Well, all the players waved thanks to the crowd and then hung around to sign balls and kids t-shirts, and pose for pictures with kids. Then the mother of Heather, the young cancer victim that passed away some time ago that the team honors, was presented with a very nice painting of a sunflower done by James Bates. It was Heather’s favorite flower (I hope I have all that right). Finally, Coach Walton talked about NIL issues and support for the team, and how great these girls are, on the field, in classes, and in the community. (Coach did say he wished we could have gotten just one more highly experienced pitcher from the portal.)
And Walton didn’t mince words saying it cost 50-250K for an all American pitcher from the portal and that we can’t afford that. This offense is going to be special. Mia could hit 15 bombs as a true freshman. ABs will be hard to come by if you’re not performing.
What a lovely evening at KSP. Keagan and Ava squared off for the first 5 or 51/2 innings. Liv and McKenzie pitched late. I will say they all looked better than fall ball. Of the seven runs scored, 6 were solo home runs: Mia with 2 and Sky, Baylee, Ava, and Reagan with 1 each. KK doubled in the other run. The scoreboard had the coach view, where you could see balls and strikes with the position of the pitch. I wish we could substitute it for SEC umps. It showed the velocity of the pitch, spin rate, and how much it moved. Both Keagan and Ava were in the mid to high 60s. Keagan hit 70 at least one time. This group goes to bat swinging. There are no waiting on walks as in previous years. Jocey is sick and did not dress. CTW says she should be back next week. We were worried. It is going to be a real challenge to make a 10-person lineup. If you do not hit, you will not be an everyday player. Some of the seniors struggled tonight. Avery and Wilkie were not good. KK hit the ball hard and played some in right field. Korbe will take over in left field if she hits. She did not hit tonight. Of course, 27 will be in CF, and rightfield will be a toss-up. If Baylee stays healthy, she will be a factor. She has slimmed down tremendously, which should help her agility and take stress off her knees. She pounded the ball tonight. Brooke played a good 3B and played some at SS. She acquitted herself well but did make an error at SS. Avery, Hovermale, and Brown played 1B. AK was the other C. As far as a starting lineup, that will be something. CTW said we were set at most positions, and he has to figure out 3B, RF, and DP. It is a good problem to have.
I am having so much fun with this. 17 and 18 are going to be fun. I will feature two players each, current and past.
Another really nice thing to see was at least three of our new pitchers showed they could throw change ups between 49-52 mph versus their normal 64-66 mph pitches. Keegan threw a lot of fastballs in the 68-70 mph range.
Hope it was more of a sign of our offense giving uo the bombs than pitchers... though I know it's gonna happen and they've seen each other a bit by now. Really excited for the season.