Yep. Both seem like good kids and they deserve to be at a program where they can contribute. The competition for playing time at OU tends to eliminate all but the most talented players.
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Yep. Both seem like good kids and they deserve to be at a program where they can contribute. The competition for playing time at OU tends to eliminate all but the most talented players.
SoonerSpock
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2018 WCWS Statistical Rankings
I had to wait for some time to pass before analyzing the final stats for the NCAA tournament and the WCWS but it does tell us that we really failed as team top to bottom on the offensive end. It is difficult to accept but OU choked as a team at the plate in the WCWS except for Alo. Especially after ranking 2nd in scoring and OBP, 1st in slugging%, 4th in HR/g and 9th in BA going into the tournament.
I am inclined to think that either the pressure to 3 peat may have gotten too the girls or that playing in the Big 12 did not have us ready to play against top quality pitching coming into the WCWS. To have 6 girls that hit .292 for the season all fail to hit above .250 it too much of an anomaly otherwise.
We hit .220 as a team with only Alo (.500) hitting above .250. Mendes hit .250 and everyone else .231 or lower. Meanwhile as a team OU had the best ERA with a 1.04. We also ranked first in strikeouts to walks ratio.
Paige Parker gave us her typical WCWS performance finishing 1st among WCWS pitchers in shutouts, 2nd in strikeouts to walks ratio, walks allowed per 7 innings and victories. She also 3rd in strikeouts. Just a little support at the plate and we could have easily made the final series.
Offensively we ranked 7th among the 8 teams in batting average, doubles/game (.25/g), home runs/game (.50/g) and OBP (.278) We ranked last among the WCWS in scoring (1.0 r/g) and slugging % (290). And although we dropped about 18 percentage points in fielding during the tournament we still ranked #2 in fielding with a .972 so really we were strong defensively in the WCWS.
I had to wait for some time to pass before analyzing the final stats for the NCAA tournament and the WCWS but it does tell us that we really failed as team top to bottom on the offensive end. It is difficult to accept but OU choked as a team at the plate in the WCWS except for Alo. Especially after ranking 2nd in scoring and OBP, 1st in slugging%, 4th in HR/g and 9th in BA going into the tournament.
I am inclined to think that either the pressure to 3 peat may have gotten too the girls or that playing in the Big 12 did not have us ready to play against top quality pitching coming into the WCWS. To have 6 girls that hit .292 for the season all fail to hit above .250 it too much of an anomaly otherwise.
We hit .220 as a team with only Alo (.500) hitting above .250. Mendes hit .250 and everyone else .231 or lower. Meanwhile as a team OU had the best ERA with a 1.04. We also ranked first in strikeouts to walks ratio.
Paige Parker gave us her typical WCWS performance finishing 1st among WCWS pitchers in shutouts, 2nd in strikeouts to walks ratio, walks allowed per 7 innings and victories. She also 3rd in strikeouts. Just a little support at the plate and we could have easily made the final series.
Offensively we ranked 7th among the 8 teams in batting average, doubles/game (.25/g), home runs/game (.50/g) and OBP (.278) We ranked last among the WCWS in scoring (1.0 r/g) and slugging % (290). And although we dropped about 18 percentage points in fielding during the tournament we still ranked #2 in fielding with a .972 so really we were strong defensively in the WCWS.
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SoonerSpock
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Norman Transcripts' John McKelveyVerified account @John_McKelvey 4h4 hours ago
Multiple sources have confirmed that longtime #Sooners softball assistant coach Melyssa Lombardi is interviewing for a HC position out of state. P.S. the Oregon #Ducks job is still open....
Multiple sources have confirmed that longtime #Sooners softball assistant coach Melyssa Lombardi is interviewing for a HC position out of state. P.S. the Oregon #Ducks job is still open....
I'll be happy for Missy if she is offered and accepts the job. She's not only a great coach but from everything I've been told about her, she's also a quality person.
Of course, the OU fan in me is still hoping she stays put.
Not trying to be overly critical, but you are so completely hung up on statistics that you almost always elevate them above all else, even life experience and common sense.
Hitting poorly as a team in the WCWS, which the Sooners absolutely did, does not necessarily mean the players "choked." You've got to know, as long as you've been around sports, that even good players/teams can slump at the most inopportune times. It happens in softball and in baseball, even at the highest level of those sports.
And how can you believe that the Sooners poor hitting in the WCWS has anything to do with having played in the Big 12? Do you not realize that OU also played in the Big 12 each of the previous five years – and still managed to win three WCWS titles?
Any reasonably intelligent person who has watched OU play softball over the last three years should have worked it out in their own mind that the Sooner players who failed to win their third consecutive national title are capable of at least some success against elite pitchers. Referring to their lack of success in the 2018 WCWS as "choking" does these remarkable young ladies a disservice.
The total dependence on analyzing statistics as a way to explain the outcome of every series, every game, even every at-bat absolutely blows my mind.
Anyway, rant over. Carry on.
bob the nailer
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You mean if those base hits that were called out but weren't were correctly called? After that I agree with your premise
SoonerSpock
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To each his own. You prefer to use what you have worked out in his own mind. I prefer the numbers that tell us exactly what really happened not what we perceived should have happened. Any team is capable of having a bad series against anyone. And FSU won the WCWS not because they were the best team but the hottest team. But the label choked when referencing how a team hit the ball for 4 games against quality pitching could be applied to what the Sooners did at the plate with the money on the line. And it wasn't just Romero hitting .143 it was Mendes .250, Aviu .167, Clifton .222, Arnold .167, Knighten .231 and Pendley .154. That is seven OU hitters hitting .109-.160 below their season BA while only 1 hit their season BA or better.
When the two time defending champion with its entire lineup returning except for 1 player who was replaced by the NFPOY scores only 4 runs in 4 games against 3 different teams in the biggest tournament of the year while having the best hitting club in the game they choked, period.
Coming off the regular season the Sooners ranked #1 in slg% with a .532 ave in the WCWS they ranked 8th of 8 with a .290. OBP dropped from #2 nationally at .424 tr/g o 7th in the Series. We were #2 is scoring averaging 6.6 in the WCWS #8 averaging 1.0. Ditto BA with a #9 ranking .321 during the season and a #7 ranking .220 in the Series. Those numbers tell us exactly what we did in OKC but I know in your own mind you imagine something else.
I think a counter argument to choking might be that the pitching faced was better than the hitters. For certain great pitching normally beats great hitting and the 2018 season would indicate the Sooners had difficulty against great pitching. OU played 7 games against 5 top 10 teams. There record was 3-4.
In those 7 games they scored only 11 runs and 7 of those were scored in one regular season game against ASU. In the other 6 games against the top 10 they scored a total of 4 runs and were SHUTOUT 4 times. You can ignore the numbers if you choose but the facts are the Sooners did not consistently hit the best pitchers on the best teams and in 2018 they had a losing record against those teams as a result.
What you speak of is your opinion what I speak of is OU results with my thoughts of perhaps why. One of which is the hitters choked when provided the opportunity to step up. And I am not talking about 3-peating. That was going to take some luck in addition to quality play but the hitters were not competitive in any fashion. They scored only 1 run in 4 different innings in 4 games. That is 1 run/game. For certain I can provide more than just some evidence supporting my position like it or not. But it too is still just an opinion. What is your evidence for your position?
Playing the not so good Big 12 schedule definitely does not hone your hitting skills like playing against multiple quality pitchers in the Pac 12 or SEC. Aside from OU's staff Baylor's Rodoni and Texas' Von Sprecken and Bolinger there was little quality pitching in the Big 12 and Rodoni was very inconsistent and Von Sprecken lost 11 games. The SEC and Pac 12 had 7 or more pitchers in each conference superior to any of those three.
Moreover I am not speaking about what the Sooners were capable of doing as are you, I am speaking about what they actualy did. Do I think they were the best team in the country? Perhaps but I am not certain and the 2018 WCWS created even more doubt in my mind. Great teams step up when given the opportunity. We did so in 2016 and 2017 we didn't in 2018.
Can OU hit quality pitching? Against such in 2018 there is some question. What the Sooners did it 2017 had no bearing on what they did in 2018. They are two different teams. And were ifs and buts candy and nuts we would all have a Merry Christmas.
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SoonerSpock
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But they didn't and we got beat. Had Shay not have hit a home run in 2015 and a double in 2016 we might still be looking for our 3rd natty. Ifs and buts are excuses used by losers.
Generally speaking when you win you are fortunate and when you lose you are unfortunate because things went or didn't go your way. Sometimes you get hot and play above your head like FSU did this year and score 39 runs in 7 games. Other times you don't perform at the plate and get only 22 hits scoring only 4 runs in 4 games. It is what it is.
OU did not play to their skill level and were shutout twice. They deserved to go home early. I think our hitters choked as a team while our pitching was outstanding. But you win as a team and you lose as a team. We are both entitled to have different opinions.
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Thank you!
SoonerSpock
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Per Merriam-Webster
choked; choking
transitive verb
1 : to check or block normal breathing of by compressing or obstructing the trachea or by poisoning or adulterating available air The unwary guard was choked to death by a prisoner.
2 a : to check or hinder the growth, development, or activity of The flowers were choked by the weeds.
b : to obstruct by filling up or clogging Leaves choked the drain.
c : to fill completely : jam roads choked with traffic
3 : to enrich the fuel mixture of (a motor) by partially shutting off the air intake of the carburetor
4 : to grip (something, such as a baseball bat) some distance from the end of the handle —usually used with up The batter choked up the bat and cut down his swing.
intransitive verb
1 : to become choked in breathing He choked on a bone.
2 a : to become obstructed or checked
b : to become or feel constricted (see constrict 1) in the throat (as from strong emotion) —usually used with up choked up and couldn't finish the speech
3 : to shorten one's grip especially on the handle of a bat —usually used with up
4 : to lose one's composure and fail to perform effectively in a critical situation had a chance to win the game but he choked
See choke defined for English-language learners
Team Ranking among 2018 WCWS participants:
Batting Average---7th---.220
OBP----------------7th---.278
Home Runs--------7th---0.50/g
SLG%--------------8th---.290
Scoring-------------8th---1.0
Hands down the worst hitting team in OKC. It is what it is. Choked!
choked; choking
transitive verb
1 : to check or block normal breathing of by compressing or obstructing the trachea or by poisoning or adulterating available air The unwary guard was choked to death by a prisoner.
2 a : to check or hinder the growth, development, or activity of The flowers were choked by the weeds.
b : to obstruct by filling up or clogging Leaves choked the drain.
c : to fill completely : jam roads choked with traffic
3 : to enrich the fuel mixture of (a motor) by partially shutting off the air intake of the carburetor
4 : to grip (something, such as a baseball bat) some distance from the end of the handle —usually used with up The batter choked up the bat and cut down his swing.
intransitive verb
1 : to become choked in breathing He choked on a bone.
2 a : to become obstructed or checked
b : to become or feel constricted (see constrict 1) in the throat (as from strong emotion) —usually used with up choked up and couldn't finish the speech
3 : to shorten one's grip especially on the handle of a bat —usually used with up
4 : to lose one's composure and fail to perform effectively in a critical situation had a chance to win the game but he choked
See choke defined for English-language learners
Team Ranking among 2018 WCWS participants:
Batting Average---7th---.220
OBP----------------7th---.278
Home Runs--------7th---0.50/g
SLG%--------------8th---.290
Scoring-------------8th---1.0
Hands down the worst hitting team in OKC. It is what it is. Choked!
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I think you need to get a grip. Geez!
It does seem he has amped up the volume of his protests to an extreme level, doesn't it?
SoonerTraveler
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OUALUMinTX
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This year will be interesting with a new pitching coach and inexperienced pitchers. Have heard Gascoigne‘s name mentioned as a replacement. Will also be interesting to see how well Texas does.
Fire Gasso? Seems that is the only logical next step for you, given your posts recently.
soonermike22
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My opinion is that anyone who thinks this softball team is good enough to win 2 of the last 3 college world series, and then thinks they are chokers is delusional. No sports "hero" can hit the winner every time. Look at Michael Jordan, any baseball player or team. Can't happen. 2 out of 3 is tremendous. Enjoy and forget the choke delusion
Surely you heard: If he hadn't choked repeatedly, Jordan would have won many more NBA titles.