A lot of feature-y questions asked for others' future stories.
Patty Gasso
Evolution of Jayda Coleman?
It's everything and more than I thought it would be. She has such a good eye for the ball, such a good hitter, good sense. She likes to ask questions, she likes to give answers when we're here looking at video so she is really — leads our team by far in walks. Her walk to strikeout ratio is almost triple. She's just such a tough out and she knows it, and I think pitchers know it too. So she walks up with a different kind of confidence. Every time she comes up to the plate, the attitude I can see if, 'There's no way you're beating me.' And when she has that mindset, you don't beat here. She is the most competitive athlete that I think I've ever seen.
Process to power?
When she came here, she was just really thin, not very strong. Just thinking of her as more of a slapper, bunter, maybe hit a ball through the gap here and there, fast runner, but she got in the weight room and everything changed. With that along with understanding what JT is teaching and really wanting to learn it, I just remember some of the first meetings with her as a freshman, she'd ask a question and it was just almost an obvious answer, and she kind of got a little bit embarrassed because everybody kind of knew the answer but then the more she kept asking questions, the more they were just really outstanding questions. Like her mind thinks differently, works differently. So I've just seen the growth of understanding hitting. It's a science and she kind of has that science mind. On top of that, it's just the strength in the weight room has really paid off tremendously.
Jocelyn Erickson?
I like what she's been doing. It's funny because we talk about matchups and there's many times where Jocy might not be the right matchup but we keep putting her in and she keeps beating the matchup. She wins that matchup even when it's not in her favor, by going opposite field ... there are a few pitches that can really handcuff her. But she's been working really hard on finding ways out of that. So I just hope she stays consistent. The last thing we would want for her to do is find herself not being successful and kind of find that freshman slump and lose her confidence. Right now she's so level-headed. She's not too high, too low. I think that's a sign of somewhat maturity. She's just really been even keel and that's a sign of great hitters. Our best hitters have always been like that. Not too high, not too low.
I ask about finding lineup answers in first month?
It’s interesting. We talk a lot about matchups. And I still — the numbers show one thing. But sometimes my feel feels something else. And I’ve been frustrated at times like with the Dodgers because they’ll always use metrics. And I’m like how can you do that right here? So I give and I take. Like I know and I understand what’s right, but there are times when I’ll override that. So I’m finding what I think some are just regular, everyday whether you’re a good matchup or not you need to be in this lineup. And then we have found others that fit better in certain situations. So we’ll create maybe two or three lineups and we will wait to see what pitcher is going to be thrown and that is the lineup that we’ll use. So some of it is metrics and some of it is feel. It’s a good combination of both.
Tiare & Avery played shortstop on Saturday — thoughts?
I thought Avery played really, really well. She made some really good plays. Rangy, good arm. I thought she did a good job. And she put the ball in play. She’s not gonna be the home run hitter. I think I heard somebody, maybe it was (Chris) Plank, related her to Briana Turang and she can run like that if we can get the ball kind of bounced in the dirt a bit. So she’s going to be that short game, speed attack. But she’s gotten a lot of play and she’s done a good job with it. Her and I thought Quincee (Lilio), Q, did a good job at second. Turned some of her own double plays. I thought they handled it well.
Grace good to go this weekend?
It’s going to be like a last-minute decision on this. I need her to feel better because she’s just not feeling herself. We’ll wait and see. She needs more rest.
FSU on Tues? (I'll be there)
It’s great. It’s been a long time since I’ve had that. It feels like we’re always the one that has to go find it. Luckily, they’re playing Oklahoma State and reached out and said, it’s our spring break, can we play you on Tuesday? Of course. It’s a great treat for our fans to see that. It’s cool that it’s gonna be a nighttime game, mid-week. It’s going to be fun. I really love their coaching staff. Lonni (Alameda) is a former OU player and a former assistant or former grad assistant here. Excited to have her back. She puts together a really good, hardworking team. They remind me of our own team where they’re just well-rounded from all sides. To get a top-five matchup at home is something I haven’t had in a long time. I’m so happy that worked out.
Patty Gasso
Evolution of Jayda Coleman?
It's everything and more than I thought it would be. She has such a good eye for the ball, such a good hitter, good sense. She likes to ask questions, she likes to give answers when we're here looking at video so she is really — leads our team by far in walks. Her walk to strikeout ratio is almost triple. She's just such a tough out and she knows it, and I think pitchers know it too. So she walks up with a different kind of confidence. Every time she comes up to the plate, the attitude I can see if, 'There's no way you're beating me.' And when she has that mindset, you don't beat here. She is the most competitive athlete that I think I've ever seen.
Process to power?
When she came here, she was just really thin, not very strong. Just thinking of her as more of a slapper, bunter, maybe hit a ball through the gap here and there, fast runner, but she got in the weight room and everything changed. With that along with understanding what JT is teaching and really wanting to learn it, I just remember some of the first meetings with her as a freshman, she'd ask a question and it was just almost an obvious answer, and she kind of got a little bit embarrassed because everybody kind of knew the answer but then the more she kept asking questions, the more they were just really outstanding questions. Like her mind thinks differently, works differently. So I've just seen the growth of understanding hitting. It's a science and she kind of has that science mind. On top of that, it's just the strength in the weight room has really paid off tremendously.
Jocelyn Erickson?
I like what she's been doing. It's funny because we talk about matchups and there's many times where Jocy might not be the right matchup but we keep putting her in and she keeps beating the matchup. She wins that matchup even when it's not in her favor, by going opposite field ... there are a few pitches that can really handcuff her. But she's been working really hard on finding ways out of that. So I just hope she stays consistent. The last thing we would want for her to do is find herself not being successful and kind of find that freshman slump and lose her confidence. Right now she's so level-headed. She's not too high, too low. I think that's a sign of somewhat maturity. She's just really been even keel and that's a sign of great hitters. Our best hitters have always been like that. Not too high, not too low.
I ask about finding lineup answers in first month?
It’s interesting. We talk a lot about matchups. And I still — the numbers show one thing. But sometimes my feel feels something else. And I’ve been frustrated at times like with the Dodgers because they’ll always use metrics. And I’m like how can you do that right here? So I give and I take. Like I know and I understand what’s right, but there are times when I’ll override that. So I’m finding what I think some are just regular, everyday whether you’re a good matchup or not you need to be in this lineup. And then we have found others that fit better in certain situations. So we’ll create maybe two or three lineups and we will wait to see what pitcher is going to be thrown and that is the lineup that we’ll use. So some of it is metrics and some of it is feel. It’s a good combination of both.
Tiare & Avery played shortstop on Saturday — thoughts?
I thought Avery played really, really well. She made some really good plays. Rangy, good arm. I thought she did a good job. And she put the ball in play. She’s not gonna be the home run hitter. I think I heard somebody, maybe it was (Chris) Plank, related her to Briana Turang and she can run like that if we can get the ball kind of bounced in the dirt a bit. So she’s going to be that short game, speed attack. But she’s gotten a lot of play and she’s done a good job with it. Her and I thought Quincee (Lilio), Q, did a good job at second. Turned some of her own double plays. I thought they handled it well.
Grace good to go this weekend?
It’s going to be like a last-minute decision on this. I need her to feel better because she’s just not feeling herself. We’ll wait and see. She needs more rest.
FSU on Tues? (I'll be there)
It’s great. It’s been a long time since I’ve had that. It feels like we’re always the one that has to go find it. Luckily, they’re playing Oklahoma State and reached out and said, it’s our spring break, can we play you on Tuesday? Of course. It’s a great treat for our fans to see that. It’s cool that it’s gonna be a nighttime game, mid-week. It’s going to be fun. I really love their coaching staff. Lonni (Alameda) is a former OU player and a former assistant or former grad assistant here. Excited to have her back. She puts together a really good, hardworking team. They remind me of our own team where they’re just well-rounded from all sides. To get a top-five matchup at home is something I haven’t had in a long time. I’m so happy that worked out.
