Super Regionals/World Series

#51
#51
UTjonez said:
Well I didn't hear anybody claiming James Madison got hosed with a gaudy record (50-6) 3-2 in top 25 games and ranked 13 in RPI. JMU gets sent to Baylor and lost 2 close games against them and no mention of being "screwed" for them. How do you figure they would have been better off against Ole Miss who took 2 of 3 games against Alabama and UK had almost the same conference record (12-12) as Bama (12-11) and the RPI was was almost the same at 16th. This is how seeding goes no matter how affects the team you pull for or if you like or dislike a team. This was hands down the fairest seeding for an NCAA tournament in any sport that i have seen. It came down to 2 things: A) How many top 25 games did you play? And B) How many top 25 wins you had. It is the same argument that SEC fans have in football it's easy to go 12-0 if you don't play anybody.
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Yep and the ones who really got hosed the whole year was the polls who constantly disregarded anything but wins and losses for the gophers!!:loco:
 
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#52
#52
OriginalCoach said:
Think you're reading too much into her statement. I doubt it was directed toward TN. Was she whining? Probably. What should she say? Her team is not producing offensively and they're struggling. Taking on the underdog role instead of the defending champs with a target on your back is strategy. I would worry less about OU/Auburn and worry more about the Aggies.
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I'm not worried at all about Okla and Auburn. It's too bad both can't lose.
 
#53
#53
UTjonez said:
Well I didn't hear anybody claiming James Madison got hosed with a gaudy record (50-6) 3-2 in top 25 games and ranked 13 in RPI. JMU gets sent to Baylor and lost 2 close games against them and no mention of being "screwed" for them. How do you figure they would have been better off against Ole Miss who took 2 of 3 games against Alabama and UK had almost the same conference record (12-12) as Bama (12-11) and the RPI was was almost the same at 16th. This is how seeding goes no matter how affects the team you pull for or if you like or dislike a team. This was hands down the fairest seeding for an NCAA tournament in any sport that i have seen. It came down to 2 things: A) How many top 25 games did you play? And B) How many top 25 wins you had. It is the same argument that SEC fans have in football it's easy to go 12-0 if you don't play anybody.
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are guaranteed to play a LOT of top 25 teams all year by mere virtue of being in this conference. It's a huge RPI advantage for lower-middle and middle-PAC SEC teams like Kentucky and Mississippi that teams like Minnesota or JMU can not replicate being in lesser conferences. They'd have to schedule 5 series against SEC/Pac12 teams to come close--and that isn't remotely feasible. RPI is not be all/end all. This discussion came up during the soccer season when lots of people were saying that Virginia Tech was a lock for the NCAA tournament because of their high RPI, which was a result of playing in the best soccer conference. Va. Tech didn't win a game against the upper-tier ACC teams, beating only the teams at the bottom of the conference--and didn't have an impressive season otherwise. The hokies were all RPI and no record--and I was pleased to see that the NCAA soccer committee thought the same: Va.Tech did not get in.

And here's another point: Middle, lower-middle and lower-tier SEC softball teams are playing 15 or more games against top 25 or better opponents, because of the the conference--and every series is three games. That greatly increases the chances of a middling team winning a few of them--which enhances their RPI all the more. If Va.Tech played three soccer matches against the top tier ACC schools, instead of one, they'd have won a few of them. Being in the SEC is a big advantage for schools like kentucky, mississippi, etc.


On another note, LSU certainly got better after we played them during the regular season. They looked lousy against us in Baton Rouge--and I was shocked we weren't able to sweep the series. But in the SEC tournament they looked a lot better, of course.

Our biggest weakness going forward is pitching depth. We should have three quality pitchers, ideally, and only have two--one of whom is a freshman. When you are in a two-three game series against a good team, you'd like to be able to give the opponent three different pitching looks, if you need to. Doesn't mean you have to have three, but it helps. All depends on how well your two starters throw. If we were to get to the Championship Series, this will become an even bigger issue. That said, Moss is pitching very well and so let's hope she keeps it going. She was spotting her pitches beautifully against Longwood. And Arnold has been resilient, too.
 
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#54
#54
Alabama was the competition for Minnesota for the 16 seed and Minnesota could have made a point going forward in terms of SOS by taking 1 game from Alabama. Instead they go scoreless in both games against a SEC team that barely finished .500 in the conference (12-11) so it does seem to me that they need to make their schedule front end heavy in the non-conference portion to make up for the mediocre conference they play in. Instead of playing Pacific twice and South Dakota twice in the regular season they should start playing these middle of the pack SEC teams to build the SOS up and then their weak conference wouldn't drag them down.
 
#55
#55
UT_Tix79 said:
Advancing to Super Regionals - best of 3 series starting May 23-25, top 8 seeds host at their site

#1 Florida
#16 Alabama

#9 Texas A&M
#8 Tennessee

#5 UCLA
#12 Ole Miss

#13 LSU
#4 Florida State

#3 Oregon
#14 Kentucky

#11 Utah
#6 Washington

#7 Auburn
#10 Oklahoma

#15 Baylor
#2 Arizona
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Super Regionals are set. Should be some great matchups! And 8 of the final 16 are SEC teams
 
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#58
#58
Top 3 Finalists for Player of the Year will be announced today. Gregg should be close. Barnhill, the florida pitcher, will be one, for sure--and will probably nap the top honor in a week or two.

After her, the committee has to choose from among 5 other pitchers and four on-field players. The on-field players are Mauga of Arizona, Warren of Florida State, Sanders of Louisiana and Gregg. Gregg has demonstrably better numbers than Mauga, better numbers than Warren. Sanders is hitting .380 or somesuch--which is good except Gregg is at .440! Sanders has more home runs, however--and more RBIs. I think she leads the nation in RBIs with 81. At least one field player will be in the Final 3, and it should be either Gregg or Sanders. I'd give the nod to Gregg because of her demonstrably higher batting average. Gregg's BA is 100 points higher than Mauga. Warren is hitting .419 or so, but her RBI total is far less than Gregg's. A lot depends on how many pitchers the committee takes. One can't really say that a top pitcher deserves to be picked over a top hitter, or vice versa, and so that's where subjectivity comes in. For me, the SEC player of the year makes the top 3--especially because she had a big regional. Sanders deserves to be top 3, too, IMO--but that means only one pitcher. We'll find out later today.
 
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#59
#59
armchair said:
On another note, while we wait, here's a story I found about one of our 2018 signees--a SoCal shortstop. Our 2018 class is stout.

http://www.pe.com/2017/05/22/mikayla-allee-getting-the-job-done-for-the-norco-softball-team/
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Sounds like we have the new shortstop when our next AA Megan Gregg completes her senior year. Just as it worked out when Madison graduated and Megan stepped in. Ralph and Karen know talent for sure. Many will say they need to know pitching and hitting but you cant teach them unless you get them!!:clapping::loco:
 
#61
#61
SEC coaches have GOT to start complaining about Barnhill. She is cheating with that illegal delivery--there is no question about it. She also changes her hop--sometimes going straight forward and sometimes going to the left so that she can throw inside out. It is BS.

Bama--after its hitters spent four plus innings swinging wildly at every Barnhill pitch--have showed that putting the ball in play is the first thing you do to try to create something. They've scored three runs on a walk and four bunts and two huge Barnhill errors.
 
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#62
#62
armchair said:
SEC coaches have GOT to start complaining about Barnhill. She is cheating with that illegal delivery--there is no question about it. She also changes her hop--sometimes going straight forward and sometimes going to the left so that she can throw inside out. It is BS.

Bama--after its hitters spent four plus innings swinging wildly at every Barnhill pitch--have showed that putting the ball in play is the first thing you do to try to create something. They've scored three runs on a walk and four bunts and two huge Barnhill errors.
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Ive coached softball for years, there is nothing she is doing that's illegal. If she was, every coach would be all over the umps to call it. She doesn't lift her foot, she doesn't step out of the plant box, she doesn't overstride, I guess I'm confused
 
#63
#63
armchair said:
SEC coaches have GOT to start complaining about Barnhill. She is cheating with that illegal delivery--there is no question about it. She also changes her hop--sometimes going straight forward and sometimes going to the left so that she can throw inside out. It is BS.

Bama--after its hitters spent four plus innings swinging wildly at every Barnhill pitch--have showed that putting the ball in play is the first thing you do to try to create something. They've scored three runs on a walk and four bunts and two huge Barnhill errors.
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Blatant illegal or not!
 
#66
#66
We've got to hope bama can win one more game. I'm not sure they'll get another flukey win like this one, but it will be good for the Vols if they can win this super as we would play the winner in the championship series. We of course have to take care of business first. If you put pressure on teams by putting the ball in play, good things often happen as there are a lot of defensive miscues. Mississippi just completely fouled up a bunt--could have thrown the lead runner out at third but instead muffed the play and now UCLA has bases loaded with no outs.
 
#67
#67
UT_Tix79 said:
Ive coached softball for years, there is nothing she is doing that's illegal. If she was, every coach would be all over the umps to call it. She doesn't lift her foot, she doesn't step out of the plant box, she doesn't overstride, I guess I'm confused
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Disagree. Her delivery is one of the most blatantly fragrant violations of rules I can remember in years.

Karma is a b*tch. Ms hops a lot goes down.
 
#68
#68
UT_Tix79 said:
Ive coached softball for years, there is nothing she is doing that's illegal. If she was, every coach would be all over the umps to call it. She doesn't lift her foot, she doesn't step out of the plant box, she doesn't overstride, I guess I'm confused
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Welp, here ya go. 90% of her pitches are identical to this. Are you confused now?

I'm not sure what you mean by "overstride" but it's called a re-plant. She is obviously outside of the box too. Happens all the time.

kelly_barnhill_jacsonville_k_back_zpsuufgx6xi.gif


kelly_barnhill_jacsonville_k_side_zps6nfkzlvc.gif
 
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#69
#69
UT_Tix79 said:
Ive coached softball for years, there is nothing she is doing that's illegal. If she was, every coach would be all over the umps to call it. She doesn't lift her foot, she doesn't step out of the plant box, she doesn't overstride, I guess I'm confused
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There was/is a video of her delivery on the robo site a few weeks ago. It clearly shows that she picks her pivot off the ground and replants it. Is it subtle? Of course. She doesn't lift it but an inch or two--but that is all one needs. It is lifted and replanted; there is no question about it. She not only replants it, she sometimes replants it about six inches to the left and then throws an inside out fast bast ball to right-handed hitters, jamming them. Given that she has moved forward six inches or more before releasing the ball and changed her angle of delivery, the pitch is almost impossible to hit given her velocity. It is all very quick, but the foot is lifted and moved. Why isn't it called? College coaches will have to answer that. What's funny is that Moss has probably been called for an illegal pitch more than Barnhill this year, and I've never seen Moss replant. Replanting is obviously subtle--given how quick a delivery is--and I think the subtlety is why there is a reluctance to enforce the rule.
 
#70
#70
Oh, I see the video is above! I think it's different from the one I saw--but even more damning. The blow shot captures a MASSIVE replant. Good grief--she hops forward about a foot and to the left!
 
#71
#71
Good grief: I left the Mississippi game and then were down 0-4 and no hits and looking weak. I come back and they've scored 5 in the 6th inning--a bigger comeback than ours against usc upland. Another upset brewing....
 
#72
#72
armchair said:
There was/is a video of her delivery on the robo site a few weeks ago. It clearly shows that she picks her pivot off the ground and replants it. Is it subtle? Of course. She doesn't lift it but an inch or two--but that is all one needs. It is lifted and replanted; there is no question about it. She not only replants it, she sometimes replants it about six inches to the left and then throws an inside out fast bast ball to right-handed hitters, jamming them. Given that she has moved forward six inches or more before releasing the ball and changed her angle of delivery, the pitch is almost impossible to hit given her velocity. It is all very quick, but the foot is lifted and moved. Why isn't it called? College coaches will have to answer that. What's funny is that Moss has probably been called for an illegal pitch more than Barnhill this year, and I've never seen Moss replant. Replanting is obviously subtle--given how quick a delivery is--and I think the subtlety is why there is a reluctance to enforce the rule.
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The more I watch her the more I think she does leap on a lot of pitches and not drag her foot. The umps can call her for not dragging her toe if they are sure of it in real time, but they apparently cannot see it for certain in real time. They are not gonna call her for a replant because it's too hard to be sure. To be a replant you have to bear the weight of the body a 2nd time on the pivot foot. Too hard to tell that-even in slow motion. Leaping does not automatically lead to replanting.

I think this is rule creep. You get away with a little more each year until the umps ignore it. Like they gave middle infielders a ridiculous amount of leeway for years turning the double play in baseball. If you were in the same zip code you were good. And the same way the strike zone, which is a vertical rectangle, became a horizontal rectangle in the majors for years and the zone became wider and shorter.

It's going to gradually get to the point where as long as you have both feet close enough to the rubber at the start of the pitch you will be good to go. Men's international fastpitch now apparently allows leaping. Check youtube for Adam Folkard Fastpitch JMHO:)
 
#73
#73
armchair said:
Good grief: I left the Mississippi game and then were down 0-4 and no hits and looking weak. I come back and they've scored 5 in the 6th inning--a bigger comeback than ours against usc upland. Another upset brewing....
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Great game UCLA won 8-7 in 11 innings
 
#74
#74
that OM pitcher ran out of gas and her teammates misplayed the ball too many times. congrats to ucla for the comebackx2
 
#75
#75
UT_Tix79 said:
Ive coached softball for years, there is nothing she is doing that's illegal. If she was, every coach would be all over the umps to call it. She doesn't lift her foot, she doesn't step out of the plant box, she doesn't overstride, I guess I'm confused
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Her toe comes up almost every time, albeit briefly, but its visible.
 
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