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Softball post season change


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Since we seemed to have quite a bit of interest (at the end of the season) in the softball program. I thought some might like to know about a format change beginning next year. Super Regionals will now be 3 day tournaments instead of a double header on day 2.

http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/softball-super-regional-moves-three-day-format?sf30040455=1

Softball super regional moves to three-day format

Change will begin with next season’s Division I championship

June 30, 2016 3:46pm

Greg Johnson

The Division I Competition Oversight Committee this week approved a change to the super regional format of the Division I Softball Championship, which will take effect in the 2017 season.

Next season, the super regionals will be conducted as three-day competitions. Previously, the softball super regionals were conducted over a two-day period with the third game, if necessary, played as part of a doubleheader on the second day.

Since the third game of the best-of-three series is for a berth in the Women’s College World Series, the Division I Softball Committee believes it should be played as a standalone game on a separate day.

The super regionals can be played Thursday-Sunday the week before the start of the Women’s College World Series.

“The move to conduct the Division I softball super regional as a three-day competition is one that the committee feels will benefit student-athlete welfare,” said Mollie Lehman, committee chair and senior associate commissioner and CFO of the Western Athletic Conference. “The new schedule allows teams to get proper rest before playing the most important game of their season. We certainly want our student-athletes to have the opportunity to be at their peak performance level as they attempt to advance to championship play at the Women’s College Series.”

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Good change.....some of the extra inning games put quite a bit of stress on pitchers.

.I guess the tickets are sold by "session" or maybe for the weekend but with a little creativity I bet they can increase ticket revenue too.

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This is a good change and should have been done from the beginning of the super regional format. This will help all pitchers but the teams with a true #1 like Oklahoma will gain the most from the change.

Just a note, 225 days until softball season starts.

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This is a good change and should have been done from the beginning of the super regional format. This will help all pitchers but the teams with a true #1 like Oklahoma will gain the most from the change.

Some smaller schools like Jax State, Longwood, James Madison and others had the same issues too. The teams were not as good as Oklahoma but each had a terrific pitcher who carried the teams further than expected. No doubt the change helps teams with one really great pitcher....and will enable to them to avoid wearing her out.

I'm guessing that AU is not a beneficiary of the rule change? :dunno:

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/30/2016 at 7:04 PM, AU64 said:

Some smaller schools like Jax State, Longwood, James Madison and others had the same issues too. The teams were not as good as Oklahoma but each had a terrific pitcher who carried the teams further than expected. No doubt the change helps teams with one really great pitcher....and will enable to them to avoid wearing her out.

I'm guessing that AU is not a beneficiary of the rule change? :dunno:

It could benefit teams with one Ace.  On the contrary, could give teams facing the Ace more time to dissect film and adjust to her pitching. Which is exactly why OU didn't pitch their Ace in game two of the Championship series. Which was a great move by their coaching staff.  Its tough to beat great teams twice, even tougher to beat them twice in one day.

I like the change. As far as how it effects AU. We have the best coach in the business, period. We don't have to worry about any rule changes affecting us. He will get the most of his girls and have them prepared to win regardless of when it is.

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28 minutes ago, TXaubie said:

It could benefit teams with one Ace.  On the contrary, could give teams facing the Ace more time to dissect film and adjust to her pitching. Which is exactly why OU didn't pitch their Ace in game two of the Championship series. Which was a great move by their coaching staff.  Its tough to beat great teams twice, even tougher to beat them twice in one day.

I like the change. As far as how it effects AU. We have the best coach in the business, period. We don't have to worry about any rule changes affecting us. He will get the most of his girls and have them prepared to win regardless of when it is.

 You make some good points . But I always wonder when a rule change is proposed,who is pushing it....and who stands to benefit?    These things don't just come out of thin air...and the safety issue is just typical smoke screen like Saban's proposed clock change a while back. Some influential coach or conference sees the change as an advantage to THEM. JMO

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This rule change will help smaller schools tremendously.  Myers believes in building a staff.  This rule may change that.  Now all you need is one really good pitcher and she will pitch all 3 games on different days with a night's rest.  A great pitcher can make an average team good and a good team great.  For one game that's the case in baseball and softball, but when you're playing a series, the difference is even more pronounced in softball where a pitcher can pitch the next day.  You'll probably see coaches recruiting 1 outstanding pitcher and offering her a full ride instead of a partial scholarship.  I'm still trying to get over our series loss.  We were so close.  Myers is a great coach and what he has done for Auburn softball is truly amazing, but in the championship game he was out-coached.

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18 minutes ago, saminbama said:

Myers is a great coach and what he has done for Auburn softball is truly amazing, but in the championship game he was out-coached.

I disagree here.  He put everything in place.  The reason we lost that series was from lack of timely hitting and lack of focus on the defensive side in 1 inning in 2 separate games, the two games we lost.  Overall our team played better than their team minus the 1 pitcher for Oklahoma.  She is arguably the best pitcher in softball right now and Martin out-pitched her in the Series finale.  Also I think there are benefits to having a staff, especially if they pitch as well as Auburn did in the Series.  It will, however, give options to those that have a staff to choose to use 1 pitcher or not.

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2 hours ago, saminbama said:

Now all you need is one really good pitcher and she will pitch all 3 games on different days with a night's rest.

Until that 1 pitcher gets hurt, gets sick, etc.  Then your season is shot.

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4 hours ago, saminbama said:

This rule change will help smaller schools tremendously.  Myers believes in building a staff.  This rule may change that.  Now all you need is one really good pitcher and she will pitch all 3 games on different days with a night's rest.  A great pitcher can make an average team good and a good team great.  For one game that's the case in baseball and softball, but when you're playing a series, the difference is even more pronounced in softball where a pitcher can pitch the next day.  You'll probably see coaches recruiting 1 outstanding pitcher and offering her a full ride instead of a partial scholarship.  I'm still trying to get over our series loss.  We were so close.  Myers is a great coach and what he has done for Auburn softball is truly amazing, but in the championship game he was out-coached.

That's not even remotely true.  We had the bases loaded early in the game with less than 2 outs and didn't score.  Getting the clutch hit was most of the reason we didn't win that last game.  Martin matched their "ace" pitch for pitch in game 3 and actually out pitched here, while, uncharacteristic fielding errors early the game put us behind.  That had ZERO to do with Myers being out coached.   I can't imagine anybody that actually watched that game could come to this conclusion.  Myers wasn't out coached in any game all season and in fact, hasn't been out coached in any game since he got to Auburn. 

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Let me explain, and I hope nobody get's mad because of my position.  I want to emphasize we really didn't have a serious softball program until Coach Myers arrived.  He's an old baseball coach and sometimes he goes back to his roots.  These girls grow up bunting.  When they're little girls, coaches sometimes teach them how to bunt before they're taught how to hit.  Bunting is a vital part of softball.  Unfortunately, Coach Myers goes back to his baseball roots and doesn't emphasize the bunt enough.  In the second inning, we have the bases loaded and 1 out and we're down 0-2.  Carlee Wallace is up to bat.  Did anyone notice where OU's corner infielders were playing?  They were lined up outside the bag on both corners.  The only time in softball your corner infielders are behind the bag is when you're playing slow pitch.  Gasso was baiting us.  If Carlee lays a bunt down the 3rd baseline, the run scores before anyone touches the ball and Carlee probably beats it out.  Now the score is 2-1 and the bases are still loaded with Jade up to bat.  Now I'm not saying the result would be the same as what she did in the game, but her next time up, she parked it.  Unfortunately, Carlee grounds into the DP and no runs score.  In all 3 games, OU never scored after the 3rd inning. Our pitchers were THAT good.  Back to the original thread.  We saw OU win a NC with basically one pitcher.  They went undefeated during the tournament except for the second game of the championship series and that was the only game she didn't pitch.  We saw what happened when their top gun didn't play.  Yes, it is risky to put all your eggs in one basket, but it worked for OU.

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IMO our kids bunted poorly (average at best) at the end of the season - particularly in the cws. 

Our scouting may have indicated the OU pitcher - the best in softball - is impossible to bunt against.

also could be that Wallace just isn't a great bunter?

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IMO we didn't bunt that well the entire season.  It's not something you work on during the WCWS, you work on it in October.

Parker isn't impossible to bunt against and let me explain why.  You have your entire infield set at double play depth.  Parker has all the pitches in her arsenal.  I want a ground ball to get a DP.  What pitch do I throw to get a ground ball?  A drop.  What is the best pitch to bunt?  A drop.

If Wallace isn't a great or good bunter, it's not her fault.  The 2nd inning in game 2 when OU killed us and I was about ready to kick my TV, their #2 and #3 hitters laid down beautiful squeeze bunts and scored 2 runs. They played small ball and then Romero hit a single to drive in another. 

You go to any travel ball tournament and watch a few games.  Whenever a team gets a runner to first with less than 2 outs, I guarantee you the next batter is bunting.  In a game where the pitcher can dominate, you try everything you can to get a runner into scoring position.  One run can make the difference in the game.  These girls grow up bunting.  It's not something they do their whole lives and then forget in college.

I just wish Coach Myers would emphasize it a little more.  This isn't the first time Myers and Gasso have faced off, and she knew his tendencies (baseball roots) and used them. 

I'm a long time fan of the game.  I have 2 daughters who played and my oldest played 2 years in junior college as a pitcher.  When they were playing, I coached.  When my girls were too old to play, I missed the game and a friend convinced me to umpire. I umpired for several years and was fortunate enough to call a few state tournaments.  I've watched a few games in my day and for most of them I was on the field.  I'm also a lifelong Auburn fan and as a softball fan, I'm THRILLED we now have a serious softball program that's only going to get better.

I also want to say, this staff did an AUsome job this year.  I never thought we'd make it to OKC with a walk on outfielder playing SS.  Whitney had moments this season, but she hung on and worked hard and not only did we make to OKC, but we almost won it all.

So close.

 

 

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Wallace is the best clutch hitter we have. To have her bunt with the bases loaded, early in a game, would have been insanity.

 

 

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54 minutes ago, Mikey said:

Wallace is the best clutch hitter we have. To have her bunt with the bases loaded, early in a game, would have been insanity.

 

 

Yep.  With a hitter like that, you try to get a base hit to at least score 2 runs instead of hoping a bunt attempt from a player that hasn't bunted much if at all lay down a squeeze.  Also a long fly ball does the same thing with only 1 out.  If it was late in the game like the 6th inning, then maybe they roll the dice for the tie. 

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1 hour ago, Mikey said:

Wallace is the best clutch hitter we have. To have her bunt with the bases loaded, early in a game, would have been insanity.

 

 

Exactly.  Not to mention she is (In her own words) "as slow as a snail".

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I will make one last post in rebuttal,  since I knew my original treatise would be controversial.  Didn't realize I would be insulted so much, but ....
I have backed up each of my statements with valid points, but I want to make 2 things clear:
1)  I WAS paying attention to the game.  (maybe too much attention for some people).
2)  I am NOT insane.  ( My mother had me tested)  :ucrazy:

We stopped OU's 31 game winning streak in game 2.  Paige Parker pitched in every one of those 31 games.  Her record for the year was 38-3.  She pitched 14 innings against 
us in the WCWS and gave up 3 runs.  All 3 runs were the result of home runs off the bat of Jade Rhodes.
Yes Carlee Wallace is a good clutch hitter.  So is Shay Knighten for OU.  She's their #3 batter, who laid down a beautiful squeeze bunt in game 2.  She hit two walk off home 
runs this year to beat Bammer.  One of those was in the WCWS.  A clutch power hitter who came up with the bases loaded and bunted.
All I'm saying is a team should be prepared to respond in every type of situation.  If players aren't good at one aspect of the game, you concentrate on it in the fall.
In a game situation, if the defense is handing you a possible play, you take it.  With a properly executed bunt, I get at least one run without a doubt.  If I can force the 
most dominant pitcher in the country, a left handed pitcher to field a ball bunted down the 3rd base line because the third baseman is lined up behind the bag, I may also 
get an errant throw.  I may score 2 runs on the play.  I still have at least 2 runners in scoring position and I have my big stick up to bat.

Again, I'm just an old softball guy, who believes in certain situations, the bunt is just as vital to the game as a 2 run double.  My hope is that Coach Myers will emphasize the
bunt a little more in the future.
 

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@saminbama I fully respect your thoughts on this and appreciate you giving insight as to why you have that opinion.  I apologize if comments I have said were insulting to you.  I think what you said makes sense as an option and agree that the bunting could have been used more effectively throughout the season. Based off how the season went I understand why he didn't bunt with Carlee, especially since we would stall at the bottom of the lineup against parker. It is hard to argue against the philosophy of a record setting offense. Myers I feel made the decision he felt best for his team at the time. 

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Sorry...saminbama but since you are relatively new here you need to understand.

 

There are a couple people here who would never bunt...and they seem to ignore situations that result in double plays or infield pop outs...or strike outs that don't advance runners....like that stuff never happens when a batter is allowed to hit away...clutch hitter or not ...and those  "slow as snails" runners are double play bait for certain.    So...never take a run in a sport where a couple runs is often all you need...instead go for the gold....and about 30% of the time, the hitter will deliver.

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First, I didn't see any insults passed here. If something I posted appears that way it was not my intention to insult anyone. Yes, I do consider a bunt with bases loaded and a good hitter at the plate early in a game to be insanity. Particularly with the situation mentioned above, with our low average hitters in the bottom of the order due up before long.

Also, just because a coach calls for a bunt doesn't mean a bunt will be properly executed. See the men's CWS for some good examples. What you do, you take the stick out of the batter's hands, risk a popup to the catcher or pitcher and other undesirable results. Late in a close game where one run may make a huge difference, then if you have a good bunter at the plate, maybe trade an out for a base.

 

If we're going to be claiming creds, I have some 30 years of playing, coaching and managing baseball in my history. No, the two games aren't exactly the same but they are similar enough that many principles are the same.

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Just watching the SEC championship (LSU vs AU) replay on SEC network - Carlee Wallace comes up to bat and they call her the AU MVP of the tournament (SEC) so far for AU.  That is what happened the year before and her clutch hitting - probably why Myers went with that role vice a bunt.  I understand SaminBama's points about the short game but if I was in Myers place, doubt I would have called a bunt either.

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Not intending to insult anyone Mikey but by my observation, and despite all your years of coaching, your view is probably in the minority among the more successful coaches in college baseball and softball...based on what I've seen the past few years.  

  Not picking on any player either but we tend to remember the clutch hits and forget the K or DP with bases full.    The game changes from time to time as rules or equipment are modified but from my observations during recent college baseball and softball seasons and tournaments, coaches are perfectly willing to take one run at a time and willing to swap an out to get that run...and I think results have shown that coaches playing those odds are making the right decisions for the most part. 

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13 hours ago, AU64 said:

Not intending to insult anyone Mikey but by my observation, and despite all your years of coaching, your view is probably in the minority among the more successful coaches in college baseball and softball...based on what I've seen the past few years.  

  Not picking on any player either but we tend to remember the clutch hits and forget the K or DP with bases full.    The game changes from time to time as rules or equipment are modified but from my observations during recent college baseball and softball seasons and tournaments, coaches are perfectly willing to take one run at a time and willing to swap an out to get that run...and I think results have shown that coaches playing those odds are making the right decisions for the most part. 

The bunt proponents also tend to forget the K that follows two fouled bunt attempts, leaving the batter one good swing. TCU made it to the CWS virtually without bunting all season. That's pretty much what our new Auburn coach did too.

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41 minutes ago, Mikey said:

The bunt proponents also tend to forget the K that follows two fouled bunt attempts, leaving the batter one good swing. TCU made it to the CWS virtually without bunting all season. That's pretty much what our new Auburn coach did too.

Dang...you mean Butch had AU in the tournament?  I missed that all together.  :-\   Must have been watching Coastal Carolina...but I will bet you a six pack that AU will adopt a new offensive strategy and will have more bunts next season that in this past one ...and win more of the close games. 

 

 

 

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