Tennessee Softball 2023

#14,651
#14,651
TomHoot said:
Thas is not possible. They were so awful in the semi-finals I turned the sound down. Must everything have a heart-tugging backstory? Must they show replays of the same home run half a dozen times? Must everything be monumental? There are better announcers out there.
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Nothing will top Amanda Scarbrough calling it "devastating for Tennessee" because we lost the chance at run-ruling Alabama. Keep in mind we were up five runs when she said this. It wasn't devastating for Alabama that we had already hung ten runs on them, it was devastating for us that we had to play a full game.
 
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#14,652
#14,652
Majors said:
The two pitchers in question are drastically different, I’ve stated all along Bahls saving grace is her toe down and dragging. Reid was elevated with no attempt of her toe down. Here’s a few others…illegal pitches is more common than many want to admit including our own.

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In the slowed down videos that I've watched of Bahl, I cannot see where she gains an advantage with the move. I think either next year or the following you will see this rule removed anyway. Back when Barnhill was being chastised, I felt she was gaining an advantage on the batter by replanting. I dont see Bahl doing this. Just my take. Upper right video in your post is definitely gaining an advantage.
 
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#14,653
#14,653
I'll play devil's advocate and defend Weekly on her decision to throw Pickens in the OK game: 1) we don't know what kind of condition Ashley was in before that game, but Weekly did. Was AR nicked up or too sore from her previous work? Had she aggravated a previous injury? I don't know. Do you? 2) OK had won almost 50 straight games against excellent competition. Highest RPI in the game. A dynasty with great hitting, pitching, and defense. A team with no weaknesses. There's little reason to believe AR wouldn't suffer the same fate, because this team is not an offensive juggernaut, and OK can really pitch it. The best she could have done was hold them to say 3 runs, and as you saw, we could not score on them. And, if so, we're in the loser's bracket with a do or die game without Rogers to pitch it. 3) If you're gonna beat OK, you have to out-pitch them, cause you'r not gonna out-hit them, and the only chance we had to out pitch them was with a pitcher who has elite stuff. The only pitcher we have like that is Pickens. What if you catch lightning in a bottle and Pickens has control of that elite stuff? Then you might win a 1-0 or 2-1 game. It's a huge gamble, but maybe worth taking.

If AR was at good strength, I would have pitched her at OK, mostly because she has more than earned the right to get that start and see what she can do. But I'm not gonna be bitterly angry about it and mercilessly attack Weekly like some on here. Oklahoma distorts normal thinking - they are that good. And a case can be made for trying to think outside that box. So I'm ok with the decision. The fact we scored zero runs against them tends to make the argument moot anyway.
 
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#14,656
#14,656
Season was a success. Ending was a bit bitter, but overall a great season! Only one team gets the ending that makes everyone around their program happy. With that said, between the portal possibilities (both additions and subtractions that will happen), and the incoming class...I have no idea what to expect next year other than a team that will wear the Lady Vol and UT logos proudly and represent us fans and alums well.

Great season. Can't wait until fall ball to see how the 2024 roster shakes out.
 
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#14,657
#14,657
jp1 said:
In the slowed down videos that I've watched of Bahl, I cannot see where she gains an advantage with the move. I think either next year or the following you will see this rule removed anyway. Back when Barnhill was being chastised, I felt she was gaining an advantage on the batter by replanting. I dont see Bahl doing this. Just my take. Upper right video in your post is definitely gaining an advantage.
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Anytime your feet leave the ground it means you are getting extra power with your entire body. Having to hold back some of your momentum as you unleash that momentum moving toward the batter definitely reduces the power available.
 
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#14,658
#14,658
kregman said:
Why did FSU not start Sandercock? Is/was the only hope they have and as far as we know she is healthy. Much bigger question than not starting Ashley on Saturday.
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I think FSU's strategy is to pitch Sandercock against Oklahoma's secondary pitchers tonight and get a win and then worry about Friday's if necessary game. Sandercock is capable of pitching again on Friday with Reid as backup.
 
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#14,663
#14,663
youcancallmeAl said:
I'll play devil's advocate and defend Weekly on her decision to throw Pickens in the OK game: 1) we don't know what kind of condition Ashley was in before that game, but Weekly did. Was AR nicked up or too sore from her previous work? Had she aggravated a previous injury? I don't know. Do you? 2) OK had won almost 50 straight games against excellent competition. Highest RPI in the game. A dynasty with great hitting, pitching, and defense. A team with no weaknesses. There's little reason to believe AR wouldn't suffer the same fate, because this team is not an offensive juggernaut, and OK can really pitch it. The best she could have done was hold them to say 3 runs, and as you saw, we could not score on them. And, if so, we're in the loser's bracket with a do or die game without Rogers to pitch it. 3) If you're gonna beat OK, you have to out-pitch them, cause you'r not gonna out-hit them, and the only chance we had to out pitch them was with a pitcher who has elite stuff. The only pitcher we have like that is Pickens. What if you catch lightning in a bottle and Pickens has control of that elite stuff? Then you might win a 1-0 or 2-1 game. It's a huge gamble, but maybe worth taking.

If AR was at good strength, I would have pitched her at OK, mostly because she has more than earned the right to get that start and see what she can do. But I'm not gonna be bitterly angry about it and mercilessly attack Weekly like some on here. Oklahoma distorts normal thinking - they are that good. And a case can be made for trying to think outside that box. So I'm ok with the decision. The fact we scored zero runs against them tends to make the argument moot anyway.
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Yet, Ashley played a complete game the very next day against Oklahoma State. As it happens, we played Oklahoma last year and lost 8-9 and it took them 10 innings to beat us, with Ashley pitching, and Oklahoma went on to win the Championship.

You’ve said you have just watched our softball team sometimes, so I don’t know if you watched our team win the SEC, Regional, and Super Regional Tournaments, but if you did, you would have seen the confidence and momentum we had. If you watched more than that, you would have seen Pickens not throwing as well as she had at the beginning of the season, throwing balls, pitches in the dirt, and over her catcher’s head. Still expecting big things from her next year, but not in that particular game.

Teams are pumped when their star player is playing, and that was Ashley. For the Coach to play pitchers who were our subs, some who rarely played all year, against the top team in the World Series, made it look like we were not playing to win, and that would certainly effect our team’s emotions, including how they hit.

Rationalize, play devil’s advocate, ignore and move on, whatever, but what Karen did, embarrassed her team, and was a bad look for Tennessee.
 
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#14,665
#14,665
Volfaninfl2 said:
Yet, Ashley played a complete game the very next day against Oklahoma State. As it happens, we played Oklahoma last year and lost 8-9 and it took them 10 innings to beat us, with Ashley pitching, and Oklahoma went on to win the Championship.

You’ve said you have just watched our softball team sometimes, so I don’t know if you watched our team win the SEC, Regional, and Super Regional Tournaments, but if you did, you would have seen the confidence and momentum we had. If you watched more than that, you would have seen Pickens not throwing as well as she had at the beginning of the season, throwing balls, pitches in the dirt, and over her catchers head. Still expecting big things from her next year, but not in that particular game.

Teams are pumped when their star player is playing, and that was Ashley. For the Coach to play pitchers who were our subs, some who rarely played all year, against the top team in the World Series, made it look like we were not playing to win, and that would certainly effect our team’s emotions, including how they hit.

Rationalize, play devil’s advocate, ignore and move on, whatever, but what Karen did, embarrassed her team, and was a bad look for Tennessee.
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Is Ashley’s health a concern or just throw her anyways? She threw the next day, but as you saw she was constantly moving her arm in discomfort after pitches. She also threw very few curve balls (forearm pain) which was why she stayed to the right side of the plate. The decision to not start PG is more concerning than not starting a pitcher who was having forearm/arm issues.
 
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#14,667
#14,667
Majors said:
Is Ashley’s health a concern or just throw her anyways? She threw the next day, but as you saw she was constantly moving her arm in discomfort after pitches. She also threw very few curve balls (forearm pain) which was why she stayed to the right side of the plate. The decision to not start PG is more concerning than not starting a pitcher who was having forearm/arm issues.
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Yes, we played 4 pitchers, all below our top 2. Our confidence and momentum were gone.

Softball vs Oklahoma on 6/3/2023 - Box Score - University of Tennessee Athletics
 
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