2023 Softball - Oklahoma Hall of Fame Classic

[Reddneckerson 0]

I think the game is at 2 p.m. today. Might be over at 2:45.

[Golden Eagle 367]

6 hours ago, AUBwins said:

Pretty sad to make that trip for only 1 win for the weekend if it holds up as it likely will. What time do we lose today? 

Game is at 2:00 pm today on ESPN+.   Or, if you don't pay for the ESPN+ subscription, you can listen to it on auburntigers.com like I'll be doing.

It has been a pretty bad weekend for Auburn sports.  Basketball lost to Houston last night after after playing lights out in the first half.  Baseball lost big to Arkansas both Friday and Saturday.  The final game of that series is on SEC+ today at 2:00 pm.  Suni Lee did not compete (due to injury) for the 3rd weekend in a row as Auburn scored what I think is their lowest overall score of the year (197.10) at the SEC gymnastics championship.  They ended up in 5th place behind Florida, Alabama, LSU, and Kentucky.  And, of course, Suni wasn't available to compete for any of the individual titles or the overall title.  Bummer.  Cassie Stevens was our biggest star with strong performances across the board - and she tied for the vault individual champion.  And, finally, we're 1-3 in softball heading into this afternoon's finale against Oklahoma. 

Edited March 19, 2023 by Golden Eagle
corrected typo

[AU1947 157]

Peralta hits a HR and then 3 straight Ks!!!  That won't win at this level

[Golden Eagle 367]

Game 5 vs Oklahoma - Oklahoma wins 7-1 in 6.5 innings.  Auburn goes 1-4 over the weekend.

Auburn wasn't run-ruled today but it was a tough outing nonetheless. They are now 22-9 on the season.

Auburn had 1 run on 2 hits with 1 error and 3 batters left on base.  They walked 2 times and struck out 13 times.  Peralta's lead-off HR was the only score.

Oklahoma had 7 runs on 12 hits with 0 errors and 7 batters left on base.  They walked 1 time and struck out 6 times.  Oklahoma had 3  2-run HRs.

Penta pitched the first 4 1/3 innings and is tagged for the loss bringing her to 11-4 on the season.  Lowe pitched 2/3 of an inning and Rolfe pitched the last inning.

They face Missouri in Auburn next weekend for a Saturday, Sunday, Monday series.

 

 

[AUBwins 10,075]

Oklahoma is just a machine at this point.  Always top pitchers, tall athletic players that can hit the ball. They just reload.  I wish we would have won that world series that was within our grasp.  Anyways.  We showed some fight through 4 innings.  Penta with a big time K when runners 1st and 3rd to keep it to 1 run at the time.  Also Bri destroyed a ball at one point but it was foul.  Wouldn't doubt if it would have cleared the 2nd fence.  Couldn't find on camera lol

[blakem 296]

4-8 in the last 12 games…. At some point Dean has to answer for this. Too much talent for the crap show we’re seeing.

[AU1947 157]

Let's not make excuses as look at what the Myers did with the talent they took and also what  the James Madison staff did with talent left by one CMD..... he may be a pitching coach but evidently cannot manage a program...

Edited March 20, 2023 by AU1947

[OlderWhiskey 954]

Our upcoming opponent Missouri beat Northwestern 6-1 back in February, also beat Pitt twice.  Two wins over Illinois (3-2 and 7-0), and they also beat UCF.  In the SEC, they were swept at home and held scoreless by Kentucky ( 5-0, 5-0, and 6-0).  This weekend, they took the first game at Florida by hitting 3 homers, but that was followed by two 1-run losses.

[AU1947 157]

22 hours ago, blakem said:

4-8 in the last 12 games…. At some point Dean has to answer for this. Too much talent for the crap show we’re seeing.

Going to get worse with 25 games remaining. With the 3 game series against Mizzou, Ole Miss, UF, LSU, UA, SC, and Ms State.... spread in there are  1 game with each of the following: Samford, Troy, Jacksonville St, and Alabama State. So there are 21 SEC Conference games left and 4 out of conference... Current record is 22-9... 

Edited March 20, 2023 by AU1947

[saminbama 740]

Watching the game Sunday, the analyst said we were undisciplined at the plate.  Pointed out we were swinging as soon as the pitcher released the ball and not letting it get deeper.  Seems like this hasn't changed in all the years Dean has been here.  His friendship with Lenti may cost him his job.  I had high hopes, but his reputation as a pitching coach hasn't materialized here and his game decisions have been very puzzling.  I don't think Cohen will be very patient with him.

[Jad0003 408]

36 minutes ago, saminbama said:

Watching the game Sunday, the analyst said we were undisciplined at the plate.  Pointed out we were swinging as soon as the pitcher released the ball and not letting it get deeper.  Seems like this hasn't changed in all the years Dean has been here.  His friendship with Lenti may cost him his job.  I had high hopes, but his reputation as a pitching coach hasn't materialized here and his game decisions have been very puzzling.  I don't think Cohen will be very patient with him.

I’ll be interested to see how the team responds after a rough 2-3 weeks, especially from a hitting perspective. The commentator’s observations seem to be spot on, especially after the number of strikeouts over the weekend. 

I don’t see Cohen firing Dean with 3 years left on his current contract, but I hope Dean is willing to make the necessary changes if the hitting does not show any improvement by the end of the year. I’m not sure Dean will hire someone out of his comfort zone though, but DJ Gasso at Utah would be my first call. He spent two years on staff at Oklahoma, so he knows how a successful program is run. He stepped away from the talent at Oklahoma, and his players have shown improvement. Not to mention, he has a direct line to Patty and DJ.

[TD1 227]

During the game on Sunday, one of the announcers mentioned that he has seen the growth in one of the OU players. 

Have you all noticed any growth/improvements in any of our players other than Maddie? 

[AUSRB 25]

10 hours ago, saminbama said:

Watching the game Sunday, the analyst said we were undisciplined at the plate.  Pointed out we were swinging as soon as the pitcher released the ball and not letting it get deeper.  Seems like this hasn't changed in all the years Dean has been here.  His friendship with Lenti may cost him his job.  I had high hopes, but his reputation as a pitching coach hasn't materialized here and his game decisions have been very puzzling.  I don't think Cohen will be very patient with him.

44 strikeouts in 118 at bats in those 5 games.  I never understood the Lenti hiring and now all of a sudden Lenti is costing us games as the third base coach.  I’ve never called for the firing of Dean but I’m very disappointed in the results so far this season.  

[AU1947 157]

3 minutes ago, AUSRB said:

44 strikeouts in 118 at bats in those 5 games.  I never understood the Lenti hiring and now all of a sudden Lenti is costing us games as the third base coach.  I’ve never called for the firing of Dean but I’m very disappointed in the results so far this season.  

Lenti is going to take the fall this year for CMD.... all of a sudden he appears to be coaching and visible. But base running mentality has not changed.   JMO 

[Jad0003 408]

I knew there were a lot of strikeouts, but 44 in 118 ABs?!?!? That’s a 37% SO rate!

[AUBwins 10,075]

Although it seems like we were late on a lot of pitches in the final game with Oklahoma.

[all4AU 379]

4 hours ago, AU1947 said:

Lenti is going to take the fall this year for CMD.... all of a sudden he appears to be coaching and visible. But base running mentality has not changed.   JMO 

Yeah, clearly this is Dean's philosophy on the bases because that has been an issue with him at 3rd during his tenure, not just this year with Lenti at 3rd. The running typically doesn't work against quality teams, but it does with the cupcakes. It's almost like he still thinks he's at JMU running against CAA defenses.... 

[AUBwins 10,075]

43 minutes ago, all4AU said:

Yeah, clearly this is Dean's philosophy on the bases because that has been an issue with him at 3rd during his tenure, not just this year with Lenti at 3rd. The running typically doesn't work against quality teams, but it does with the cupcakes. It's almost like he still thinks he's at JMU running against CAA defenses.... 

That's what I was referring to in a previous post.  He coaches us like we are James Madison, not SEC

[Golden Eagle 367]

14 hours ago, Jad0003 said:

I don’t see Cohen firing Dean with 3 years left on his current contract, but I hope Dean is willing to make the necessary changes if the hitting does not show any improvement by the end of the year. I’m not sure Dean will hire someone out of his comfort zone though, but DJ Gasso at Utah would be my first call. He spent two years on staff at Oklahoma, so he knows how a successful program is run. He stepped away from the talent at Oklahoma, and his players have shown improvement. Not to mention, he has a direct line to Patty and DJ.

I don't see anything magically changing between now and the end of the season - we've been on this trajectory for a loooooong while now.

I was aware that DT Gasso (I think you mean DT at the end of your paragraph above) was an assistant at OU but didn't know about DJ.  I looked at his bio and agree he would be an intriguing hire for Auburn.  Coaching changes need to happen sooner rather than later!  I'm very concerned what another mediocre season is doing to future recruiting.  Sad to say this, but it's hard to understand why a top recruit would be attracted to Auburn with this coaching staff.

Emily Carosone was an outstanding batter as a player.  I understand that being able to do something yourself doesn't mean you can effectively teach someone else.  But her staff bio says she works with the infielders and catchers.  For the rest of this season, why not switch Carosone and Lenti?  He has been ineffective.  Give Emily a shot.

[RedDirtFan 39]

I've done a lot of soul-searching after UGA and OKC weekends, as well as some digging:

1. There's a notable disparity between the 2 camps in our dugout. Elite players fighting to win, leaving it all on the field. They celebrate one another because they are fighting for one another's lives (quite literally in some cases, like against the OU machine). The players that are going through the motions for whatever motivates them are playing grab-ass and not in the game. You look across the diamond to see NW and OU locked into the game and celebrating every play. They could easily expect every HR that they hit and treat like any other hit, but they were genuinely elated about every hit, pitch, and play. That starts at the top. Our Elite are embarrassed by those inconvenienced by the contest on the diamond.
2. If Cohen can't afford the attention necessary and Dean doesn't make changes, over half of the team (the half you do that you don't want to hit the portal) is already talking about leaving. Some damage can't be reversed, but some need to go and they can build a team around those remaining, but changes have to be made.
3. Adversity can build a team, with the proper leadership...student-athlete leaders if the administration doesn't regain control. The Longhorns went 0-5(?) in Clearwater last year, their athlete leaders were physically assaulting one another in meetings and ended up in the World Series.
4. In the absence of administrative leadership, some of these young ladies will have to put in the extra hours necessary to scout the competition and coach themselves to try to hold this team together. Sadly, this is not fair to student-athletes trying to train and earn a degree when the school pays so much for a group of adults to provide that leadership. 

[Gowebb11 9,323]

On 3/19/2023 at 6:19 PM, blakem said:

Too much talent for the crap show we’re seeing.

But is there too much talent? Our softball team is more often that not in the bottom half of the SEC over an extended time. When I watch us vs other top programs I notice a big disparity in talent. Same for WBB and Baseball. Other than the equestrian team, we don’t have a single program consistently performing in the top third of the SEC. MBB comes the closest. It’s sad and we should be doing better across the board. 

[TD1 227]

1 hour ago, RedDirtFan said:

over half of the team (the half you do that you don't want to hit the portal) is already talking about leaving. 

Over half?! I was thinking about that this past weekend. Wondering if some of the girls are getting frustrated and would consider transferring. 

[all4AU 379]

18 hours ago, Gowebb11 said:

But is there too much talent? Our softball team is more often that not in the bottom half of the SEC over an extended time. When I watch us vs other top programs I notice a big disparity in talent. Same for WBB and Baseball. Other than the equestrian team, we don’t have a single program consistently performing in the top third of the SEC. MBB comes the closest. It’s sad and we should be doing better across the board. 

Dean has brought in 3 straight top 10 recruiting classes. I'm not saying we should be one of the final 8 in OKC, but never making it out of regionals is getting old. I don't think the start of the season is a reflection of the talent on this roster. We've definitely under performed, especially on offense. 

[RedDirtFan 39]

18 hours ago, Gowebb11 said:

But is there too much talent? Our softball team is more often that not in the bottom half of the SEC over an extended time. When I watch us vs other top programs I notice a big disparity in talent. Same for WBB and Baseball. Other than the equestrian team, we don’t have a single program consistently performing in the top third of the SEC. MBB comes the closest. It’s sad and we should be doing better across the board. 

There may be too much talent, which should balance out through attrition through the portal. However, in the event of a dire situation, the pendulum will swing too far in the wrong direction and Dean's last three years will be desolate. Softball is a tight community and an exodus of the pending proportions will send a message to future recruits and their coaches. Snaring 3 top 10 recruiting classes bears great responsibility. Maybe he outkicked his coverage...got too close to the sun.

[blakem 296]

19 hours ago, Gowebb11 said:

But is there too much talent? Our softball team is more often that not in the bottom half of the SEC over an extended time. When I watch us vs other top programs I notice a big disparity in talent. Same for WBB and Baseball. Other than the equestrian team, we don’t have a single program consistently performing in the top third of the SEC. MBB comes the closest. It’s sad and we should be doing better across the board. 

We have more talent than over 1/2 of the SEC. Consistently get multiple top-20 recruits in each class. With that being said, talent only does so much when matched with sub-par coaching.