Excellent post by a fan on another board.
The huge fact about 2020 and the Sooner softball offensive production is that there is absolutely no way to replace the talent of Romero, Clifton, Knighten, Aviu, Rogers and yes even Lundberg. Those numbers cannot be replaced in one year.
Even with saying that, I am pretty impressed with the freshman that have arrived for the Sooners in the 2019-20 class. But their task of replacing last year’s seniors is simply not fair to expect as freshman.
I will start by talking about the obvious returning starters.
Jocelyn Alo – It looks like she will start in LF this year. During the fall, she batted in the 3rd spot of the lineup. I think that was because Coach Gasso wanted to see who could possibly bat at the top of the lineup in front of Alo. I fully expect Alo to bat 2nd this spring which allows Green to bat 3rd. I think the two best bats for the Sooners will be Alo and Green. Alo looked as impressive as I think she has been in a Sooner uniform this fall. She looked very comfortable at the plate and simply hit the ball where it was pitched. She almost always hit the ball very hard. She did not swing at bad pitches either. popcorn 6 HRs in the 10 games along with 3 double and a triple. She hit .563 for the fall. She scored 18 runs and had 20 RBIs. It is no surprise for me to say that I expect a big year from Alo. I think she will have a year that will be somewhere between her freshman and sophomore year. Let’s say that she will hit .390 with an ob-base % of .500+. She will hit 25 or so HRs.
Grace Green – Green only played RF during the fall. I think that is where she will play to start the spring. She could be a better than average outfielder. As the year moves along, she could move to play another position if needed. We will probably see more movement among the players this year than we normally do. I think the team needs Green to have a very good year in 2020 both on defense and offense. She had a very strong freshman year. She needs to have a better year in 2020. Hopefully her numbers will be somewhere near .375 BA, near .500 OB%. Hopefully she will hit 20+ HRs for the year as well as 15+ doubles. I will say that a reliable hitter to hit behind Green will be very important to make pitchers pitch to Green. Green will follow Alo in the batting order and bat 3rd.
Grace Lyons – I think Lyons will be asked to really step up offensively in her sophomore year. The fall she batted 1st, 2nd and 5th. She did have a good fall as she hit .536 with a HR. What I could not say is that her swing changed. I don’t know if G3’s swing is a good swing or if it is not. But it is different for a softball player. She has more of an uppercut in her swing than what is ideal. But it is her swing. If she can hit with her swing, she should not change it. Last year she hit .263, .380 and .511. How much better can she be over a full season? I think that if she hit .345 with a .440 OB% and 12+ doubles and 12+ HRs everyone would be very happy. Maybe she can do that. We all know that she will do the job very well defensively at SS which includes this year to be in charge of the infield on every pitch. Lyons has a much bigger roles in 2020. Where will she hit? I do not think she will bat leadoff. I think she will hit either fourth or fifth in the lineup. The better she hits, she cements herself in the 4th spot in the lineup.
The two Grace’s, as sophomores, will be asked to do a lot this year. They are a big key to how the team performs.
Lynnsie Elam – Elam’s swing looked much quicker as I have commented throughout the fall. It is definitely shorter to the ball. This allows her to start her swing later which helps on off-speed and breaking pitches. He demonstrated that the fall when she hit a HR to LF on a decent changeup that she recognized and hit very hard. Elam hit 3 HRs in the fall. She played C, 1B and 3B. She looked like a strong defensive player at all three positions. She will start at catcher. If she could improve her offensive stats she will cement her position at catcher for 2020 and 2021. A goal for Elam would be something like 0.325, .385 and 10+ doubles and 10+ HRs. That would be a significant improvement for Elam. I think she will hit 7th or 8th in the lineup depending on the lineup. Like always, I am sure that Elam has worked very hard to improve her swing and I hope she is rewarded for that hard work.
Now to address the other two probably starters.
Taylon Snow – The junior transfer from Auburn only played 2B this fall. That is where she will play in 2020. She batted leadoff, second and 9th in the fall. Late in the fall she suffered a setback in her left shoulder injury that was hurt in May last season at Auburn. Because of that, she did not play the last two games of the fall. Ii hope her left shoulder gets fully healed before the long season starting in February. Historically at Auburn she is a lefty slap hitter that hits .325. She only walks about 10 times a year with about 10 EBH. I do not think that adds up to her batting leadoff for the Sooners in front of Alo ad Green. She should bat 9th for the Sooners, but with some lineups she could bat leadoff. I think Snow will be a good player for the Sooners. But, I do not see her doing much more with her bat unless she hits for a higher average.
Kinzie Hansen – The highly regarded Hansen will very likely start at first base for the Sooners. She was primarily recruited as a catcher although she has played some first base. During the fall she played both first base and catcher. Probably more at first base. She looked good at both positions. I will say that a positive that Hansen brings is the leader that she seems to be. Often this fall, she brought the infield together to or went to the young pitchers and encouraged them. It seems to be part of her makeup. I think that will be needed ON the field this year. She will catch to help out Elam, but she will the starting first baseman from what we saw in the fall. She also showed a pretty good bat in the fall. She is a line drive hitter and can hit the ball to all fields. She hit .444 with a HR in the fall. I do not think she will strikeout much either. Due to her power, her bat will run into several HRs but I do not think she is a HR hitter. I would say that 6 or 7 HRs could be realistic number. If she were to hit north of .333 as a freshman it would be a good year for her. She could do better than those numbers if she starts strong and gains confidence early. She certainly looked better as the fall progressed. Because she can make contact with some authority, I think she will bat 5th or maybe 4th. Hansen and Lyons might flip flop often based upon the ‘hot hitter’. The better Hansen hits and plays, the better the Sooners will be offensively.
Now for the three tough positions to call.
Eliyah Flores – From the fall play, I would say that she will start the fall as the third baseman. (Is it basewoman / baseperson these days?) She has probably earned that from her potential offensive production and her solid defense. She looked pretty good at the plate this fall. Her bat was quick, powerful and more in control. She had 15 RBIs which was 2nd on the team. She batted in the 6th in the lineup for the most part. She hit .333 with 2 doubles and 3 HRs. I think that she could be the big surprise offensively for the Sooners in 2020. I do not think that a .360 BA, .425 OB% and double digit doubles and HRs is out of the picture for the older Flores. Anything above .320 with some power and timely hits will keep her in the lineup. I think she will bat 6th in the lineup.
Rylie Boone – I think that Boone will get the nod in CF due to her defense and the need for a leadoff hitter for the Sooners. She batted leadoff for the majority of the games during the fall season. She looks like she has the skills to do so. She certainly has filled that role well prior to her arrival at OU. If she bats leadoff, she will get some pitches to hit because of Ms. Alo standing in the on-deck circle. That will help also. While I would not call Boone really fast in a classic way. But she does cover ground quickly. She makes it to second very quickly and has the base running instincts of a pesky runner. Her five doubles led the team in the fall. She hit .433 in the fall with a walk and a HB. She also had a triple. She seems to know the strike zone so I expect her to earn her share of walks over a season. I do not think that a .333 batting average and a .400+ on-base % is out of the question for Boone. If her numbers are better than that, it is a plus. The on-base % is what is important for the leadoff hitter. She will have some power, but it will likely be doubles and triples with a few HRs along the way. If she does not bat leadoff, I think Snow will with Boone batting 9th. She has the CF job for sure unless she does not hit at all.
The last position is the DP/DH role. Who will that be? I think that this position will be rotated early in the spring. It is possible that all four of the remaining player will be involved. Those players are Donihoo, A Flores, Pogue and Koeltzow.
Mackenzie Donihoo – Donihoo looked like a strong D1 player this fall. She is a small package that has quite a punch. She played SS, 3B and 2B. Her only error was a throw from 3B to first. Other than that she looked very good defensively with a good arm. At the plate she looks like a hitter. Her stance and swing is simple and quick. Her best quality is that she does hit low pitches in the zone very well. She will pepper the left field fence on pitches down and in. She hit .500 for the fall with 4 doubles and a triple. She also walked 9 times and had 5 SB. As DP, she will hit probably 8th and help turn over the lineup. I think Donihoo will likely hit over .333 with walks and her share of power including HRs. As she learns to handle pitches up and in, she often is jammed on these pitches, she will improve from that. If for some reason, E Flores or Snow falter in the early spring, I think Donihoo will be the used more at 3B or 2B. She may even get looks at both positions anyway in some sort of rotation. I really liked watching Donihoo play this fall.
Alycia Flores – ‘Little’ Flores also looked pretty good this fall. She swung at a few up pitches that I am sure she will try to minimize but she can hit the ball. She does have power as well as she hit one in the fall with 3 doubles. She has some ‘clutch hitter’ in her also as she did get some hits with runners on base. She is an above average outfielder (perhaps better than Alo or Green) but probably not quite as good as Boone. Flores will be in the lineup some as either DP or in the OF with probably Green at DP. When she is, she may bat 7th after her big sister with Elam moving down a spot. I think A Flores could hit as high as .320 or so with EBH that will grow with the number of at bats she has. She could be a surprising player as well if her playing time increases.
Kinsey Koeltzow and Raylee Pogue – Both hit the ball well during the fall. Koeltzow played catcher and RF. Pogue played LF and RF. I think they will get some chances at the DP spot or to play on defense late in games. Pogue may be the designated 1st pinch-runner. Koeltzow will be somewhat limited as the 3rd catcher, but if Elam and Hansen are still in the game, Koeltzow will get chances.
To sum it up, the offense will be pretty good with perhaps all 9 players in the lineup ending up with .300+ batting averages being optimistic. The offense will not be a prolific as last year’s offense but it will still score 5+ runs a game perhaps as high as 7. That could still place them in the Top 50 for runs scored a game.
They certainly scored a lot in the fall with 114 runs in 8 games. But the competition was not that strong. But they did score at least 11 runs in each game.
I am purposely being optimistic about the numbers. The numbers I talked about above are perhaps the high-side for each player. The low-sides could be batting averages of .225 to .250 with enough at bats for the new players. But all of these players are highly recruited. They should play well if given the chance. I welcome any feedback about the offense or my thoughts on the players.
In closing, I think the batting order will be:
1. Boone CF
2. Alo LF
3. Green RF
4. Lyons SS
5. Hansen 1B
6. E Flores 3B
7. Elam C or A Flores DP
8. Donihoo DP or Elam C
9. Snow 2B
Boomer Sooner!
The huge fact about 2020 and the Sooner softball offensive production is that there is absolutely no way to replace the talent of Romero, Clifton, Knighten, Aviu, Rogers and yes even Lundberg. Those numbers cannot be replaced in one year.
Even with saying that, I am pretty impressed with the freshman that have arrived for the Sooners in the 2019-20 class. But their task of replacing last year’s seniors is simply not fair to expect as freshman.
I will start by talking about the obvious returning starters.
Jocelyn Alo – It looks like she will start in LF this year. During the fall, she batted in the 3rd spot of the lineup. I think that was because Coach Gasso wanted to see who could possibly bat at the top of the lineup in front of Alo. I fully expect Alo to bat 2nd this spring which allows Green to bat 3rd. I think the two best bats for the Sooners will be Alo and Green. Alo looked as impressive as I think she has been in a Sooner uniform this fall. She looked very comfortable at the plate and simply hit the ball where it was pitched. She almost always hit the ball very hard. She did not swing at bad pitches either. popcorn 6 HRs in the 10 games along with 3 double and a triple. She hit .563 for the fall. She scored 18 runs and had 20 RBIs. It is no surprise for me to say that I expect a big year from Alo. I think she will have a year that will be somewhere between her freshman and sophomore year. Let’s say that she will hit .390 with an ob-base % of .500+. She will hit 25 or so HRs.
Grace Green – Green only played RF during the fall. I think that is where she will play to start the spring. She could be a better than average outfielder. As the year moves along, she could move to play another position if needed. We will probably see more movement among the players this year than we normally do. I think the team needs Green to have a very good year in 2020 both on defense and offense. She had a very strong freshman year. She needs to have a better year in 2020. Hopefully her numbers will be somewhere near .375 BA, near .500 OB%. Hopefully she will hit 20+ HRs for the year as well as 15+ doubles. I will say that a reliable hitter to hit behind Green will be very important to make pitchers pitch to Green. Green will follow Alo in the batting order and bat 3rd.
Grace Lyons – I think Lyons will be asked to really step up offensively in her sophomore year. The fall she batted 1st, 2nd and 5th. She did have a good fall as she hit .536 with a HR. What I could not say is that her swing changed. I don’t know if G3’s swing is a good swing or if it is not. But it is different for a softball player. She has more of an uppercut in her swing than what is ideal. But it is her swing. If she can hit with her swing, she should not change it. Last year she hit .263, .380 and .511. How much better can she be over a full season? I think that if she hit .345 with a .440 OB% and 12+ doubles and 12+ HRs everyone would be very happy. Maybe she can do that. We all know that she will do the job very well defensively at SS which includes this year to be in charge of the infield on every pitch. Lyons has a much bigger roles in 2020. Where will she hit? I do not think she will bat leadoff. I think she will hit either fourth or fifth in the lineup. The better she hits, she cements herself in the 4th spot in the lineup.
The two Grace’s, as sophomores, will be asked to do a lot this year. They are a big key to how the team performs.
Lynnsie Elam – Elam’s swing looked much quicker as I have commented throughout the fall. It is definitely shorter to the ball. This allows her to start her swing later which helps on off-speed and breaking pitches. He demonstrated that the fall when she hit a HR to LF on a decent changeup that she recognized and hit very hard. Elam hit 3 HRs in the fall. She played C, 1B and 3B. She looked like a strong defensive player at all three positions. She will start at catcher. If she could improve her offensive stats she will cement her position at catcher for 2020 and 2021. A goal for Elam would be something like 0.325, .385 and 10+ doubles and 10+ HRs. That would be a significant improvement for Elam. I think she will hit 7th or 8th in the lineup depending on the lineup. Like always, I am sure that Elam has worked very hard to improve her swing and I hope she is rewarded for that hard work.
Now to address the other two probably starters.
Taylon Snow – The junior transfer from Auburn only played 2B this fall. That is where she will play in 2020. She batted leadoff, second and 9th in the fall. Late in the fall she suffered a setback in her left shoulder injury that was hurt in May last season at Auburn. Because of that, she did not play the last two games of the fall. Ii hope her left shoulder gets fully healed before the long season starting in February. Historically at Auburn she is a lefty slap hitter that hits .325. She only walks about 10 times a year with about 10 EBH. I do not think that adds up to her batting leadoff for the Sooners in front of Alo ad Green. She should bat 9th for the Sooners, but with some lineups she could bat leadoff. I think Snow will be a good player for the Sooners. But, I do not see her doing much more with her bat unless she hits for a higher average.
Kinzie Hansen – The highly regarded Hansen will very likely start at first base for the Sooners. She was primarily recruited as a catcher although she has played some first base. During the fall she played both first base and catcher. Probably more at first base. She looked good at both positions. I will say that a positive that Hansen brings is the leader that she seems to be. Often this fall, she brought the infield together to or went to the young pitchers and encouraged them. It seems to be part of her makeup. I think that will be needed ON the field this year. She will catch to help out Elam, but she will the starting first baseman from what we saw in the fall. She also showed a pretty good bat in the fall. She is a line drive hitter and can hit the ball to all fields. She hit .444 with a HR in the fall. I do not think she will strikeout much either. Due to her power, her bat will run into several HRs but I do not think she is a HR hitter. I would say that 6 or 7 HRs could be realistic number. If she were to hit north of .333 as a freshman it would be a good year for her. She could do better than those numbers if she starts strong and gains confidence early. She certainly looked better as the fall progressed. Because she can make contact with some authority, I think she will bat 5th or maybe 4th. Hansen and Lyons might flip flop often based upon the ‘hot hitter’. The better Hansen hits and plays, the better the Sooners will be offensively.
Now for the three tough positions to call.
Eliyah Flores – From the fall play, I would say that she will start the fall as the third baseman. (Is it basewoman / baseperson these days?) She has probably earned that from her potential offensive production and her solid defense. She looked pretty good at the plate this fall. Her bat was quick, powerful and more in control. She had 15 RBIs which was 2nd on the team. She batted in the 6th in the lineup for the most part. She hit .333 with 2 doubles and 3 HRs. I think that she could be the big surprise offensively for the Sooners in 2020. I do not think that a .360 BA, .425 OB% and double digit doubles and HRs is out of the picture for the older Flores. Anything above .320 with some power and timely hits will keep her in the lineup. I think she will bat 6th in the lineup.
Rylie Boone – I think that Boone will get the nod in CF due to her defense and the need for a leadoff hitter for the Sooners. She batted leadoff for the majority of the games during the fall season. She looks like she has the skills to do so. She certainly has filled that role well prior to her arrival at OU. If she bats leadoff, she will get some pitches to hit because of Ms. Alo standing in the on-deck circle. That will help also. While I would not call Boone really fast in a classic way. But she does cover ground quickly. She makes it to second very quickly and has the base running instincts of a pesky runner. Her five doubles led the team in the fall. She hit .433 in the fall with a walk and a HB. She also had a triple. She seems to know the strike zone so I expect her to earn her share of walks over a season. I do not think that a .333 batting average and a .400+ on-base % is out of the question for Boone. If her numbers are better than that, it is a plus. The on-base % is what is important for the leadoff hitter. She will have some power, but it will likely be doubles and triples with a few HRs along the way. If she does not bat leadoff, I think Snow will with Boone batting 9th. She has the CF job for sure unless she does not hit at all.
The last position is the DP/DH role. Who will that be? I think that this position will be rotated early in the spring. It is possible that all four of the remaining player will be involved. Those players are Donihoo, A Flores, Pogue and Koeltzow.
Mackenzie Donihoo – Donihoo looked like a strong D1 player this fall. She is a small package that has quite a punch. She played SS, 3B and 2B. Her only error was a throw from 3B to first. Other than that she looked very good defensively with a good arm. At the plate she looks like a hitter. Her stance and swing is simple and quick. Her best quality is that she does hit low pitches in the zone very well. She will pepper the left field fence on pitches down and in. She hit .500 for the fall with 4 doubles and a triple. She also walked 9 times and had 5 SB. As DP, she will hit probably 8th and help turn over the lineup. I think Donihoo will likely hit over .333 with walks and her share of power including HRs. As she learns to handle pitches up and in, she often is jammed on these pitches, she will improve from that. If for some reason, E Flores or Snow falter in the early spring, I think Donihoo will be the used more at 3B or 2B. She may even get looks at both positions anyway in some sort of rotation. I really liked watching Donihoo play this fall.
Alycia Flores – ‘Little’ Flores also looked pretty good this fall. She swung at a few up pitches that I am sure she will try to minimize but she can hit the ball. She does have power as well as she hit one in the fall with 3 doubles. She has some ‘clutch hitter’ in her also as she did get some hits with runners on base. She is an above average outfielder (perhaps better than Alo or Green) but probably not quite as good as Boone. Flores will be in the lineup some as either DP or in the OF with probably Green at DP. When she is, she may bat 7th after her big sister with Elam moving down a spot. I think A Flores could hit as high as .320 or so with EBH that will grow with the number of at bats she has. She could be a surprising player as well if her playing time increases.
Kinsey Koeltzow and Raylee Pogue – Both hit the ball well during the fall. Koeltzow played catcher and RF. Pogue played LF and RF. I think they will get some chances at the DP spot or to play on defense late in games. Pogue may be the designated 1st pinch-runner. Koeltzow will be somewhat limited as the 3rd catcher, but if Elam and Hansen are still in the game, Koeltzow will get chances.
To sum it up, the offense will be pretty good with perhaps all 9 players in the lineup ending up with .300+ batting averages being optimistic. The offense will not be a prolific as last year’s offense but it will still score 5+ runs a game perhaps as high as 7. That could still place them in the Top 50 for runs scored a game.
They certainly scored a lot in the fall with 114 runs in 8 games. But the competition was not that strong. But they did score at least 11 runs in each game.
I am purposely being optimistic about the numbers. The numbers I talked about above are perhaps the high-side for each player. The low-sides could be batting averages of .225 to .250 with enough at bats for the new players. But all of these players are highly recruited. They should play well if given the chance. I welcome any feedback about the offense or my thoughts on the players.
In closing, I think the batting order will be:
1. Boone CF
2. Alo LF
3. Green RF
4. Lyons SS
5. Hansen 1B
6. E Flores 3B
7. Elam C or A Flores DP
8. Donihoo DP or Elam C
9. Snow 2B
Boomer Sooner!
