Originally posted by sybarite:
You are a downer. Aren't you? Let's see:
We had two long outs that almost made it out, both coming about three to four feet from the wall. It's just that LSU's one went out.
We had runners on first twice when the hitter lined a shot off of the pitcher''s leg, the type that usually deflects off to nowhere and leaves no play. Instead, both times, it deflects right to the shortstop as though it had been hit right at her, almost leading to double plays. Another time with a runner on first, we hit a line shot to third that almost became a double play.
We had the go ahead run on second with two outs, and Chamberlain lined a shot into right. It went right to the right fielder.
There are days like that in softball and baseball which is why they tend to play more than one game in championships.
The sole difference? They had one great hitter whose shot went out. Our great hitters's shots didn't go out. One hit---period--was the difference. And, the person who hit it hadn't hit the ball out of the infield the entire game.
I don't disagree with your analysis of how softball, or for that matter, baseball games go. But you guy were talking about this team as some sort of juggernaut, and they aren't that, not close. I think they are one of the teams with a legit shot at an NC. But the great lineup doesn't mean much when you play against a quality pitcher with a quality defense. You better be able to pitch.
I thought that Parker did a nice job tonight. The pitch that got hit out was a foot high out of the strike zone. But part of why that went out was because she doesn't have the kind of velocity that would make swinging at that pitch a no way decision.
Sounds to me like you're talking about warning track power. Shelby hit a rocket in the sixth that did exactly has you described, but that's why it's a game about pitching and defense.
If you're OU, and you go to the stadium of the number one ranked team in the country and get a split, then you've had a good weekend. But tomorrow is a lot more important for OU than it is for LSU. We don't have really have another quality win on the schedule left. Maybe Baylor. The SEC schools have five or six schools that are elite or close to that. The XII this season is not very good. That can mean a lot of things.
But one thing it does mean is that OU won't be facing a bunch of quality pitchers for the rest of the regular season. Makes it hard when tournament time rolls around. Parker will only get better. But LSU's pitcher tonight was also a freshman. I wish Georgia was back close to full speed. I saw her name in a box score in the last week, so maybe she's getting close to getting back out there.
Instead of calling me negative, think of me trying to keep the lid on expectations. We've seen what goes on around here, when the only acceptable end result of a season is an NC, and the actual result falls short of that. This a a really good team with a chance to be a champion. But they aren't one of the best three or four teams in the country right now.
Parker's performance tonight was encouraging moving forward. But this group is going to have to measure themselves by themselves, not by smoking mediocre teams that give you five outs in an inning a couple of times a game. This team kills teams like that. But they aren't going to manufacture runs very often against a quality defense. And lighting up Iowa isn't nearly as good an indicator of how good you are, as how you play against a pitcher throwing in the 70s with good control and a top defense behind her.
