Softball

[SoonerSpock]

You mean if Shay's liner to right, which DID drop, had been called correctly, don't you?

The ruling was it was caught and getting good calls or bad calls by the umps is part of the game. Those are part of the breaks you need to win a series of 5-7 games against the top talent in the WCWS. It is part of the game. Always has been and always will be just as it should be.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

Latest RPI Rankings have OU at #2 ...

https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/softball/d1/ncaa-womens-softball-rpi

 

[Sweetest OU Girl]

The ruling was it was caught and getting good calls or bad calls by the umps is part of the game. Those are part of the breaks you need to win a series of 5-7 games against the top talent in the WCWS. It is part of the game. Always has been and always will be just as it should be.

No doubt bad calls are "part of the game".

But they cannot be reasonably called breaks. That would suggest mistakes by those on the court are just breaks for the other team.

So a player misses a shot. Is that just a break or is it a poor shot?

Every player on team A is better than every player on team B. Team A outplays team B and wins. Did they win by "breaks" or by playing better?

If an official makes a bad call there are all kinds of reasons it can happen. But it is a mistake - not a break. And that error can determine the outcome. But it wasn't a break for the loser. Anymore than bad play is just a bunch of bad breaks for the loser.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

The term "bad breaks" has been a term used in sports ever since I was a kid watching Micky Mantle play baseball. It has often been used as a "catch-all" phrase to describe almost any type of "unusual" game-changing occurrence, no matter what the cause (bad call, error, turnover, bad bounce of a ground ball, fan interference, etc.). Of course, these game-changing occurrences are not unusual at all. They do not happen on every drive, possession or at-bat; but they can happen a few times during a contest.

And no, taking a bad shot is not a bad break. That is a bad decision or a poor play.

Maybe it is a generational thing? I am an old American, so I know what someone means when they say "that was a bad break." The phrase is part of Americana. An Englishman probably would not have a clue what it means, even though all the words come out of the English dictionary.

Like right now, I am "running off at the mouth" .. although I am doing it on my keyboard. I seem to do this more and more as I age. Maybe it is these Founders All-Day IPAs I am drinking. Those folks in Grand Rapids, Michigan sure know how to brew. And for me, that is a good break.

 

[bob the nailer]

Why should bad calls be a part of the game? Baseball has begun using replay on a limited basis, why not softball. If they are worried about the game being too long, how about trimming the ridiculous number of commercials and time between innings. I love the CWS but the time between innings is torture if you are at the game. But if the technology exists to be sure that egregiously bad calls do not occur, it's time to use it.

Say it's the bottom of the seventh, Sooners batting, trail UCLA 5-4, bases loaded two outs, alo on third, clifton on second, knighten on first. Game 3 of the CWS championship series, tied 1 game each
Sidney hits a scorching shot to left center, the left fielder dives, its a close play, she's called out, game over right- but replay clearly shows she trapped it. Too bad, bad break bad call part of the game? No way. Fixable mistakes should be fixed

 

[SoonerSpock]

Why should bad calls be a part of the game? Baseball has begun using replay on a limited basis, why not softball. If they are worried about the game being too long, how about trimming the ridiculous number of commercials and time between innings. I love the CWS but the time between innings is torture if you are at the game. But if the technology exists to be sure that egregiously bad calls do not occur, it's time to use it.

Say it's the bottom of the seventh, Sooners batting, trail UCLA 5-4, bases loaded two outs, alo on third, clifton on second, knighten on first. Game 3 of the CWS championship series, tied 1 game each
Sidney hits a scorching shot to left center, the left fielder dives, its a close play, she's called out, game over right- but replay clearly shows she trapped it. Too bad, bad break bad call part of the game? No way. Fixable mistakes should be fixed

To each his own. I am not a supporter of replay in any sport. I consider all games a contest of human execution and human error of which officiating is just one aspect. I want to keep all of the human element in the game. The evolution of replay will be virtually everything is reviewed with the advancement of technology and desire of some for officiating to be without error. Rather than have selective replay which is subjective I say have no replay.

Replay in its present form continually has diagreement on what conclusive beyond a reasonable doubt so only occasionally does replay resolve the issue. Hire the best officials available and let them make the calls. I think that is best for the game. JMHO.

 

[SoonerSpock]

Updated national statistical rankings through 3-24-19


Stat--------------------Rank-------Value
Batting Average---------1---------0.368
Earned Run Average----1---------1.13
Fielding Percentage-----3---------0.984
Doubles per Game------8---------1.84
Triples per Game--------T-128----0.16
Home Runs per game---3---------1.77
Scoring------------------3----------7.74
Slugging Percentage----2---------0.654
Stolen Bases per Game-T-139----1.00
WL Percentage----------3---------0.935
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio-3---------6.28
Double Plays per Game-176------0.26

OU has 7 starters with a BA of .383-.437, 5-11 HR's and 20-31 rbi's. 8 starters have an OBP of .439-.536 and a SLG% of .623-.835. That is very balanced hitting that makes for big innings. Five starters have a higher SLG% than Jocelyn Alo's .638. Our 3 pitchers with starts have a 0.88, 1.01 and 1.43 era's. Team era is 1.13. Last year it was 1.12 for the season.

ouwomensbb.boards.net/thread/1916/softball-team-statistics-national-rankings?page=1&scrollTo=8243

The Sooners continue to play outstanding softball in every facet of the game.

 

[sybarite]

I wouldn't mind seeing a replay review in the CWS, although I'm not as impressed by the camera work in softball as in pro baseball or pro football. We don't always get the views that we need since we don't really pay for highly professional crews. But, some of the biggest problems arise from within those replay booths, e.g., Oregon football when an Oregon booster was allowed to make the calls that turned a game into a disgrace.

But, a large part of softball officiating is non-reviewable. Strikes and balls are not reviewable, and the zone is often a very defining issue in a game. An umpire may take a pitch away from a pitcher. Whether an umpire gives a pitcher the low pitch may define her ability to control the strike zone. Similarly, some get the rise ball called a strike. Others not. The one that seems to have more variability is the corner. It may disappear for one pitcher as opposed to the other. There is no way to combat a changing zone. That 72-73 mph fastball at the knees was not called for Paige last year in the CWS. She was more at risk if she had to bring it up six inches. I can remember one umpire who refused to call Keilani's cropduster.

Every pitch involves the strike zone, and it is nonreviewable.

 

[scrybe]

To each his own. I am not a supporter of replay in any sport. I consider all games a contest of human execution and human error of which officiating is just one aspect. I want to keep all of the human element in the game. The evolution of replay will be virtually everything is reviewed with the advancement of technology and desire of some for officiating to be without error. Rather than have selective replay which is subjective I say have no replay.

Replay in its present form continually has diagreement on what conclusive beyond a reasonable doubt so only occasionally does replay resolve the issue. Hire the best officials available and let them make the calls. I think that is best for the game. JMHO.

Perhaps you could work us up some statistics showing what percentage of games would be ruined if instant replay is adopted. Or maybe show how instant replay could damage the RPI of SEC teams. Or how about this: If instant replay is shown on a big screen TV in the forest, and no one is there to watch it, could it then be overturned?

LOL. Just messing with you, Spock.

 

[sybarite]

6:00 on Foxsports. In Dallas, it is on UVerse 649 and 757. I think Baylor/Texas is on 648 at 6:00.

This could be a trap game. Tulsa is #22 on the rpis, having beaten Oklahoma State and Ole Miss, among others. They are dangerous.

The midweek games are generating reason for caution this week. After being swept at Ohio State, Indiana just lost another in a midweek game against Louisville. After being swept at home by unlikely Missouri, Kentucky just got knocked off in a midweek game by Western Kentucky. Arkansas must have still been celebrating a win in Knoxville when they went to Arlington yesterday and split with UTA. It's not safe to take these teams lightly.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

"It's not safe to take these teams lightly."

Thankfully, the OU softball program does not seem to do this very often. But I agree that Tulsa is not chopped liver. The game should be worth a watch.

 

[Speedy17]

6:00 on Foxsports. In Dallas, it is on UVerse 649 and 757. I think Baylor/Texas is on 648 at 6:00.

This could be a trap game. Tulsa is #22 on the rpis, having beaten Oklahoma State and Ole Miss, among others. They are dangerous.

The midweek games are generating reason for caution this week. After being swept at Ohio State, Indiana just lost another in a midweek game against Louisville. After being swept at home by unlikely Missouri, Kentucky just got knocked off in a midweek game by Western Kentucky. Arkansas must have still been celebrating a win in Knoxville when they went to Arlington yesterday and split with UTA. It's not safe to take these teams lightly.

Oops, another 4 home runs and a 43rd win in a row at home. Did I say run rule 10-1.

 

[sybarite]

This was a weird game. Five errors. We had two runs before we had a hit. They indicated that Tulsa was not great at scoring runs. You look at the teams that they have beaten, like OSU, Arkansas, Ole Miss, and you have to wonder how they did it without hitting. They seemed to have the ability to make contact.

We had four home runs. But, three were solo. We only had hits to drive in runs twice. Strange night.

 

[TulsaWorld]

From our latest in-state college softball update...

Freshman Grace Green, the reigning Big 12 player of the week, belted a two-run home run in the fifth inning Wednesday to finish off No. 2 Oklahoma’s 10-1 run-rule victory over Tulsa in Norman.

Grace was 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Sydney Romero clubbed two solo homers and Grace Lyons also hit a solo shot for the Sooners (30-2), who ran their winning streak to 20 games in a row.

OU’s Nicole Mendes officially was 0-for-0, but she had two RBIs with a bases-loaded walk and a sacrifice fly.

TU’s (21-10) lone run came in the top of the fifth when freshman Josie Muffley singled home Tori Stafford.

OU starter Giselle Juarez (14-0) went 3⅔ innings, allowed one hit, struck out five and walked one. Mariah Lopez finished up, giving up one run on four hits in 1⅓ innings.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

This Weekend ... Oklahoma @ Utah (2 Games)

> 3PM Saturday
> 1PM Sunday

It appears that the only way to watch these games is on a pay site .. Pac-12 Live Stream.

Utah (13-18) is ranked #112 in the RPI
> Road: 1-5
> Neutral: 10-12
> Home: 2-1

Game Notes from Utah
https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.si...2019/2/12/2019_Utah_Softball_Game_Notes_2.pdf

 

[bob the nailer]

I throw myself upon the mercy of the court. After watching the bedlam baseball game, in which replay figured prominently, my opinion regarding replay could not have been more wrong. It distracted from the game, made it last longer than it already did, even my cowboy friend at the game, where OSU benefitted greatly from a (correct) replay overturning and incorrect call, said the game was interminable.

 

[OUALUMinTX]

Looks like PAC-12 Plus is going to carry the games for free on Facebook and their app.

 

[TulsaWorld]

Latest on OU softball from Eric Bailey...

Record: 30-2

Looking ahead: No. 2 Oklahoma heads west for a nonconference series at Utah on Saturday and Sunday.

Looking back: OU’s win streak has reached 20 games after a Big 12 sweep at Texas Tech and a mid-week win over visiting Tulsa.

Notable: The Sooners lead the nation with a .371 batting average and are second in team ERA (1.14). … Sydney Romero (.443), Falepolima Aviu (.422), Grace Green (.420) and Shay Knighten (.403) lead the offensive attack. … Mariah Lopez (11-1, 0.96 ERA), Shannon Saile (5-1, 1.01) and Giselle Juarez (14-0, 1.36) pace the pitching staff.

 

[sybarite]

Final

Texas 0
Oklahoma State 1

I thought this would be an interesting series. Texas isn't a high-scoring offense against good pitching. They have had some 1-0, 2-0 type games.

 

[OURed]

OU and Utah will now play a double header on Sunday due to inclement weather. Also, OSU just beat Texas 1-0. OSU scored a run in the bottom of the 7th. Texas made a throwing error to set up the winning run.:OU-logo: