I will give my input. Pitching was about as expected for the first week. Matty looked pretty sharp, Caylan struggled in early innings which is her MO and Gabby showed signs of what we hoped but signs of the wildness we had heard about as well.
Defense was pretty good all the way around but a passed ball or 2 from the catcher position. Lockman will lock that up if she can hit like she did in the tourney. It was just enough to give us hope. I think i hear Brian say she was a top 100 player who had not show it so far. I guess i forgot about. Leach i think a an error or 2 and Gregg had one that was called a hit but she said she misplayed it. Third is a hooverrr vaccum cleaner with Seggren, who hit pretty well and if she can continue to protect Gregg at the plate we will go pretty far. Morgan has secured first in my opinion.
Outfield with Scarlett did pretty good as well and if she can and will Hit we are real good. Not sure what is going on with McClain but still early.
Offense no real complaints but i think this new slapper rule is going to rear its ugly head a lot for all teams.
I agree that Meghan Gregg very well may be our best hitter of all time.
Coaching was ok but i though Ralph was going to run us out of a game or two.
CANT DO BETTER THAN 6-0!!
Feelings are mutual with just about everything you said.
I am pretty optimistic about the pitching this year now that we have more than 2 pitchers to throw at teams like A&M. Matty is consistent and reliable enough to give us a chance to outscore just about any team. Arnold has streaks of greatness, I hope she can learn to make that more consistent. I agree with you on Gabby, there will be some bad games and also some amazing games. Strength training at a college program could be a game changer for athletes at her height and length, let hope she came to UT for business. Is Morgan also a pitcher?
Defense hasn't skipped a beat, I agree Morgan looks comfortable out there and I also think shes secured that position as well. Leach is always solid at 2nd but will need to build that chemistry with Morgan at first.
Gregg is one of a kind at the plate, her softball IQ is through the roof. When it comes to defense she is one of the best at putting herself in the best position to make minimal mistakes along with being the backbone of that defense. Greggs vision at the plate is something I have never seen from a power hitter, her focus is on another level. As long as we can find a a lineup where teams cannot pitch around Gregg she is going to take us farther than last year. I think Seggern batting behind can be the key to unleashing this offense. And if somehow Vines returns late in the season that would be a very strong triple threat.
I am about to rant about our young 3rd baseman but give me your opinion on my thoughts, I really think Seggern is going to breakout this year, the instinct she showed at third last year as a freshmen was something special, she has mad skills and at times felt like the vocal and emotional leader next to Gregg out there. With her success on defense I felt it made it easy to forget she was only a freshmen and also was recruited as a power hitter. WHICH usually means that the coaching staff is going to invest that first year tweaking and developing her swing.
Seggerns bat struggled a lot early and was up and down more than anyone else on the team last year but it did become more consistent at the end, also the clutch hits against Alabama, Oklahoma and other big games may be a sign of whats to come. After this past weekend it looks like Ralph is done developing her swing and is going to let her settle in moving forward.
She has a lot to prove but even Ralph and Karen unanimously have been hinting at her potential ever since shes gotten here.
I agree with you on Lockman at catcher and if she can keep up this hitting then it will fill part of the gap we had in the lineup last year. I was surprised by her this past weekend at the plate, if she can keep i up the spot is hers.
The slapper rule makes me a little fearful for players like Holcomb and CJ, hopefully it will just take some time and adjustments to get the back to who they were last year. Not reading much into this, it was only the first weekend.
Scarlet surprised me the most this weekend, I knew she had power but similar to Seggern last year, she would disappear at times which left people not to trust her. If she can give us half of what she gave us this weekend then we are in for a big plus to the lineup, also you can tell she loves the game and we all want her to succeed.
Defense: Our IF looks stronger than last year with Morgan at 1st. Pitching has more arms and experience so that is a plus, also a chance that Gabby can become a threat against teams. Lets hope Morgan can step up at times as well. The committee of pitching will be a game changer for us to get ahead on the boards and stay ahead.
Offense: Not including the fact that Vines can come back later in the season. I think our offense right now is getting close to what it was last year. If Seggern can produce behind Gregg then we can pretty much mirror what Vines and Gregg did last year. I am pretty confident that after adjusting to the new slapper rule Leach, Holcomb and CJ will be able to replicate what they did last year. I can see Morgan stepping up and producing constantly at the plate. The wild cards for me are still Scarlet and Lockman, this weekend was a great sign and hopefully it continues. If Vines ends up coming back late in season then I'd put our bats against anyone in the nation. As I ranted before I believe this is Seggerns year to break out and if I am right then the door is wide open for Gregg to produce all year.
Ralph was doing a little much on the steals but we are a team that is built for team and one of best skills last year was advancing runners to scoring positions without wasting an AB.
LETS KEEP THE TRAIN ROLLING AGAINST OSU!!
