2021 Softball Schedule & Season Discussion Thread

[AUBwins 10,075]

My gosh, I hope we keep our pitchers.  Dean must have great pitchers the way he likes to play.  I agree the freshmen are such a bright spot if we can only keep them! We are bringing in talent but my goodness we need a hitting revival lol. 

[tigersrock1980 17]

1 hour ago, AU1947 said:

As far as the routine plays I have heard all they do is scrimmage. It also troubles me that he touted the best pitching staff he has ever had and the deepest too. We have only seen Penta, Dismukes, and Lowe. Yarborough had accolades from last season and a lot of preseason hype and I looked it up.. She has only seen 10 innings with 2.66 of those coming from the Missouri series and looked like she did last year. Handley is still inconsistent. I had heard that they use Yarborough and Handley for scrimmaging practice.... 

Handley looked pretty good in her short outing on Wednesday.  Hard to get consistent when CMD has a short leash and she hasn’t pitched many innings.  She pitched well early this year against South Carolina and then hasn’t seen the field much. Only one really rough outing and that was because she was put into the game without any warm ups due to CMDs lack of communication. He had another pitcher warming up but then called in Handley.  He’s a joke.  

[steeleagle 2,945]

15 hours ago, tigersrock1980 said:

Handley looked pretty good in her short outing on Wednesday.  Hard to get consistent when CMD has a short leash and she hasn’t pitched many innings.  She pitched well early this year against South Carolina and then hasn’t seen the field much. Only one really rough outing and that was because she was put into the game without any warm ups due to CMDs lack of communication. He had another pitcher warming up but then called in Handley.  He’s a joke.  

Handley has been inconsistent. Penta and Lowe have been the most effective as starters. And w/ Lowe being LHP, I don't believe it is good to start 2 LHP against predominately RH batters. 

I am glad she has pitched well recently in spot relief and that is good to see. We will still need her near the end of season and into playoffs.

And if you look at the top teams like OK, and others, they basically use 2 top pitchers and sometimes use a 3rd pitcher but very rarely. 

[tigersrock1980 17]

4 hours ago, steeleagle said:

Handley has been inconsistent. Penta and Lowe have been the most effective as starters. And w/ Lowe being LHP, I don't believe it is good to start 2 LHP against predominately RH batters. 

I am glad she has pitched well recently in spot relief and that is good to see. We will still need her near the end of season and into playoffs.

And if you look at the top teams like OK, and others, they basically use 2 top pitchers and sometimes use a 3rd pitcher but very rarely. 

Hard to be consistent when pitching a total of 17.1 innings and having  such a short leash. Maybe CMD should have use all of “his best staff” early in the year so they all could get consistent.  Penta hasn’t been too consistent during SEC play. Lowe, agree, is pitching well.  

[saminbama 740]

Here's an interesting stat.  Auburn boasts the sixth toughest schedule in the country, according to the NCAA. The Tigers' opponents hold a combined .657 win percentage and 1,001 total wins.  We have a RPI in the top 10.  Something everyone might consider with our young team.

[steeleagle 2,945]

42 minutes ago, tigersrock1980 said:

Hard to be consistent when pitching a total of 17.1 innings and having  such a short leash. Maybe CMD should have use all of “his best staff” early in the year so they all could get consistent.  Penta hasn’t been too consistent during SEC play. Lowe, agree, is pitching well.  

Pitching has not been our problem. We have winning pitchers with Lowe and Penta w/ relief from KK and Lexie. Softball teams operate predominately this way.

Hitting has, been our achilles heel, along w no power hitters. As well as some head scratching decisions w baserunners. 

[AU1947 157]

35 minutes ago, saminbama said:

Here's an interesting stat.  Auburn boasts the sixth toughest schedule in the country, according to the NCAA. The Tigers' opponents hold a combined .657 win percentage and 1,001 total wins.  We have a RPI in the top 10.  Something everyone might consider with our young team.

And we are 13th in runs scored which is 67 runs less than 12th. And we are dead last in hits too!

[saminbama 740]

The next two series are important to our seeding in the SEC tournament.  The bottom 2 teams play a play-in game the first night.  Right now those 2 teams are USCe and MSU and we are 3 games ahead of USCe.  Our next 2 series are UTk which is our last home series and LSU.  These 2 teams are 7th and 6th respectively in the conference standings.  USCe closes with MSU which has won 1 SEC game and UK.  USCe has an easier schedule, but I think if we can win 1 game in each of these series, we can avoid the play-in game.  If we get swept both weekends, It will be tough.

[AUBwins 10,075]

3 hours ago, saminbama said:

The next two series are important to our seeding in the SEC tournament.  The bottom 2 teams play a play-in game the first night.  Right now those 2 teams are USCe and MSU and we are 3 games ahead of USCe.  Our next 2 series are UTk which is our last home series and LSU.  These 2 teams are 7th and 6th respectively in the conference standings.  USCe closes with MSU which has won 1 SEC game and UK.  USCe has an easier schedule, but I think if we can win 1 game in each of these series, we can avoid the play-in game.  If we get swept both weekends, It will be tough.

LSU has come alive lately. Swept a DH at Kentucky today I believe.  

[AU1947 157]

JMO...

As I watched a great Arkansas vs Mizzou series ending with the game last night. I came to the realization that our ladies are missing a lot of what I saw on TV from the other SEC teams. We are 11th in the SEC for a reason!

We are missing characteristics that other teams display; swagger, leadership, motivation, smiles, fun, grit, fundamentally sound defensively, determination, confidence at the plate, not going to lose attitude, and just plain enjoyment of the game..... we also are not demanding or getting RESPECT for the same reasons.

Case in point.... lost to UT Chattanooga 1-0 and they were 9-21....

All of those characteristics are what the top SEC teams are boasting and displaying.

I was very impressed by Carlee McConditchie's defense range and play this weekend on what should have been a base hit. She needs more opportunities, especially at the plate again as she was hitting over .400 last year. She has produced in the past and hasn't been given an opportunity like many others..

We cannot score enough to win WITHOUT help of errors by our opponents.  It appears that we have become complacent in accepting mediocrity in our fall from the success we enjoyed in previous years. We have the talent to WIN! Especially against the top SEC programs that we once were compared too.. We should be more competitive than what we are seeing....  

And NOT losing to UT Chattanooga 1-0. 

Definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.

[blakem 296]

4 minutes ago, AU1947 said:

JMO...

As I watched a great Arkansas vs Mizzou series ending with the game last night. I came to the realization that our ladies are missing a lot of what I saw on TV from the other SEC teams. We are 11th in the SEC for a reason!

We are missing characteristics that other teams display; swagger, leadership, motivation, smiles, fun, grit, fundamentally sound defensively, determination, confidence at the plate, not going to lose attitude, and just plain enjoyment of the game..... we also are not demanding or getting RESPECT for the same reasons.

Case in point.... lost to UT Chattanooga 1-0 and they were 9-21....

All of those characteristics are what the top SEC teams are boasting and displaying.

I was very impressed by Carlee McConditchie's defense range and play this weekend on what should have been a base hit. She needs more opportunities, especially at the plate again as she was hitting over .400 last year. She has produced in the past and hasn't been given an opportunity like many others..

We cannot score enough to win WITHOUT help of errors by our opponents.  It appears that we have become complacent in accepting mediocrity in our fall from the success we enjoyed in previous years. We have the talent to WIN! Especially against the top SEC programs that we once were compared too.. We should be more competitive than what we are seeing....  

And NOT losing to UT Chattanooga 1-0. 

Definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.

What I would give to have Coach Myers back. He instilled into the girls  each of the characteristics you listed. They were top dogs and they knew it. It is very disappointing how far we have fallen in so few years.

[AU1947 157]

25 minutes ago, blakem said:

What I would give to have Coach Myers back. He instilled into the girls  each of the characteristics you listed. They were top dogs and they knew it. It is very disappointing how far we have fallen in so few years.

I prefer the winning but not the baggage that came with his tenure.

[blakem 296]

58 minutes ago, AU1947 said:

I prefer the winning but not the baggage that came with his tenure.

Ehh I think we got off pretty easy considering what could’ve happened.

[Jad0003 405]

Looks like the Instagram is highlighting seniors. I would assume, but cannot guarantee, these are players not coming back. So far they’ve highlighted Tissier, Horton, and Jones. They also did a video for King but there was no thank you seniors in the post, so I am unsure if that means she is leaving or not. 

Edited April 29, 2021 by Jad0003

[OlderWhiskey 953]

One for Rivera also - plus a notice that Shelby Lowe is one of 30 finalists for Freshman of the Year (nationwide).

[EagleEye67 1,939]

Theme continues vs. Tennessee - Lowe pitches well, no run support.

[slyinsocal 831]

1 hour ago, EagleEye67 said:

Theme continues vs. Tennessee - Lowe pitches well, no run support.

I swear at this point, since the hitters can't hit, I'd have the entire lineup bunting just to change things up. Shock the system. Anything on earth to put the ball in play, on the ground, to force the defense to shift, to make a play. Do SOMETHING different. Nothing to lose.

Edited May 2, 2021 by slyinsocal

[blakem 296]

 

[blakem 296]

Just now, blakem said:

 

Does this mean that she leaves the team immediately or will play till the end of the season? I assume it is immediate.

[99TGR 26]

20 minutes ago, blakem said:

Does this mean that she leaves the team immediately or will play till the end of the season? I assume it is immediate.

I believe the answer is she is done playing in an Auburn uniform. I feel certain all 9 current seniors (12 counting last year) that were mentioned on senior day are done after this year. Interesting timing for Dowell to enter portal!!

[blakem 296]

Crazy indeed. Mickey has to go because I feel the fire as just been lit.

[Jad0003 405]

Sad to see her go, but I wish her luck in the future. 

Wonder how many more will follow.

[EagleEye67 1,939]

Can't blame her.    How many will follow...

[EagleEye67 1,939]

19 hours ago, slyinsocal said:

I swear at this point, since the hitters can't hit, I'd have the entire lineup bunting just to change things up. Shock the system. Anything on earth to put the ball in play, on the ground, to force the defense to shift, to make a play. Do SOMETHING different. Nothing to lose.

It must kill Coop to broadcast these games.

[blakem 296]

2 minutes ago, EagleEye67 said:

It must kill Coop to broadcast these games.

That has been exactly what I’ve been thinking. She has to be disgusted with how this team plays.