Softball

I can't believe that two great games were both won the same way.
---Alabama was shut out two times
---Both shutouts were won by Paige
---Both were won by walk-off home runs by Shay
---Shay and Osorio were teammates in summer ball
 
Unbelievable to do this again, as a freshman AND in CSWS setting! Great job, Shay!
 
Osorio is a great pitcher. Not taking anything away from her, but the ump was calling her rise ball a strike even though it was about eight inches out of the zone. He had no clue, but at least he was consistent. You probably also noticed that Paige could not get a call when her pitch was just above the knees on the Bama hitters.

Oh well, we won and that's all that matters. Paige Parker is every bit as good a pitcher as Osorio, and Knighten and Romero are better and more clutch than the the Tide hitters and their All-American centerfielder. Bama's days of pulling out close wins against the Sooners in the postseason are history.
 
Winning round one was big. We missed some opportunities to lay down some bunts and advance runners. We swung at some balls that were clearly out of the strike zone but so did they. Great pitching causes that.

Looking forward to the next game.
 
scrybe said:
Osorio is a great pitcher. Not taking anything away from her, but the ump was calling her rise ball a strike even though it was about eight inches out of the zone. He had no clue, but at least he was consistent. You probably also noticed that Paige could not get a call when her pitch was just above the knees on the Bama hitters.
Click to expand...

It did my heart good to see Patrick Murphy yelling about the strike zoze just before Knighton's dramatic bomb! As you said, Bama had benefited from the high strike zone earlier in the game, to our batter's detriment.
He is a guy who thinks that his team should get all of the close calls, apparently...

Now, if LSU can just knock off Michigan...
 
I thought the umpire was inconsistent. Sometimes, he called the high rise a ball. Sometimes, he called it a strike. Unfortunately, once he called it a strike, the hitter seemed to swing at it when it was high. The bad call set up the hitter to swing at bad pitches. So, the mistakes were useful to Bama. I was more irritated by the high changeup that got Knighten in the first at bat last night. That was clearly a ball, and Shay was smart to take it.

The one thing I had hoped was that we would have someone step up, like Shay. Sydney almost did. Bama is a bit too predictable. If you get the #1 and #3 hitters, they aren't likely to hurt you with the rest. They were more of a nuisance than a danger.

Paige and Osorio are both outstanding pitchers---perhaps the two best remaining in the CWS. LSU has a couple, but limited hitting. Michigan can be hit, and they haven't been blowing people out in the Super-regionals. The Missouri games were somewhat close.

I still think it is Michigan, OU, and Bama.
 
Osorio is a very good riseball pitcher and we historically cannot hit a riseball. Except for Shay and thank goodness for her. Our hitters need to step up and follow instructions because they will see more riseballs. Not Erin's best game at bat or in the field but it didnt hurt us. Watching the distance between our bats and Osorio's rise ball had me thinking it's gonna be a long night. Who knew an old man with COPD could hold his breath for 8 innings?
 
The umpire for the OU game was giving Osorio high pitches which made it much tougher because they couldn't let high pitches go because they were being called strikes. Really hard to hit that way.

The Michigan-LSU umpire was even worse. Less than postage stamp zone.

I think Osorio tired because she wasn't getting the rise to move as much the latter innings.
 
SoonerinNC said:
The umpire for the OU game was giving Osorio high pitches which made it much tougher because they couldn't let high pitches go because they were being called strikes. Really hard to hit that way.

The Michigan-LSU umpire was even worse. Less than postage stamp zone.

I think Osorio tired because she wasn't getting the rise to move as much the latter innings.
Click to expand...
I think her injury may have been bothering her more---control letdowns.
 
SoonerinNC said:
The umpire for the OU game was giving Osorio high pitches which made it much tougher because they couldn't let high pitches go because they were being called strikes. Really hard to hit that way.

The Michigan-LSU umpire was even worse. Less than postage stamp zone.

I think Osorio tired because she wasn't getting the rise to move as much the latter innings.
Click to expand...

I thought the Michigan/LSU ump had a wide strike zone often calling a pitch 2+" outside of the zone on both sides while seldom calling a strike on a pitch at the top or bottom of the zone. Her zone was drastically different the ump for our game. It was much to the advantage of the LSU pitcher.
 
I expect the Sooners to break through earlier in the game against Michigan. The Wolverines' pitcher has a really good rise ball -- almost as good as Osorio's -- but OU hitters were starting to get their timing worked out in the last three innings against Bama. As many rise balls as they've seen in the last 48 hours, I think the Sooners will be better prepared for it this time around.

On the other hand, Michigan is a better hitting team than Alabama, so OU will probably need to score a few more runs to win this one.
 
Osorio's rise ball moved more than the Michigan pitcher's did last night. At least as much spin and seemed to curve more. Also her control was much better. I think we will score some and will have to. Paige will need to be at her sharpest. Let's hope the ump is sharp sighted and not the same one that was behind the plate last night.
 
Osorio is the queen of the rise. Megan Betsa is nowehere near the strikeout artist that Osorio is. We scored about six or seven runs against her. They scored twelve off of Stevens. Betsa usually strikes out about 4-7. She usually gives up two to four runs against good teams. She will shut out a bad team. But, good teams do score off her.

Michigan's hitting is different from ours. They have about four really good hitters--really good. Then, they have decent hitters. It is difficult to get those four out. Yet, they have only scored about four, three, and two runs in their past three games against good pitching. Michigan vs Paige may prove interesting.

In big games, like the last seven or eight, they only start Betsa.
 
sybarite said:
Osorio is the queen of the rise. Megan Betsa is nowehere near the strikeout artist that Osorio is. We scored about six or seven runs against her. They scored twelve off of Stevens. Betsa usually strikes out about 4-7. She usually gives up two to four runs against good teams. She will shut out a bad team. But, good teams do score off her.

Michigan's hitting is different from ours. They have about four really good hitters--really good. Then, they have decent hitters. It is difficult to get those four out. Yet, they have only scored about four, three, and two runs in their past three games against good pitching. Michigan vs Paige may prove interesting.

In big games, like the last seven or eight, they only start Betsa.
Click to expand...


Betsa threw 3.0 inning, walked 2, gave up 7 hits, i double, 2 HR's (Knighten, Pendley) and 6 earned runs. She started the 4th inning but gave up the HR to Pendley and was relieved. We stole 4 bases.
 
Last edited:
j2d2 and syb: Those breakdowns of tonight's matchup were spot on, in my opinion. Tonight's game will present a different matchup problem for OU: pitching not as dominant, but hitting much better.

Once again, Paige will be key for the Sooners.
 
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