Last summer there a big ta do in this thread about Erin taking Charla’s place and that she would be a big asset to the team. I just saying that it seems to be a whimper. I hope she is doing something to help the freshmen and other players to adjust to being student athletes and coping with the pressure of performing in SEC/D1 softball.
I'm saying she may not have a role in the program like Charla. I think that was assumed, but the title seems more geared toward off field stuff.
I have to admit, I’ve been wondering why we placed a Freshman at 1st Base, when Francesca had been handling the post.
I remember hearing in a broadcast that they moved Fran back into the dugout to be able to coach up the hitters during the game.
I didn't get to watch the game live yesterday (apparently, family time is still an expectation... even during conference play... sigh), and I feel like that was probably a good thing because as a hardcore Comia fan, I probably would have had a difficult time remaining forum-friendly in my, admittedly, biased and often unsolicited musings. As far as Ava goes... this is pure speculation, but I feel like she (more so than the other pitchers), thrives off of her team's energy and is directly impacted in the circle when she doesn't trust her defense to back her up. She pitched SO well on Saturday, and after that crazy double play, she was extra spicy. And spicy Ava is pretty amazing. (Thinking about last year's A&M and LSU extra inning games, in particular.) If Rothrock continues to be a bit less than Rothrocky as she works through whatever is going on, we are going to need our infield to have Ava's back. My understanding is that she isn't so much of a strikeout pitcher as she is a pitch-to-contact pitcher, and I imagine that having a consistent, dynamic defense behind her has a pretty big psychological impact on someone with that pitching style. I feel so bad for Rothrock in all of this. Either her body is keeping her from doing what we all know she can do, or her trust that her body is going to do what she tells it to do is the barrier. Regardless, I can't imagine what it's like for her to know that she is an absolute stud but not be able to get the pieces to come together correctly. Especially with the expectations on her after last year. She'll get her groove back, it's just a question of when. I hope for her sake that it's sooner rather than later, because I feel like with each less-than-stellar outing, she's losing a bit more of her confidence.
As far as Ava goes... this is pure speculation, but I feel like she (more so than the other pitchers), thrives off of her team's energy and is directly impacted in the circle when she doesn't trust her defense to back her up. She pitched SO well on Saturday, and after that crazy double play, she was extra spicy. And spicy Ava is pretty amazing. (Thinking about last year's A&M and LSU extra inning games, in particular.) If Rothrock continues to be a bit less than Rothrocky as she works through whatever is going on, we are going to need our infield to have Ava's back. My understanding is that she isn't so much of a strikeout pitcher as she is a pitch-to-contact pitcher, and I imagine that having a consistent, dynamic defense behind her has a pretty big psychological impact on someone with that pitching style. Bingo
I think Francesca does better when she’s in the dugout. She’s there to learn from Tim and a coach of the hitters. Last year, Francesca had direct impact on Katie, Skylar and Reagan. My seats are sited directly through the left hand, batters box and directly into the Gator dugout. Last year, I could directly hear instructions from Francesca to the hitters when they were batting. Personally, I think she does better from the dugout. Last year, Charla coached first base most of the time. It was a role that I was expecting Erin to take. I agree, I don’t understand why a freshman is coaching first base.
What is there about being a first base coach that requires any kind of skill or experience? They’re mostly there to collect all the crap the players wear at the plate and yell back on a pick play. In baseball, they’re also tasked with clocking the pitchers and catchers and have a lot more opportunities to yell back, but even then it’s usually a GA or player over there. At this level, the runners are making the decision to go to second on their own after a hit. Signals come from the dugout or third base coach. Third base coach plays a critical role, but first base coach really doesn’t. Using a player that’s not playing to keep them engaged doesn’t seem like a bad idea.
Re: Ava. She certainly is our best pitcher right now! I really enjoy her fiery attitude and hope we can use her more on offense. I certainly don’t know the circumstances but it seem to me has not had a defined role like she did last year. She lost her time at first base and then when Rothrock went down was relegated to second and sometimes third pitcher. A head scratcher with the limited info we have.
Ava lost at bats due to performance, thats pretty clear. I'm not sure I agree she was "relegated" as a pitcher.....you could argue about her role but she has consistently gotten plenty of innings. She has led the squad in innings pitched most of the year, and does at this time as well. Her ERA has come down of late and Rothrock's has shot up after last coupe of outings...but Ava had the highest ERA and most innings pitched for quite a while.
What gets said? I've always wondered that. I'm guessing the coaching is not, "You should hit it over the fence." If I had better seats like you, what specifically would I hear?
So happy OU took the loss. Their fans are ridiculous. This series will be dogfight as always I'm sure. Just hope we keep our offense rolling.
With the way we hit off Binford hopefully that sparks some confidence. The remaining aces we will see from the teams we see in conference are HEAVY drop/change/low in the zone pitchers. Starting this weekend with Briski/Reily then Berzon then Landry. If we can play good defense and the pitching/hitting comes through we will be good.
we've got to get better with drop and chnage pitchers. If we force them up we're fine but we can't let them get ahead of us so much.
No joke they have a conspiracy theory going that all their losses have been with the same umpire crew. Their radio guy even said it.
