2021 Softball Recruiting Thread

[AUBwins 10,074]

59 minutes ago, ellitor said:

I think the bigger need the next couple of years is continue to improve the offense to compliment the pitching we should get.

Still feel we need more power.  A true power bat.  I know Dean likes speed with the way he likes the small ball, but it's always good to have a threat to clear yard at any time she is up to bat.  I was impressed with the freshman that got the Home run in the first game.   Hopefully Tannon comes back soon enough.

[slot canyon 1,333]

On 2/18/2021 at 9:43 AM, ellitor said:

I think the bigger need the next couple of years is continue to improve the offense to compliment the pitching we should get.

 

On 2/18/2021 at 10:45 AM, AUBwins said:

Still feel we need more power.  A true power bat.  I know Dean likes speed with the way he likes the small ball, but it's always good to have a threat to clear yard at any time she is up to bat.  I was impressed with the freshman that got the Home run in the first game.   Hopefully Tannon comes back soon enough.

Made me reflect back to the 2016 group that included Tiffany Howard, Jade Rhodes, Carosone, Cooper and Wallace.  That was a tough group to pitch to.  Complemented by good pitching with Carlson and Martin just to mention a couple.  Also good defense behind the pitcher.  Complete team that nearly went all the way.  

Edited February 20, 2021 by slot canyon

[WarTiger 3,901]

We definitely don't need any pitchers.  Our depth at that position is top notch.  Certainly there's zero evidence anywhere that you need 5 to win a title. That's completely ridiculous.

[Kasey Dunaway2021 11]

On 2/17/2021 at 2:31 PM, Kasey Dunaway2021 said:

We need a pitcher to commit to us and we need to land a transfer pitcher in the 2021 class sense Lexi is leaving and Graduating

 

On 2/5/2021 at 10:15 AM, slot canyon said:

While we are looking on the bright side be aware that some players who do not usually get playing time get valuable minutes during the last few minutes of the game since the outcome has been well decided.  😬

Yeah but what it Penta or Lowe get injured who’s up next that’s my point 

[Kasey Dunaway2021 11]

On 2/18/2021 at 8:33 AM, slot canyon said:

That is always a possibility (Makayla Martin and Ashley Swindle for instance) and can have a major impact on your season.  It would be a real luxury to have 4 or 5 top rated pitchers on staff just in case.  However, I believe top rated pitchers want to go where they are the starting pitchers or at least the # 2 option.  If you are a very good pitcher you are not likely going to go somewhere with the prospect of being the number 3 or 4 pitching option or waiting to get "promoted" due to an injury.  I believe we currently have elevated the quality of our pitching staff this year in terms of quality numbers.  If the other two pitchers step forward all the better.  However, I suspect all of these players want the ball in their hands and there are just so many innings available.  I mentioned in a previous post topic that SEMO had 9 players listed as pitchers with six being P/Inf.  They used 4 in the three games against AU .  Two pitched 6.1 innings each while the others pitched 2 and 1.1 innings.  So 5 players, listed as potential pitchers did not get to throw.  For our part, Penta threw 12 innings (era 0), Lowe threw 5.1 innings (era1.31) and Dismukes threw 1.2 innings.  Penta seems very driven as I suspect is the case for them all.  In a post game interview she said she came to throw against SEC competition and in the CWS.  Lets hope all of our pitchers will have an opportunity to contribute.  Another note is that Penta and Dismukes were  very good hitters in high school and don't be surprised if one or both don't get some at bats. 

True 

[Kasey Dunaway2021 11]

On 2/17/2021 at 9:53 PM, saminbama said:

W

100% agree.  Case in point.  When Alabama won the 2012 WCWS, Jackie Traina pitched every game in the WCWS and Alabama had 3 pitchers on the roster.  In the final series, all 3 games were pitched by Traina and Keilani Ricketts.  During the regular season, 3 or 4 pitchers are enough.  It's nice to have a different starting pitcher for each game of an SEC series, but not absolute.  The big thing is saving arms to be sharp during tournament time, but 5 top pitchers?  There isn't a program in the country with that much depth.

We will beat Bama this year in softball either win 2-1 or sweep them

[Kasey Dunaway2021 11]

On 2/18/2021 at 12:05 PM, slot canyon said:

 

Made me reflect back to the 2016 group that included Tiffany Howard, Jade Rhodes, Carosone, Cooper and Wallace.  That was a tough group to pitch to.  Complemented by good pitching with Carlson and Martin just to mention a couple.  Also good defense behind the pitcher.  Complete team that nearly went all the way.  

I think the offense is good we just need more homeruns but I would like to see the defense get better 

[Kasey Dunaway2021 11]

On 2/19/2021 at 5:44 PM, WarTiger said:

We definitely don't need any pitchers.  Our depth at that position is top notch.  Certainly there's zero evidence anywhere that you need 5 to win a title. That's completely ridiculous.

But Lexi is leaving this year and Sam hasn’t shown what she did last year 

[ellitor 33,082]

5 hours ago, Kasey Dunaway2021 said:

But Lexi is leaving this year

How do we know this? She has another year left because of Covid if she wants to use it.

5 hours ago, Kasey Dunaway2021 said:

Sam hasn’t shown what she did last year 

Foolish to make this statement after 1 appearance.

[ellitor 33,082]

5 hours ago, Kasey Dunaway2021 said:

I think the offense is good

It's not. To be a quality O in the SEC we need to be run ruling a number of teams we are playing now but we aren't run ruling them.

[saminbama 740]

Congrats to Ms. Lisenby.  Looking forward to her getting on the Plains.

[steeleagle 2,945]

17 hours ago, saminbama said:

Congrats to Ms. Lisenby.  Looking forward to her getting on the Plains.

With that name, she had to have been named after Auburn/Aubie and always been an Auburn fan...

I wonder what kind of competition she played against to get that avg? 

She says she is a power hitter...and we need some power hitters recruited/signed....

Interesting...i read an article on her that Casey Meyers was helping her with her catching...

Edited April 14, 2021 by steeleagle

[TigerPAC 965]

@steeleaglebob jones is 7A HS, so largest in AL.  pretty decent competition, although 6A may be more competitive due to shear number of teams.  

[saminbama 740]

That many games in a week, there was probably a weekend tournament involved.  No telling what classes the teams were from.  It depends on where the tournament was and It's reputation.  Established tournaments attract better teams.

[wmsau 63]

Her summer travel team won the highest level championship this past summer, playing 18U. She is the teams catcher.

 

[99TGR 26]

She is the real deal. Hopefully, she will come in and have an immediate impact at catching and at the plate. Ranked third best catcher, 7th best player in the country and the top player in Alabama. 

[Jad0003 405]

It seems this class has more power than previous classes with Lisenby, Blaine, Ellis, Cooper, and Peralta. These players are all ranked in the top 25 and could provide immediate support. Moody and Roach might be able to provide a few HRs but are more gap hitters. Smith is a pure slapper who will use speed to get on base. I’m not sure about McNemar. These players are ranked outside of the top 25 but have all been playing high level travel ball for years, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see at least one make their way into the lineup next year or the year after.

It will ultimately come down to who stays and who goes with the additional year of eligibility. We know 1st base and RF will be open with Perry and Rivera leaving. Dowell and King both have the option to stay, so we could see SS and LF open or not.

Another big question is can the newcomers displace some of the older players. Blaine and Lisenby are great catchers but can they come in as freshman and displace Godwin? Bryant and Schmidt have started at times this year and have lots of potential, but they need to be more consistent. Geraghty was a highly rated recruit who has potential in the outfield. McCondichie had a great freshman year, but she has struggled this year. We could see players moving around to get the best players on the field.

I imagine we will also see a couple move on, whether it be graduation or transfer. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out. 

Edited April 16, 2021 by Jad0003

[blakem 296]

I think next season will be the tell all about what up with the hitting. Whether it be the coaches or just us not having good hitters. All of these girls are good hitters so if they don’t improve then we’ll have our answers.

[blakem 296]

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CLLDihqAzRp/?igshid=5n9vgh8q7wow 
Are we sure if Dowell and King can return. They were both featured in this video that says opens with their final season at Auburn.

[steeleagle 2,945]

44 minutes ago, blakem said:

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CLLDihqAzRp/?igshid=5n9vgh8q7wow 
Are we sure if Dowell and King can return. They were both featured in this video that says opens with their final season at Auburn.

I think they can get that extra year, as any player can other than the ones that are 5th year SR or GS. True Srs can get that extra year..which King and Dowell are according to the roster listed.

[Jad0003 405]

31 minutes ago, steeleagle said:

I think they can get that extra year, as any player can other than the ones that are 5th year SR or GS. True Srs can get that extra year..which King and Dowell are according to the roster listed.

 @steeleagle is correct, but we are not sure who will stay for another year. Based on the video, it would appear everyone is leaving, but I imagine we will get more details on Senior Day. 

If they do all leave, we will have LF, RF, SS, and 1B open. I would also say 3B and C are open based on the number of different players seeing time there. The only spots with a full-time starter returning are 2B and CF. Packer and Cox will be pushed by these newcomers and will need to earn their starts. 

Edited April 16, 2021 by Jad0003

[steeleagle 2,945]

1 minute ago, Jad0003 said:

 @steeleagle is correct, but we are not sure who will stay for another year. Based on the video, it would appear everyone is leaving, but I imagine we will get more details on Senior Day. 

If they do all leave, we will have LF, RF, SS, and 1B open. I would also say 3B and C are open based on the number of different players seeing time there. The only spots with a true starter returning are 2B, CF, and P, but Packer and Cox will be pushed by these newcomers. I do not see anyone displacing Lowe, Penta, Dismukes, and Yarbrough. 

Based on what I saw on the signing, unless he brings in a transfer, none of these signed players were pitchers, or if they were, it was not their primary position.

I didn't see the video, so that may be more telling, than what I only could relate to technically. 

Based on the current starters avgs and production, I can see some Freshmen ladies either taking over the position or definitely pushing the starters. Especially at C and 2nd, and 3rd.  We have got to get more power in the lineup. 

It would be interesting if our current freshman had power numbers coming out of HS. It could tell us that its more of a hitting/teaching issue....

[Jad0003 405]

27 minutes ago, steeleagle said:

Based on what I saw on the signing, unless he brings in a transfer, none of these signed players were pitchers, or if they were, it was not their primary position.

I didn't see the video, so that may be more telling, than what I only could relate to technically. 

Based on the current starters avgs and production, I can see some Freshmen ladies either taking over the position or definitely pushing the starters. Especially at C and 2nd, and 3rd.  We have got to get more power in the lineup. 

It would be interesting if our current freshman had power numbers coming out of HS. It could tell us that its more of a hitting/teaching issue....

We did not sign any pitchers in this class nor do I think we bring in a transfer if Lowe, Penta, Dismukes, and Yarbrough all stay. I could see us bringing in a transfer if one of those four leave though. We have two more highly rated pitchers coming in the next class too.

Denver Bryant and Kelsey Schmidt are the two with the most power in the 2020 class. Cox and Packer are probably good for a few HRs a year but will mainly get on base with line drives and groundballs. Geraghty, who was highly rated out of high school, is a pure slapper. I’m not familiar with Falisi’s stats.

I’d love to try and figure out a lineup for next year, but I’m always wrong with my predictions. We also have a good number of games left to play and too many variables to account for before figuring it out next year.

Edited April 16, 2021 by Jad0003

[Kasey Dunaway2021 11]

On 2/19/2021 at 5:44 PM, WarTiger said:

We definitely don't need any pitchers.  Our depth at that position is top notch.  Certainly there's zero evidence anywhere that you need 5 to win a title. That's completely ridiculous.

Well.... Samantha has had a terrible year which I didn’t expect I expected her to be the starter and dominate we should go after another pitcher in the transfer portal because Lexi is leaving and + Samantha probably will transfer since she isn’t playing anymore so we will need two transfers.

[Jad0003 405]

2 hours ago, Kasey Dunaway2021 said:

Well.... Samantha has had a terrible year which I didn’t expect I expected her to be the starter and dominate we should go after another pitcher in the transfer portal because Lexi is leaving and + Samantha probably will transfer since she isn’t playing anymore so we will need two transfers.

I only see us picking up a transfer if Lowe, Penta, or Dismukes leave. If not, they will all be a year older and a year better. Most pitchers at the college level take a huge step forward after freshman year, so we could see all three take a huge step forward. 

I cannot be certain, but I do not see Sam transferring. She has already transferred once, so she might have to sit out again depending on COVID rules. If she could be a solid contributor our staff just gets way better. 

Softball teams have transitioned to more of a “staff” in recent years, so they utilize two or three pitchers during the year. In reality,  most teams rely on one, maybe two pitchers, when post season hits. 

Edited April 27, 2021 by Jad0003