2022 Softball Season

Jacob Johnson said:
I agree losing Miranda hurt but we still have a lot of talent. Our problem is our inability to throw strikes and our horrible defensive play. Our defense has been terrible for years now so whoever is in charge of that aspect needs to be replaced. Pitching has been up and down this season and not where it should be at this point. I don’t like what NIL is doing to college athletics but Mike White needs to bring in two elite pitchers via the portal. Whatever it takes because this is not it.
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So with NIL playing such a huge role with college athletics what does "Whatever it takes" mean?
I think it takes more than aggressive recruiting, now I think it includes "what can you do for me". I know this is a bit off topic but look at what Jimbo has done with recruiting down the road. JJ you know that is all NIL...sigh And their softball facility is maybe the best in the country. I'm just saying building a top program is not as simply as some on this thread make it out to be. Maybe Coach White is just late to the party.
Dammit I need to become a sponsor to this site.
 
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Malcom said:
So with NIL playing such a huge role with college athletics what does "Whatever it takes" mean?
I think it takes more than aggressive recruiting, now I think it includes "what can you do for me". I know this is a bit off topic but look at what Jimbo has done with recruiting down the road. JJ you know that is all NIL...sigh And their softball facility is maybe the best in the country. I'm just saying building a top program is not as simply as some on this thread make it out to be. Maybe Coach White is just late to the party.
Dammit I need to become a sponsor to this site.
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Oh for sure all those 5 stars Jimbo got was simply because of NIL deals & nothing to do with coaching. Now of course softball isn’t affected in the same way but when I say whatever it takes I mean pop out some good NIL deals. Mike White does have a good resume so coaching won’t have a problem selling that topic. We need to bring in some good pitchers who are proven. If one or two more Dolcini type players enter then we need to be the 1st to make contact. Even better if you can find some with more than one year of eligibility but still need to develop the talent we have. Simpson has major potential and I believe our 2023 pitcher Kavan will be a stud from day one.
 
Today all the players had laser focus and it showed in the batting and the excellent fielding. The only bloop was Jenae's weakness in covering 1st base sometimes. Regionals is going to be rough where we have to ride Dolcini's arm for the entire tournament. Not trying to be dramatic, but which #2 would you trust not to lose the next game after Dolcini wins the first?
 
Good win! This team has been a roller coaster.

From Janae starting slow to getting hot
Czech being most reliable pitcher and pitching great against LSU to getting ripped every time
Dolcini coming on hot in conference
Burke never seeing the field
O'Leary looking lost all year

Lets win a couple in conference tournament and win a regional and take it from there.
 
I think most of y'all are watching these games via LHN or ESPN+? Several of our regular seating companions didn't show up today because the sun was brutal. So some notes you wouldn't get from LHN. Before the game, when teams were finishing up line practices, the speakers had a long running song playing on the speakers. It took me a while to realize the two repeating lines in this ballad were:

"Please don't let me die in Waco"
"If I start to smell, spray some Febreeze on me"

And during the later part of the game, when Bear fans were trying to pump up their team with "Bear Power" chants, the Texas fans drowned them out with "Texas Fight". One frustrated Baylor fan yelled out, "17 to 3! 17 to 3! That'll be in the record books FOREVER!".

Mmm, Okay.
 
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Watching quite a bit of the SEC tournament and have a couple observations:

1) Would put Dolcini up against any of the aces in that league. Makes me like the chances of possibly making it to OKC

2) Our secondary pitchers (Simpson, Czeck, and O'leary) have just have as good of movement and velocity as most of the pitchers in the league. Their stuff can play but the biggest difference is they don't command the zone. They either aren't on the plate or way too fat.

3) None of the SEC pitchers scare me for our offense if we have to face them in regionals or supers.
 
Well that was a stinker. I'm not sure I saw confidence in this team at the start of the game. And then when Mike gets ejected but Scott gets us closer, the assistant coaches really botched the rest of the game. Fly outs, foul outs. Not willing to go small ball to get runners on base. And the fielding. Again, I say a new shortstop for next year.
 
I couldn't beleive umps gave them that second run when the ball clearly beats her to the plate, Mary catches it cleanly, runner crawls into Mary then to home plate and umps calls runner out at home then reverses and call obstruction...
 
Sorry been checked out for a bit and just caught up. Ya first call was not obstruction, it was a run down. Mike White just has this team a mess. Its almost like they think Connies team the early Luna years. A lot of talent losing to less talented teams bc they are better coached.
 
NBhornfan said:
Sorry been checked out for a bit and just caught up. Ya first call was not obstruction, it was a run down. Mike White just has this team a mess. Its almost like they think Connies team the early Luna years. A lot of talent losing to less talented teams bc they are better coached.
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NB if what you say is true was Coach White just lucky with his success at Oregon? Cause they won alot of games up there, regular season and post season.
What you said about team being a mess with talent is something I've heard just about all our athletic teams here. Is that because we have such high standards or are we just unlucky? During the Tom Herman era I heard talk of the Texas Culture hurting our athletes, which I know nothing about.
I do know that statements like that are usually followed by "the coach gotta go" which we seem to have been doing since the Mac Brown years.
 
Malcom said:
NB if what you say is true was Coach White just lucky with his success at Oregon? Cause they won alot of games up there, regular season and post season.
What you said about team being a mess with talent is something I've heard just about all our athletic teams here. Is that because we have such high standards or are we just unlucky? During the Tom Herman era I heard talk of the Texas Culture hurting our athletes, which I know nothing about.
I do know that statements like that are usually followed by "the coach gotta go" which we seem to have been doing since the Mac Brown years.
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I don't think he was lucky at Oregon, he has always had game management issues. I think at Oregon they weren't exposed as much until later in the season at WCWS bc their pitching was so elite. Also maybe Spencer was the one that kept everything from running amok.

I just have to keep reminding myself the seniors this year weren't recruited by Mike White, the Juniors for the most part were late finds. The Sophmore class was limited bc so much of the talent pool was already committed to other schools by the time MIke got here. So The freshman class this year is the first true recuriting cycle for White. I like the class and the next two, so I have some optimism but very slim.
 
OSU just beat OU in 8 innings 4-3. Bad for OU, good for OU because that'll put a little umph in their team for WCWS
 
The SEC Pitcher of the year from Ark transfered from Tulsa. Seems I remember her pitching against us in one of our tourneys. If I'm right wasn't she a 2-way player back then?
 
NBhornfan said:
I don't think he was lucky at Oregon, he has always had game management issues. I think at Oregon they weren't exposed as much until later in the season at WCWS bc their pitching was so elite. Also maybe Spencer was the one that kept everything from running amok.

I just have to keep reminding myself the seniors this year weren't recruited by Mike White, the Juniors for the most part were late finds. The Sophmore class was limited bc so much of the talent pool was already committed to other schools by the time MIke got here. So The freshman class this year is the first true recuriting cycle for White. I like the class and the next two, so I have some optimism but very slim.
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Looking at the OSU and OU lineup, they reminded me that some of their key contributors were transfers. As I was watching the game, I thought of how our last few transfers have worked out.

2022
Dayton - Yes
Gilbert - Meh
Czech - No
Hulon - No
Dolcini - Yes

2021
Cantu - No
Jacobson - Yes
Sullivan - Meh

Having pitchers not work out was brutal for us this year.
 
Malcom said:
The SEC Pitcher of the year from Ark transfered from Tulsa. Seems I remember her pitching against us in one of our tourneys. If I'm right wasn't she a 2-way play3*
er back then?
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Yes she has done well at arkansas but she was just average at tulsa. The idea of a a sub 1 sub 2 era pitcher these days are gone, they are going to be few and far between. Most of the good teams in the SEC have staffs with a primary starters, middle relief, and closer. Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri are prime examples. They no longer are riding the starter until trouble, they are moving them in advance. Its all becoming more like baseball.

Now I still think Czeck and Simpson can be in that type of system. Where all they have to be concerned with is making it one time through the line up and then pass the ball for a different look. Still can't figure out how Czech went from looking filthy against LSU to a meat baller within a few games.
 
NBhornfan said:
Yes she has done well at arkansas but she was just average at tulsa. The idea of a a sub 1 sub 2 era pitcher these days are gone, they are going to be few and far between. Most of the good teams in the SEC have staffs with a primary starters, middle relief, and closer. Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri are prime examples. They no longer are riding the starter until trouble, they are moving them in advance. Its all becoming more like baseball.

Now I still think Czeck and Simpson can be in that type of system. Where all they have to be concerned with is making it one time through the line up and then pass the ball for a different look. Still can't figure out how Czech went from looking filthy against LSU to a meat baller within a few games.
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I think staffs need to look more like okla,okla st,VaTech &Fla St. I think you need multiple starters that can satisfy all the roles you mentioned. I'm not sure that day one starter for next year is here yet. But I hope so.
 
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