This is my first post. I attended the South Carolina series with my brother, UFgator72sb. I had a great time. As always, I enjoyed watching and supporting our Lady Gators. What a great bunch of ladies playing the game I love. I also really enjoyed meeting many of the players, you all, player parents, softball fans and groupies. Most of all, I enjoyed the conversations and shared camaraderie. Thanks for making me feel welcomed. See you guys again in the Grove next year for my weekend series with brother UFGators72sb. Go Gators!
See post #5562 Please speak your mind. We do that around here. I'm not saying Vawter isn't a top pitcher, but she does have more success pitching to left-handed batters than right-handed batters. That's why UF adjusted with more right-handed pinch hitters on Sunday. Kelli Maxwell at Oklahoma mows the batters down on both sides of the plate. I've watched both twice now and Maxwell has the edge over Vawter even though both are terrific on any roster. These two pitchers were practically cried over here when both turned UF down for whatever reasons. My preference between the two would have been Maxwell.
I have watched Kelly Maxwell & Vawter pitch over the last 3+ years and think Vawter is better. To each his own. Kelly Maxwell is very good no doubt, but she pitches for a Top 3 national team and has 3 other quality pitchers on staff with her to share innings. She's only thrown 90.1 innings in 22 games. Vawter pitches on the weakest hitting team in the SEC and is their only true ace, having thrown 137.2 innings in 33 games, getting put in many more stressful situations than Maxwell. We tried to get both pitchers and, to me, I would have preferred Vawter because of her personality and class. She would have been a much better fit for this Gator team than Maxwell, IMO. If Vawter was on our team we would be battling Tennessee for the SEC title and in line for a Top 8 national seed, IMO. As it is, we are probably going to finish somewhere between 3rd & 6th in the SEC and hope to host a Regional as a Top 16 seed. She would have made a huge difference in giving our freshman an experienced mentor, plus a pitcher who would have shared all these innings with our current staff of primarily 2. It is what it is. I'm ecstatic about the team we've got and think the future is very bright.
1. Agree, to each his own, not that it matters either way. 2. Seems defeatist to me. Apparently, you have thrown in the towel of winning either the series at UGLY this weekend or the series against aTm at home. I saw signs that some bats are coming off slumps against USC. If our pitchers will keep bases on balls and hit batters to a minimum, we can win both series. If UF goes 4-2 in the final 6 SEC games, the Gators at 16-8 will finish 2nd in the SEC and nail down a top 8 national seed. A 3-3 split is a lock on a top 16 seed no hope needed.
I haven't thrown in the towel at all. You put some big IF's in your statement above, which shows that you recognize that things are going to have to happen differently from what's being going on recently for the Gators to finish how you think they might. And I truly hope they do. And if you've read my posts throughout the season, you'll see that I love this team. But their last 8 games (you have to include 2 midweek games with FSU, who is still really good) are brutal, especially considering the powerful offenses Georgia & Texas A&M have. We sit at #17 in the RPI rankings right now and it's going to be almost impossible to move into the Top 8. We need to finish at least 4-4 to finish in the Top 16, I think, considering the fact that 7 SEC teams are ahead of us right now in RPI. Finishing 4-4 is a tough ask, IMO, but certainly possible. That's why I qualified my statement by saying probably. 16-8 won't guarantee a 2nd place finish either. It depends on how we would get to that record. TAM only has 3 conference games left and they're against us. If we sweep Georgia and go 1-2 vs. A&M, they'll be 17-7. If Arkansas wins their last 6 SEC games against LSU & Ole Miss, they finish 17-7. So IF we go 2-1 against both Georgia & TAM AND Arkansas loses 2 of their final 6 games, we will finish 2nd. Not sure how a tiebreaker would work out if us, TAM & Arkansas all have 16-8 records. We shall see how it plays out, starting Wednesday with the Noles. Again, hoping for the best as always!
Watching the rerun of yesterday’s game. On Carolina’s first run, the runner’s hand had missed plate, blue missed the call; Jocey tagged her cleanly also. I watched it two times to make sure. I know it doesn’t matter, the girls fought back and won in spite of the close calls.
Somewhat dependent upon what other teams in the mix do of course.....but I think UF is in great shape to host a regional even if they struggle the next 2 weeks. Avoid getting swept and I think they are good. Do want to avoid dropping to far and getting matched with Okla or UT in the supers
Need the tough schedule to make us stronger. I don't have to hope. I know UF is getting ready to finish strong. CTW says UF is working through its slumps, and I believe him. Warren Nolen has our RPI at 15 this morning with teams ahead of us that won't get consideration for supers and possibly regionals hosting. The RPI is a tool, not an end all be all. UF finishing up strong will be an extremely attractive team for hosting. Again, we can agree to disagree.
I watched thst replay so many times and don't understand why there was no fuss about it. I also am not sure that Korbe wasn't safe in that first inning at home but never saw a replay.
Yes....I think going 3-5 would likely keep us in that 12 range (dependent upon how others do of course)
Screen shot below of the cheapest reserved FSU tickets -- I'll give a ticket to anyone who drives the getaway car while I knock over a convenience store. Needless to say, I did *not* purchase!
My heart goes out to Skylar, she’s hitting the ball hard but just can’t catch a break. I can’t imagine what hitting into 3 double plays is doing to her psyche. I think she should abandon the batting cage for a day and instead take a spa day! Relax, clear your mind and most importantly get out of your own head. If nothing else this month of hell is almost over. We all love you Skylar and know how hard you work. You’re really close to the light at the end of the tunnel and you’re going to light things up very soon. Ty so very much for what you do and how you do it for this program. We all respect, appreciate and love you! Go Gators!
Stat comparison in SEC games against our 2 final SEC opponents. Gators BA 288 #1 ERA 4.12 #10 GA BA 263 #3 ERA 3.12 #6 A&M BA 250 #7 ERA 2.95 #5
Those that were at the game couldn't see this but it was shown at some length on tv. Before Skylar's last two at bats, Tim had a very long talk with her in the dugout. Rubbing her back. Pinching her neck. It was harder to tell for sure but it struck me that she was almost crying. She came back and had two decent at bats after that but got nothing to show for it....the rope to first that was caught and just missed with a ball going to the track in left. She needs to stop pressing. Stop putting all of the weight of the world on her shoulders. There is a ton of talent on this team. She doesn't have to carry the entire load. Somehow she just needs to let her talent carry her. Easier said than done. She isn't the first great ballplayer to hit a slump. She won't be the last. The bright side, if there is one, is I'd rather have her slump now and break out of it than have it come in May.
