't do what she had done the previous and then again this year.

I was wondering if instead of or in addition to, that Kelsey might have had some type of physical injury. Not necessarily one that would be obvious (and I certainly know nothing about this) but could a tendon, ligament, muscle, something just change....be not as strong, be lengthened, be in a slightly
different position and this cause a person to not be able to pitch as well.
Even if we haven't heard of it, I wouldn't doubt that it would be a condition
that could be found in the future. So much about the body that we do not know. LIKE I mentioned, just wondering.

It is a mental thing not a physical thing, she still has great stuff.

 

[tycat947]

It is a mental thing not a physical thing, she still has great stuff.

Speedy, do you think maybe she was overextended her first year? 38-9 record (47 total games). She broke school record for wins with 38th win so I guess Paige tied the record since she ended up 38-3 (41 games). I just wondered if maybe she wasn't emotionally exhausted after such a heavy load. Paige was 28-7 (35 games) as a freshman. I just wondered what would have happened from her 1st year to 2nd and pitching so many games was a thought that maybe it was too much.

 

[womenssports]

Thanks, Syb and Speedy, for responses.

 

[Speedy17]

Speedy, do you think maybe she was overextended her first year? 38-9 record (47 total games). She broke school record for wins with 38th win so I guess Paige tied the record since she ended up 38-3 (41 games). I just wondered if maybe she wasn't emotionally exhausted after such a heavy load. Paige was 28-7 (35 games) as a freshman. I just wondered what would have happened from her 1st year to 2nd and pitching so many games was a thought that maybe it was too much.

I know more than I can say publicly. She managed to have the mental make up in 2014 but she was shaky early in the season. She pitched a great game that OU won 1-0 vs. Tulsa then led the team to the WCWS. She knew that year that she was truly the only pitcher on the team that had reasonable stuff. For what ever reason, she just could not find the plate and that was in every situation. I saw her pitch in Lubbock and they gave her a 6-0 in the top of the first and she gave it back in the bottom. There was an absolute fear of pitching to contact. All that being said, Kelsey was a great Sooner and was the reason OU made it to the series in 2014.

Don't worry about Paige - she will be better next year.

 

[scrybe]

I know more than I can say publicly. She managed to have the mental make up in 2014 but she was shaky early in the season. She pitched a great game that OU won 1-0 vs. Tulsa then led the team to the WCWS. She knew that year that she was truly the only pitcher on the team that had reasonable stuff. For what ever reason, she just could not find the plate and that was in every situation. I saw her pitch in Lubbock and they gave her a 6-0 in the top of the first and she gave it back in the bottom. There was an absolute fear of pitching to contact. All that being said, Kelsey was a great Sooner and was the reason OU made it to the series in 2014.

Don't worry about Paige - she will be better next year.

I have no doubt she will. She was one of the top 8-10 pitchers in the U.S. her freshman year, and probably one of the 2-3 best this season. If she continues to improve at this rate, she may be unbeatable as a junior.

 

[tycat947]

I know more than I can say publicly. She managed to have the mental make up in 2014 but she was shaky early in the season. She pitched a great game that OU won 1-0 vs. Tulsa then led the team to the WCWS. She knew that year that she was truly the only pitcher on the team that had reasonable stuff. For what ever reason, she just could not find the plate and that was in every situation. I saw her pitch in Lubbock and they gave her a 6-0 in the top of the first and she gave it back in the bottom. There was an absolute fear of pitching to contact. All that being said, Kelsey was a great Sooner and was the reason OU made it to the series in 2014.

Don't worry about Paige - she will be better next year.

Thanks! I'm very proud of Kelsey as she could have given up this year and she was more consistent this year versus last. I'm also extremely happy that Patty didn't give up on Kelsey either. I think she did everything she could to help Kelsey get her control back and gave her chances to prove it time and time again. I applaud her for that!

Not worried about Paige at all. I expect she will be better next year, especially if Jayden and Brittany improve, like I think they will and Melanie and Mariah are as good as expected.