Oregon's pitcher is a strikeout king. They also have two hitters who have a high average and about twenty steals each. Speed at the top. Not as much power as some of the teams we have seen, but a lot of hitting. But, they didn't really dominate the Pacific Ten with pitching, more by hitting. Due to their schedule, it's difficult to say whether they really were a #1 quality seed.
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O-State2009
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Weren't Oklahoma and Baylor in the same scenario? Other than BU getting run-ruled by the best hitting team in the WCWS, the results have been the same for both teams so far.
SoonerNorm
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Yes, but Baylor was getting killed 7-0 before they scored 8 runs in the last 3 innings to win it. That was looking like their second blowout. The comeback puts the Big 12 in a better light. I think it will be difficult for OU or Baylor to win another game but at least both have represented well.
O-State2009
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Ah. I see. Everyone was talking about UF's great offense. And that is undeniable, but BU has put up UF-type offensive numbers today.
The Oregon unis are as bad as their football uniforms.
SoonerNorm
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SoonerNorm
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This game is not starting off well.
SoonerNorm
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Williams took 3 strikes with her bat on her shoulder for the third out with runners on 2nd and 3rd. Swing the bat!
I hate the "take a pitch" strategy with a pitcher like this. They are giving her the corner on both sides, and the first pitch has been down the middle at some key times. We just watched.
It also hurt with Vest at short instead of Casey. Jessica hasn't been there recently.
It also hurt with Vest at short instead of Casey. Jessica hasn't been there recently.
Keller Sooner
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Amen! Someone has to step up and come through with some clutch hits.
SoonerNorm
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Base running mistake by Casey.
It's one thing to miss a call that is close. But, that call wasn't even close. That was no error by Casey. That was an outright mistake by the umpire. She was there in plenty of time, and they didn't tag her. Thus, it couldn't be because she overslid the base. Bad call. Should have been first and second with nobody out.
SoonerNorm
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Gotta give it up to Hawkins, she pitched a really good game. I thought Stevens pitched well too. They were just a little better than we were with the bats.
Well, I wonder what would have happened if the umpire had made the right call. It went from pressure on the Oregon pitcher, a chance to put the winning run on second with a sacrifice, to putting the pressure back on OU to make something happen. Bad calls can hurt more than just that play. They can change momentum.
Keller Sooner
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Dang! We just couldn't come up with the key hit when we had runners in position. It was a good year though and I'm really proud of these kids.
Yes, but the really took the bat out of a left-handers hands with the consistent strike call on pitches that were about three to four inches outside. If she doesn't get that call all night long, she struggles with the strike zone.
I wonder if it is our stance. I find it interesting that the various softball teams have hitting coaches that tend to have everyone on their team use the same approach to hitting. Our power hitters use a wide stance that provides a base. I've never tried hitting from that type of stance, but I wonder if you can adjust easily to a high pitch or an outside pitch.
The Louisiana-Lafayette coach had everyone using a very open stance. You don't see a lot of people hitting to the opposite field or hitting the pitch on the outside corner. It also seemed to generate an inordinate number of hard foul balls on the third base side. At times, it seemed like they could hit anything that you threw up there, just ten feet foul.
I guess that I have seen a lot of great hitters, and no two seemed to do it exactly the same way. Ted Williams was said never to have swung at a bad pitch. I didn't see him until the end of his career, and he wasn't exactly the terror that he had been. He did have an eye for the strike zone. Ken Brett seemed to have that eye, as did Musial. Williams had an even stance. Musial had a pretty closed stance.
But, Rod Carew and Matty Alou could hit 350, and you never knew what they were going to swing at. Cabrera is about as good as you can get, and he does live on the strike zone. But, he does occasionally swing at the bad pitch. I don't see any of these hitters as having the same approach. They all have good plate coverage, and they seem to have been able to adjust their swing to the situation.
I notice that our slap hitters don't use the same stance as do Williams, Pendley, Casey, and Chamberlain. They are more upright and a bit more open. Obviously, I don't know why the various hitting coaches are so rigid in what they teach. I would like to ask them some questions about why they think their approach works.
The Louisiana-Lafayette coach had everyone using a very open stance. You don't see a lot of people hitting to the opposite field or hitting the pitch on the outside corner. It also seemed to generate an inordinate number of hard foul balls on the third base side. At times, it seemed like they could hit anything that you threw up there, just ten feet foul.
I guess that I have seen a lot of great hitters, and no two seemed to do it exactly the same way. Ted Williams was said never to have swung at a bad pitch. I didn't see him until the end of his career, and he wasn't exactly the terror that he had been. He did have an eye for the strike zone. Ken Brett seemed to have that eye, as did Musial. Williams had an even stance. Musial had a pretty closed stance.
But, Rod Carew and Matty Alou could hit 350, and you never knew what they were going to swing at. Cabrera is about as good as you can get, and he does live on the strike zone. But, he does occasionally swing at the bad pitch. I don't see any of these hitters as having the same approach. They all have good plate coverage, and they seem to have been able to adjust their swing to the situation.
I notice that our slap hitters don't use the same stance as do Williams, Pendley, Casey, and Chamberlain. They are more upright and a bit more open. Obviously, I don't know why the various hitting coaches are so rigid in what they teach. I would like to ask them some questions about why they think their approach works.
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It is very hard to win a NC without at least one great pitcher. Stevens is a good college pitcher but not great.
There are a few teams still alive with great pitchers and I expect one of them to win it all. Alabama probably has as good of a chance as anyone.
There are a few teams still alive with great pitchers and I expect one of them to win it all. Alabama probably has as good of a chance as anyone.
SoonerinNC
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Stevens is obviously a very good pitcher but not elite.
However, you are unlikely to advance very far with only 7 runs scored in 3 games.
I think the loss of Self and Chamberlains injury finally caught up with us.
However, you are unlikely to advance very far with only 7 runs scored in 3 games.
I think the loss of Self and Chamberlains injury finally caught up with us.
I agree with this. I think this was more than just the lack of a great pitcher. I don't know that there is a pitcher out there this year that will be able to compete against the best pros for the national team in softball. Traina and Ricketts made it, and Keilani pitched the championship game. But, at that level, they can hit Traina, and I don't know if there is anyone in college better than Traina.
Our real problem was that we went dry on offense. We couldn't buy a hit with a runner on base. Pendley hit two home runs, solos. Williams had one key hit. The other run was driven in by Vest. We had Chamberlain all over the bases, and nobody drove her in. We often had two runners on base. Last year, we won because the bottom of the order got a rally going that tied Tennessee after they took a 3-0 lead. But, there were no hits by Turang or Martinez this year. Everyone went into a slump at the same time. They could walk Chamberlain without suffering for it.
Due to a couple of misplays, Oregon scored four, two on a ground ball that Vest should have had. Why couldn't we score four?
We were fortunate in that we probably shouldn't have made it this far. Once I saw what we had late in the year, we were actually about as good as anyone. But, we did lose our best contact hitter. Kady was the best we had at just getting on base. Chamberlain hits the wall, for a single? Williams really didn't look good after injuring her shoulder. Her swing was off. OK. She had a home run, against a reliever, and a double. But, she was pretty ineffective on most at bats, and she had runners on base. We had injuries at the wrong time. Healthy, we are as good as anyone that I've seen here.