BulldogBear's Softball thoughts after being shooed out of Knoxville with a broom

[BulldogBear]

I am very disappointed after this series. I really never dreamed we would be swept and hoped we had more in us to possibly pull the upset series win. So after two SEC weekends and 32 games into the season here are some of my very much off the cuff observations:

1) Tennessee is better than Auburn. Much better. They will continue to rise through the rankings. Not once this weekend, did I really truly honest-to-God feel we were a threat to win past the middle of the 2nd inning. I am referring to just the eye testy feely tension-filled spirit of the game. You could just feel we were in over heads. With the exception of an error and 1 or 2 timely hits, we were not a threat offensively (enough to be considered a threat to come back and win), not once.

2) See above. We still have a long way to go to compete for SEC titles.

3) With but a handful errors, one critical, this season, our OF is solid and Amanda Ivy is everywhere. Her hitting and reliability at the plate has come along superbly as well. She has become quite the gamer in her senior year and is the best outfielder we have, even the best defender period.

4) Our infield is okay but has hurt us at times with sloppy play. It's not that they fall apart that often but when they do it's critical. The kind of thing where a 2 out error results in a big inning instead of zero points and that sort of thing. Again, it's not often but is often decisive.

5) Seitz is sort of our own "high profile" player but although she has some great days (like today!!) doesn't seem to be quite as crisp as last season, neither at the plate nor in the field. She'll probably get back in form.

6) I don't think anybody cares more or gives more effort than Bailey. Adams gets an honorable mention.

7) We don't bunt too much, although it seems to cost us more than it helps us. We bunt when we should or it could be reasonably argued that we should. It's just frustrating to see how we bunt with the right attitude for the most part but it so often turns out that we end up maybe wishing we'd had the out back and tried to see what the hitter could do. I have not observed us turning, nor having turned on us, very many double plays at all. They seem to come once per game if it all. They're just not that common. So, perhaps we should try swinging away. What I mean is that it doesn't seem that the sac bunt, while putting a runner in scoring position, is helping to avoid DPs because they're not that big of risk anyway. I'm talking sac bunts. We're pretty decent at bunting for hits, especially with our slap hitters. Now, I can't really call all of those bunts because the slap sometimes feels like just a hard bunt anyway. But when you slap or bunt it just right, the infield almost no chance. Combine that with speed, like Wink and Nichols, and it's pretty effective at times. The only other thing I would say about the sac bunts is maybe we ought to let 'em throw us a couple of pitches first. If they're trending toward giving us a free base runner, let 'em and if they throw a juicy one, knock it through a gap.

8) I could live with a temporary hiatus on attempting to steal against SEC pitcher-catcher tandems. I feel like we've shot ourselves in the foot in the last two series, killing in infancy the innings when it seems we might manufacture some points.

9) Silkwood still has the stuff but isn't near as nasty as she could be last season. That said, I know nothing of the nature of nor the status of the injury that kept her out the first few weeks of the season, so there's that.

10) Our freshman pitchers, Cori Cooper and Megan Green, have bright futures.

11) No one is more patient at the plate than Toler nor IMO opinion does anyone have a better eye.

12) Holly Ward has come along marvelously. Although, today's game was forgettable in all aspects including pitching, Ward is a real threat to overtake Silkwood as our "best" pitcher. She's right there.

13) I think our offensive strategy is impatient. See 7 and 8 above. I think we could stand to slow down and see what we can do. In this case I think we would be better to see if we might have more success letting things play out on offense instead of trying to force/manufacture runs.

[BulldogBear]

Due to weather, they have moved Wednesday's home game against UAB up to tonight (Tuesday) at 6pm. This is unfortunate actually as I will be at the baseball game in Pearl and a lot of other folks' attention will be focused there as well. I go every year and don't think they have wifi still at Trustmark Park. So, I may not give updates nor even know what's going on.

[CadaverDawg]

Are we underachieving compared to our talent? All I ever hear is how good of a hire Steudamann was, but it seems like she still loses a lot of games people think we should win.

I admittedly don't follow softball too much, so I am just curious to your overall thoughts on the job she's doing. How long has she been here now, and where were we when she took over? Is the SEC a beast in Softball like it is in other sports? Tough climb up the ladder in other words?

[maroonmania]

Definitely feels like Steudamann has hit a bit of a glass ceiling in that 20-30 rankings range. Not sure what it will take at this point to push to a higher level.

[Tbonewannabe]

I think softball is basically as good as baseball is in the SEC. Last year UF won its 2nd title in a row with AU, LSU, Bama, and UT all in the College World Series so actually softball is probably tougher in the SEC than any other sport. SEC rivals the Pac 12 for softball dominance.

I don't know how our facilities compare now that we have the new stadium but we were playing in a rec league field before.

[BulldogBear]

I think softball is basically as good as baseball is in the SEC. Last year UF won its 2nd title in a row with AU, LSU, Bama, and UT all in the College World Series so actually softball is probably tougher in the SEC than any other sport. SEC rivals the Pac 12 for softball dominance.

I don't know how our facilities compare now that we have the new stadium but we were playing in a rec league field before.

Maybe better even. I'm interested to see how the new facility will help recruiting.

Definitely feels like Steudamann has hit a bit of a glass ceiling in that 20-30 rankings range. Not sure what it will take at this point to push to a higher level.

I think we're more or less on the right track, but man, it is one heckuva(n) uphill climb. I got excited during the early season but it's clear that while we are a better team than last year, we still have a long long way to go. I think the difference will and does show up statistically. I mean, IIRC before this weekend we had the 3rd best ERA IN THE NCAA. But it may not translate into much of a difference in the W-L column. We're more competitive to be sure but still likely won't make a run at the big girls. If you take this past weekend as an example, last year it probably would've gone more like the following. Friday night we took an early 2-0 lead on a UT error, but the charged back and put us away 6-2. Last year that would probably have been 9-2. Saturday we fell behind 8-0 by the 3rd inning; and did manage to come back and make a game of it, losing 8-5; but the eight run rule doesn't come into effect until you've played 5 innings. Last year that would probably been 10-1 or 11-1 by that time and then the run rule would've come into effect. Then Sunday we played hard but they were just too much for us defeating us 9-4 probably similar to what would've happened last year. What I'm getting at is that we are a better team than last year but still 0-3 on the weekend.

Are we underachieving compared to our talent? All I ever hear is how good of a hire Steudamann was, but it seems like she still loses a lot of games people think we should win.

I admittedly don't follow softball too much, so I am just curious to your overall thoughts on the job she's doing. How long has she been here now, and where were we when she took over? Is the SEC a beast in Softball like it is in other sports? Tough climb up the ladder in other words?

Vann was a great hire. Her specialty is pitching and you can see it in the young talent she's brought in. Our freshman pitchers are way ahead IMO of where our freshman (now sophomore) pitchers were this time of year last season. And then look no further than one of those: Holly Ward (SO) has made strides since her "rookie" season and is now threatening to take the top honors from Silkwood. The arms are coming, Vann will get us there on that. And there's probably a difference between games we should win at this point and games we want to be in a position to say we should win! I don't particularly think we are underachieving. I would say the disappointment lies in that we certainly don't seem to be overachieving. We're just kind of where we are...and that means we aren't there yet. And I'm impatient!

And yes, the SEC is a beast....a big, hairy bigfoot on the rag. Definitely a tough climb up the ladder. Goonie Goo Goo.

[ScoobaDawg]

Wonderful job Bear... I'll do my best to provide updates tonight.

[Tbonewannabe]

Maybe better even. I'm interested to see how the new facility will help recruiting.



I think we're more or less on the right track, but man, it is one heckuva(n) uphill climb. I got excited during the early season but it's clear that while we are a better team than last year, we still have a long long way to go. I think the difference will and does show up statistically. I mean, IIRC before this weekend we had the 3rd best ERA IN THE NCAA. But it may not translate into much of a difference in the W-L column. We're more competitive to be sure but still likely won't make a run at the big girls. If you take this past weekend as an example, last year it probably would've gone more like the following. Friday night we took an early 2-0 lead on a UT error, but the charged back and put us away 6-2. Last year that would probably have been 9-2. Saturday we fell behind 8-0 by the 3rd inning; and did manage to come back and make a game of it, losing 8-5; but the eight run rule doesn't come into effect until you've played 5 innings. Last year that would probably been 10-1 or 11-1 by that time and then the run rule would've come into effect. Then Sunday we played hard but they were just too much for us defeating us 9-4 probably similar to what would've happened last year. What I'm getting at is that we are a better team than last year but still 0-3 on the weekend.


Vann was a great hire. Her specialty is pitching and you can see it in the young talent she's brought in. Our freshman pitchers are way ahead IMO of where our freshman (now sophomore) pitchers were this time of year last season. And then look no further than one of those: Holly Ward (SO) has made strides since her "rookie" season and is now threatening to take the top honors from Silkwood. The arms are coming, Vann will get us there on that. And there's probably a difference between games we should win at this point and games we want to be in a position to say we should win! I don't particularly think we are underachieving. I would say the disappointment lies in that we certainly don't seem to be overachieving. We're just kind of where we are...and that means we aren't there yet. And I'm impatient!

And yes, the SEC is a beast....a big, hairy bigfoot on the rag. Definitely a tough climb up the ladder. Goonie Goo Goo.

Pitching seems to be an even bigger deal in softball than baseball. I think Vann is doing a great job especially since softball isn't that strong in MS. I worked with a guy whose daughter was pretty good. He lived around Crystal Springs just south of Jackson and they regularly went to LSU softball games. MSU and UM are below other SEC programs similar to football. We aren't on that tier to compete yet.

[BulldogBear]

Wonderful job Bear... I'll do my best to provide updates tonight.

Thanks