Game Thread Lady Vols Softball Team NCAA Regionals

#704
#704
armchair said:
2017 Recruiting Rankings

This and the ranking for 2016, 2019 are on page 3 of this site--the threads got pushed back quite a bit.
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Thanks for posting that link earlier to the site. I've been looking/searching around from that site all evening. I did post what that site has listed for our recruits for 2016, 2017, & 2019 a couple pages back.

Do you have any idea as to why they skip or don't have a thread for 2018 rankings? Why skip that year? That's weird.
 
#705
#705
We can't count out Bush coming in next season and pitching at this level some players just need time to adjust. It will certainly be the year she has to produce and I am hoping she can join Moss and Arnold to give us a solid three. Morrison also pitches and will also be trying for that third position. The huge surprise of this season was that Bush only pitched 15 innings her high school career was awesome hopefully she needed some time to get adjusted to this level.
 
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#706
#706
We are gonna find out what Bush is really made of for sure come next year. She's gonna have ample opportunities. Or it was all phantom injury that did her in this past year. Personally, I doubt she will ever be an elite SEC-level pitcher, but I could be wrong. Hope I am wrong..
 
#710
#710
LVJeff said:
Ralph says they are considering a junior college pitcher.

Pitching depth a question mark as UT softball looks ahead
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The Weeklys are the coaches and they know what they are doing, however I think saying 3 pitchers is needed is at least 1 and maybe 2 to few. I mean true pitchers in the sense of the word. No mention of Morrison either. Because of injury and non effectiveness we got caught by the short hairs I think. Morrison, Bush, Moss, Gabriel and Gaffin if needed did not suffice. we were just lucky Gaffin was an athlete in every sense of the word. I cannot fathom not recruiting at least 3 every 2 years. Since we did not recruit one with Gabriel then we should have got 3 that next year. To my knowledge we recruited none.
 
#711
#711
I interpreted his statement to mean 3 pitchers you can reliably start, not 3 pitchers total.
 
#712
#712
Dominant pitching is so vital to being a strong title contender...As fans we all hope the coaching team of Weekly and Weekly, can bring in some pitching talent to help Moss....

The Maryville pitcher Arnold, has all the credentials to be a success. She looks outstanding...Not sure what is going to happen to Bush or Morrison...Hopefully at least one of them, as a player, can be worthy of the name on their uniform...

I like the idea of getting a veteran pitcher from the JC ranks...It would help.
 
#713
#713
Well, it was odd that Bush was not put back on the mound after a couple of starts (I think) very early in the season and Morrison did not pitch at all. I suppose the Weeklys thought we had enough with the three pitchers we had; turns out we didn't, and coaches don't stick with pitchers as they used to. Apparently, the coaches went two years without recruiting a pitcher as we didn't have either a soph or junior on the staff. Or maybe they did and someone didn't pan out; don't know, but the bottom line is that when Gaffin got hurt we were caught short, and that, frankly, shouldn't happen with this program. Women's basketball, maybe (!)---but not softball.
 
#714
#714
LVJeff said:
I interpreted his statement to mean 3 pitchers you can reliably start, not 3 pitchers total.
Click to expand...

Jeff you may be right, except we did have 3 who could reliably start until Rainey got hit while batting. That is why I think 4 is better and 5 would be icing on the cake. We had the 3 he wanted but we still got caught with our pants down. Like another poster mentioned we should have never been in that tight of position anyway.
Thanks!
 
#715
#715
Guys, was Bush injured? If so was it a HS injury or did it happen at UT?

Whatever is going on with her, it must be significant...If we had got passed Zona for a second game, it did not look like Bush was even being considered.

With the Hush Hush Laws about injuries, I have no idea what is going on with her...Does anyone?
 
#716
#716
LVJeff said:
I interpreted his statement to mean 3 pitchers you can reliably start, not 3 pitchers total.
Click to expand...

Remember Gaffin was just a practice pitcher and not part of the rotation, but she pitched so well in practice they couldn't keep her down.

Most clubs have several pitchers that aren't part of the starting rotation...Ralph wants 3 strong pitchers, more than that would be a luxury.
 
#717
#717
GameTime said:
Guys, was Bush injured? If so was it a HS injury or did it happen at UT?

Whatever is going on with her, it must be significant...If we had got passed Zona for a second game, it did not look like Bush was even being considered.

With the Hush Hush Laws about injuries, I have no idea what is going on with her...Does anyone?
Click to expand...

I do not know but I am like you, it has not been mentioned by any one at all. Clearly she was not an option mid season on!
 
#718
#718
sccshortstop said:
Jeff you may be right, except we did have 3 who could reliably start until Rainey got hit while batting. That is why I think 4 is better and 5 would be icing on the cake. We had the 3 he wanted but we still got caught with our pants down. Like another poster mentioned we should have never been in that tight of position anyway.
Thanks!
Click to expand...

Right now there are three pitchers on the roster - Moss, Bush, and Morrison. Of the incoming freshman, at least two are pitchers - Arnold and Martin. Add in the juco transfer and that makes six pitchers. I believe the Weekly's hope to get three reliable starters out of those six.
 
#719
#719
armchair said:
Well, it was odd that Bush was not put back on the mound after a couple of starts (I think) very early in the season and Morrison did not pitch at all. I suppose the Weeklys thought we had enough with the three pitchers we had; turns out we didn't, and coaches don't stick with pitchers as they used to. Apparently, the coaches went two years without recruiting a pitcher as we didn't have either a soph or junior on the staff. Or maybe they did and someone didn't pan out; don't know, but the bottom line is that when Gaffin got hurt we were caught short, and that, frankly, shouldn't happen with this program. Women's basketball, maybe (!)---but not softball.
Click to expand...

There was nothing odd about it at all - half the batters she faced got on base, either via a hit or a walk.
 
#720
#720
LVJeff said:
Right now there are three pitchers on the roster - Moss, Bush, and Morrison. Of the incoming freshman, at least two are pitchers - Arnold and Martin. Add in the juco transfer and that makes six pitchers. I believe the Weekly's hope to get three reliable starters out of those six.
Click to expand...

Yep. Lets hope the JC transfer can be penciled in and Moss penciled in. Then we basically will have 2 sophmores, unless one or both is a Redshirt and 2 freshmen. I would think that it would shake out to be Arnold. Martin is a left hander who will get a chance to play ever day somewhere. Just my thinking .
 
#721
#721
LVJeff said:
Ralph says they are considering a junior college pitcher.

Pitching depth a question mark as UT softball looks ahead
Click to expand...

Ralph did seem indicate from that article he's not even considering Bush as a pitcher to use now. He said we needed 3 pitchers & I think that's right for SP's. 3 quality arms for 3 weekend series games against SEC opponents. We will have Moss & now Arnold for next season penciled in as starters it appears. That's what he meant I believe that those 2 are all we can count on come next season.

That's where the question about Bush comes into play for me. She should be the 3rd SP to depend on but it's like Ralph isn't even mentioning her. That points to me as some sort of medical issue still going on with her or she just can't handle playing in the SEC. There's got to be some answer as to why Bush wouldn't be considered one of our 3 SP's for next season.

It's like she's not even in consideration. That's puzzling to me. I do know that other than the Arnold girl a couple of incoming freshmen are listed as pitchers but not there primary position. So, if Bush isn't going to be pitching we could possibly have 2 incoming freshmen(besides Arnold) that could be used sparingly or as relief pitchers but probably not starters.

That would give us 4 pitchers in total but only 2 legit starters in Moss & Arnold. I see why Ralph & Karen are considering the JUCO option for possible players. I'm of course taking Bush out of the pitching equation completely for now with my analysis.

Moss & Arnold as the only starting pitchers isn't going to cut it. That means we are absolutely going to need either another incoming freshmen or a JUCO pitcher to help us out.

LVJeff said:
I interpreted his statement to mean 3 pitchers you can reliably start, not 3 pitchers total.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure that's exactly what he meant. 3 starters & that's what I was talking about above. We must have 3 heading into SEC play. One for each game of each series. This saves these girls arms too.

It's not good pitching one girl back-to-back days or even 2 out of 3 games if you ask me. It's hard on their arms. Especially for freshman who are not used to pitching 2 days in a row for the most part.

GameTime said:
Guys, was Bush injured? If so was it a HS injury or did it happen at UT?

Whatever is going on with her, it must be significant...If we had got passed Zona for a second game, it did not look like Bush was even being considered.

With the Hush Hush Laws about injuries, I have no idea what is going on with her...Does anyone?
Click to expand...

I'm with you about Bush GameTime. I don't know what's going on with her but nothing is being mentioned about her unless we all totally missed it. She should really be our #2 SP behind only Moss heading into next season. Arnold would be our #3 SP. That would be the ideal situation but the Bush situation is totally baffling to me. We hear nothing in regards to her.

So, right now it's only Moss & Arnold as #1 & #2 with one of the other incoming freshmen out of the seven girls needed to pitch. Like I said above, only 2 incoming freshmen are listed as possible pitchers but not their regular position. Let's all hope & pray that Bush is ok & she gets back in the rotation. I hope we also get some sort of news on her pretty soon.
 
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#722
#722
GameTime said:
Guys, was Bush injured? If so was it a HS injury or did it happen at UT?

Whatever is going on with her, it must be significant...If we had got passed Zona for a second game, it did not look like Bush was even being considered.

With the Hush Hush Laws about injuries, I have no idea what is going on with her...Does anyone?
Click to expand...

An article mid-season mentioned that she had a high school injury but the article didn't specify the nature of the injury. There was this statement: "Weekly said that the lack of extended use is due to some injuries Bush battled in her final two years at Buford (Ga.) High School". Here is the article:

On the road, UT softball ?to keep fighting?

I found this article from 2014 that talks about all the minutes she logged as a sophomore and junior in high school. The article does mention that she was hit while taking an at-bat during a game her junior season:

Tennessee-bound Bria Bush delivers for Buford softball team | Archive | gwinnettdailypost.com
 
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#723
#723
LVJeff said:
An article mid-season mentioned that she had a high school injury but the article didn't specify the nature of the injury. There was this statement: "Weekly said that the lack of extended use is due to some injuries Bush battled in her final two years at Buford (Ga.) High School". Here is the article:

On the road, UT softball ?to keep fighting?

I found this article from 2014 that talks about all the minutes she logged as a sophomore and junior in high school. The article does mention that she was hit while taking an at-bat during a game her junior season:

Tennessee-bound Bria Bush delivers for Buford softball team | Archive | gwinnettdailypost.com
Click to expand...

Jeff I read the article for the Buford softball team. It was stated in there that Bria could throw 64 to 66 here and there but relied on location and spin. I may not have seen all the games she was in but I do not recall any pitches that fast. Ralph constantly said she had to spin it and locate it. That speed mentioned is borderline power pitching I think. Thanks for the research!!
 
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#724
#724
Thanks Jeff....That clears a lot up about the Bush mystery...Hopefully, she will recover for next season and be ready to get back in the circle.
 
#725
#725
LVJeff said:
An article mid-season mentioned that she had a high school injury but the article didn't specify the nature of the injury. There was this statement: "Weekly said that the lack of extended use is due to some injuries Bush battled in her final two years at Buford (Ga.) High School". Here is the article:

On the road, UT softball ?to keep fighting?

I found this article from 2014 that talks about all the minutes she logged as a sophomore and junior in high school. The article does mention that she was hit while taking an at-bat during a game her junior season:

Tennessee-bound Bria Bush delivers for Buford softball team | Archive | gwinnettdailypost.com
Click to expand...

So, in reality the Weekly's were really just saving her arm this past season from past injuries. That's fair enough. I hope there's nothing more to it than that. Hopefully her body fully recovers from whatever unknown injury she received. That sure would be a blessing for this team because we need that 3rd SP.

GameTime said:
Thanks Jeff....That clears a lot up about the Bush mystery...Hopefully, she will recover for next season and be ready to get back in the circle.
Click to expand...

Fully with you buddy. Let's all pray for her to get back to herself & also what appears to be an excellent pitcher.

BTW, what was Bush ranked in her recruiting class? I can't remember. I believe she was top 25 for sure but maybe even higher. Anybody care to refresh me on that? Thanks!
 
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