slot canyon

Saw where Jenna Lord is transferring to Ol'Miss.

Posting this here as it ties together some of what has and is being discussed on this thread: https://247sports.com/college/auburn/Article/Softball-comings-and-goings-Lowe-Bryant-make-major-progress-a-veteran-returns-a-big-time-transfer-arrives-189136555/

I thought this was fun to watch and gives good perspective of what it looks like as a hitter. Emmah Rolfe will wear #4 in orange and blue next season. Watching this I suspect that by the time I decided to swing, the catcher would be throwing the ball back to the pitcher.

A little more on Widra: https://auburntigers.com/news/2022/6/23/softball-michigan-softball-standout-annabelle-widra-transfers-to-auburn.aspx

A couple of articles up on the AU softball site regarding Penta and Ellis. http://auburntigers.com/softball

I don't know why anyone would like to spend another year squatting behind the plate, wearing hot equipment, working that hard and getting all dirty and sweaty. All the catchers have my respect and admiration; especially the ones in Auburn uniforms. Bit of a funny story......Years ago, I don't recall if it was after a fall ball game or early season game I went down on the field to get some autographs and talked with Courtney Shea for a couple of minutes. I asked her why in the world she would want to be a catcher. She said when she first started playing softball, her dad was her coach and she had trouble paying attention in the outfield so he put her at catcher where she would have to pay attention.

Not sure how you would come to that conclusion. Below is her twitter statement. Could it be that she wants to continue to play a sport she apparently loves with people she cares about. She and Lisenby had nearly equal games played and starts. Lisenby BA .269 while Godwin BA .235 Godwin more HR by 10 to 2. Godwin SO 25 Lisenby SO 13. Lisenby had slightly better fielding %. Since the catcher arriving this fall has not yet played college ball I don't see how we make any judgement there.

Agree, would hope Blaine would be part of the team. She did not get much time behind the plate this season and a highly ranked catcher in the incoming class (Skylar Elkins). I have been a fan of Cox and would be disappointed to see her not be a part of the team. I imagine some of the players have to make a difficult choice. For instance Blaine. She arrived as highly ranked recruit at her position and fell into the # 3 catcher behind a senior and another highly ranked catcher. Elkins is also highly ranked arriving this fall and it is unknown how well she might transition from high school to college. Blaine may reasonably be #2 or even #1 but could also remain at #3 position wise. There may be other teams that would provide a clearer path to playing time for her. Just using Blaine as an example. The same situation likely exist for a number of players.

That's what I was thinking and hoping. At this point the staff would be composed of 1 Freshman, 1 Sophomore, 2 Juniors and 1 Senior. Also, like others, sorry to see Schmidt in the portal. Felt she was developing into a good player. Forgot she is from Ohio which could also enter into her decision. Expect to hear good things about her in the future.

Something I intended to mention about the Oklahoma hitters. On some of the "replays" of home runs, they seem to keep their eye on the ball and track it to the bat, at the bat and as it leaves the bat. Seems that I see a lot of hitters pull their head up and off the ball but not so with Oklahoma. Some of the balls they launched were too much over the plate but others appeared to be good pitches that the batter was able engage and overpower. Their hitting stats support their skill and selectivity.

I was pulling for the underdog and got put in my place quickly in game 1 via run rule. Longhorns gave slightly better account of themselves in game 2 but still appears obvious that it is Oklahoma vs the rest of the world. Texas appeared to lose their composure. Easy to see how they could be intimidated. For the combined series Oklahoma had 26 runs to 6 for Texas, 29 hits to 9 for Texas and committed 1 error vs 6 for Texas. Oklahoma hit 8 HR in the two games. Both are supposed to join the SEC I believe in 2025.

When Oklahoma did not start their best pitcher in game 1 with UCLA I wondered if Coach Gasso was banking on game 2 and make UCLA expose their pitching staff. She held her top pitcher out of that crazy game 2 with Auburn at 2016 WCWS with the game tied at the end of 7. She did pitch Paige Parker in games 1 and 3 which they won by 1 run. UCLA needed to win two games today but Oklahoma needed only a single victory. I am sure Oklahoma would have been happy to win the first game but this gave them a chance to basically "scout" the best pitchers from UCLA while holding their best for game two.

Florida gets defeated via run rule by UCLA in bottom of 6th. Don't recall when I have seen the Gators look so flat. Fielding errors, multiple walks surrendered (7), and hitters could not adjust to the change up by the UCLA pitcher (No hitter). Three unearned runs.

How about a "sliding glove" that extends maybe 12 inches beyond the finger tips. Some appear to go at least a couple of inches presently.

I saw that also and could not believe the ruling. Could you have a "strap" 12 inches wide and 2 feet long hanging down?