Week 3!

This week was the Cathedral City Classic! This weekend has to be one of my favorite of the year! I don't actually get to watch the games but there are some many great games to follow and this where you really get to see what your team is made of. Both UW and OU played there. Bama stayed at home. I'll tell you right now this is going to be mostly about the Huskies lol! This was the week of the Huskies!

Let me start off by saying when I saw the schedule they had set up for this weekend I was very nervous about how this would go. In my opinion, they had the hardest schedule at this tournament! I honestly in my own mind thought what is Coach Tarr thinking. Well I would just like to take this moment and say that Coach Tarr and her team yet again proved why she is the coach and I am not lol! She knew exactly what she was doing. 2 weeks of playing easy teams and 2 weeks of not really knowing what the Huskies had. And then unleash the beast! They started off the weekend with Florida. Kaitlin Inglesby got the start in the circle. I'll be straight up honest here I didn't really think UW would win this game. Florida has been hot hot hot so far. But they proved me flat wrong! They took the lead in the first 1-0. That held until the 3rd when Florida scored 2 runs. From there Kaitlin settled down and shut down Floridas offense and the Husky offense took off scoring 4 unanswered to knock off the number 1 team 5-2! Friday they started the day with Texas A&M. Again the early part of the game was close but the offense came alive in the 4th and stayed hot. They knocked off Texas A&M 8-2! The Huskies had about 15 or 20 minutes to get a drink and regroup and get back on the field for Georgia. This was another game I was worried about. Kasey Stanchek got the start in the circle for the Huskies. I had been really impressed with her in the weeks before but this was a different type of offense. She struggled early the first 3 innings giving up 3 hits(all 3 were homeruns) and 5 runs. But she settled down after that and threw 4 scoreless innings and struck out 8! She stopped the bleeding in time for the Huskies to come from behind in the 7th scoring 3 runs and knocking yet another SEC powerhouse 7-5! Yesterday they took on Mizzou. Bryanna Walker got the start in the circle. She struggled a little early on but settled down and pitched an amazing game. However the offense never figured out Chelsea Thomas and they were no hit and lost the game 2-0! It sucks to lose but at that point there was so much positive that you couldn't dwell on the loss too long. Kimi Pohlman was inolved in a collision at 1st and got banged up pretty good. She was pulled from the game and didn't play today either. Today the Huskies faced Nebraska. They seemed a little slow and sluggish from what I could tell with the Gametracker. The infield had some hiccups in the first inning and it just seemed to throw everybody off. 2 errors scored 2 runs for Nebraska. But after that everyone seemed to settle in. The offense was again a little sluggish despite a really lousy game by the Nebraska pitcher. Kaitlin gave up a HR in the 6th but the Huskies worked a couple of walks got a couple of hits and added 2 runs to secure the win. 6-3 over Nebraska to end a beautiful weekend!

The Huskies threw 3 different pitchers this weekend and all 3 pitched very very well! Coach Glascoe and Coach Ball are doing an amazing job with them! The offense....oh my goodness that offense! They struggled with Chelsea Thomas but for the most part they were unstoppable this weekend. The ace for Georgia was no match and ended up being pulled eventually for another one of their pitchers. They faced Florida's freshman who most people think is the top pitcher in this freshman class and knocked her around pretty good as well. For the most part the defense was solid(there were a couple of errors) and I can only see that getting better. Afterall the Huskies are doing this with an all freshman and sophmore infield with the exception of Junior catcher Shawna Wright and an all freshman and sophmore pitching staff! This team really opened some eyes this weekend(mine included)! They put on a show and I could not be more proud or more happy for this team! I've spoken before of the deep respect and admiration I have for Coach Tarr but it only grew this weekend. I truly believe she is one of the best to ever coach the game! This team is full of talent, they have amazing chemistry, they are confident, they never ever give up and they are very well coached! I so look forward to the rest of this season and can't wait to see what it holds for them!!

OU on the other hand frankly had a miserable weekend. They never really go their feet underneath them. They dropped both of the games they played agaisnt ranked teams including a struggling Stanford team. They are having trouble finding their offense when they go up agaisnt good pitching. It just flat hasn't been there. I'm not giving up on this team yet but they have some serious work to do!

Bama had a nice weekend and remain undefeated. However I feel like because of their weak schedule we still don't know much about them. We'll just have to wait and see what the future holds I guess!

I heard a few hours ago about Whitney Canion for Baylor tearing her ACL and I just wanted to say that I wish her a speedy recovery and I am thinking and praying for her!

Well that is all I have for now! Go Huskies! Boomer Sooner! RTR! Go Bama! Fear the Goat!!

Week 2!

Another weekend of softball is done! It was a good weekend,not quite as interesting as last week but still good!

UW had a great weekend! They started off a little sluggish with a 1-0 win in 10 innings. BUT Kaitlin Inglesby pitched a heck of a game that night to keep the other team off the board until the offense could get it together! The rest of the weekend was great! They won every game and played very solid ball. Kasey Stanchek had an amazing weekend and had it been up to me she would have been Pac-12 pitcher of the week but obviously it wasn't my decision to make lol! She is going to be a beautiful addition to this team! The real test for this team though is this weekend. I don't know who set up their schedule at Palm Springs but they were feeling pretty confident. They start off the weekend with number 1 Florida! It should be very interesting and I don't know if they are in a place to knock of the number 1 team but I guess we'll see lol!

The two big upsets this weekend were Stanford(again) and Mizzou! I think Stanford is serious serious trouble! I think Mizzou's lost I think was more just from being rusty. They didn't play the first weekend of competition. Most of the big name teams did play the first weekend and I wonder how that is going to effect them. I guess we will have to wait and see!

Today I watched the USSSA Pride take on Cal State Northride! The USSSA Pride girls looked great! Something about this game just let me feeling breathless and giddy almost! I know that sounds odd but I'll try to explain it. Danielle Lawrie pitched a gem of a game! She put on a pitching clinic! She was in her zone and as anybody who has spent any time watching her pitch knows when she is in her zone it is something to watch! I've watched softball for a long time and seen alot of pitchers I loved to watch but I never had one who captavaited me like Danielle did the first time I watched her! She can use speed to get you and throw the ball right past your or she can use movement. She paints the corners like no other pitcher I've seen and today she was doing just that. I saw her strike out hitters using her power and speed and then I saw her strike out pitchers using movement. She was incredible today and with the exception of one pitch that got away from her was perfect. I also saw Jenn Salling hitting very well! In fact, with another of my favorite Huskies(Ashley Charters) on first she hit a beautfiul 2 run HR that I knew was gone the minute it left her bat. Natasha Watley and Francesca Enea also hit gorgeous homeruns! But it was more than just the game that made this beautiful. Watching this group of girls interact is always a treat! You would be hard pressed to find a group of girls who loves and supports each other more than that group of girls! They know each other, they understand each other, they care about each other, and they work super well together! It wasn't 9 indivdual girls out there, it was a unit! They played as one! Crazy think is they only met up yesterday! This is the first they've played together just the Pride since August! They truly showed why they are professionals today! They made the NPF look amazing today! I was very happy for and proud for these ladies! I wish all the best to the Cal State Northridge! It's been a rough start for them but they've got an amazing coach and will be fine!

Well I can't think of anything else to add right now!

Let's go Huskies! Boomer Sooner! RTR Go Bama!! Go St.Edwards! FTG!

Thoughts after the first weekend!

The first weekend of college softball is officially over! It was an interesting weekend to say the least lol! So here are just a few thoughts of mine after the first weekend!

First off Washington! The Huskies went 5-0 this weekend! They had a fantastic weekend and we saw the freshman stepping up as well as the upper classmen! One thing that made me smile is the return of Hooch Fagaly!! She had a nice weekend! Really all the girls did! Kaitlin Inglesby picked up where she left off both in the circle and with her bat! She hit a homerun at very first at bat of the season! All around I think it was a wonderful opening weekend for the Huskies and they have so much to be proud of!!

Bama and OU also both had great opening weekends and won all of their games! Proud of those ladies as well!!

Now for some teams I was surprised by some good and some bad!

Arizona: I really hoped this was the season they would put it all together. I really hoped all the changes they made would make a difference. But this opening weekend didn't show that. As I discussed in a previous blog I'd heard for the last couple of months that both Shelby Babcock and Kenzie Fowler were 100% and looking good. I had my doubts as I stated also in my previous blog and it turns out my doubts were warranted. Kenzie is not 100%! Kenzie now has an issue with her back. She didn't pitch as much as I thought she would have what little she did pitch she was not successful. That is the issue with Kenzie. There is no lack of talent or lack of heart. Her body has just been abused way too much. She'll never be the college pitcher she could be and I think her chances at this point of being drafted to play with the NPF are pretty slim and even if she was she wouldn't have a long successful career. She is constantly hurt. I also think her pitching motion is harder on her body than a traditional pitching motion, especially on her back. I'm not really sure what the answer for Kenzie is but obviously what they have done so far isn't working. Shelby is still doing the same old things. She needs somebody to work with her every day over and over on her control. They need her to be able to carry some of the weight of the team and right now she just simply isn't getting it done. She walks way too many batters and then starts throwing way too many sweet pitches. She needs to figure out where to place her pitches and do it consistently. I think Arizona is in trouble and unless things improve a whole lot, they'll be lucky to make it to regionals. They have to Kenzie well and in order to do that Shelby has got to do her job, I just don't see either thing happening.

ASU:
I honestly thought this would be basically the same team from last year...it doesn't appear to be. Escobedo is struggling. I was shocked to see them drop 2 games this weekend! I think they need to remember that just because they are the defending NC team, doesn't mean these other teams are just going to fall down and let them win. Repeating is next to impossible and I don't think ASU is looking like the team right now to do so. I'm not saying that can't or won't change. But if this is the team that is going to play all season they are in for a rude awakening. They depend on Dallas too much. She threw 130 pitches in just the first 5 innings in their loss to Tennessee! You can't ask a pitcher to throw as much as they are asking Dallas to pitch and not expect there to be fatigue. She is going to be worn out by the end of this season. Not just because of this season but because of what she did last season on top of this season. They need Bach to step it up and be the senior leader they need her to be all the time, not just once in awhile. She needs to be able to take her share of the innings and get the job done. She has done a poor job of that the last 3 seasons and they need her to step it up.

Cal- WOW they are every bit as good as I thought they would be plus! In my mind they are without a doubt the number 1 team in the nation and my favorite right now to win it all in June! This is a group of extremely talented, well coached, and just all around amazing young ladies! I am interested to see what they do this season!

UGA- Although they dropped their game today, they seem to have put together a nice team! You won't hear me compliment a UGA team often lol. But they performed very well this weekend and they have found a strong leader in Razey! I think in the end their pitching is still going to be a problem but who knows lol.

This weekend also saw 2 other favorites drop game in Stanford(1 game) and Oregon(2 games). Should be interesting to see how they learn from these losses and bounce back!

Overall alot of good softball and alot of interesting games! Can't wait until next weekend and then the next weekend is the big Cathedral City Classic! Not only is this going to bring together most of the big names schools, there will also be some games with the USSSA Pride! Should be a great weekend and I would LOVE to be there but just too far and I am too broke haha! So I guess I will just follow from home lol! I will be back with thoughts after next weekend!

Go Huskies! Boomer Sooner! RTR Go Bama! And a new one go St. Edwards FTG! That is the school Cat Osterman is coaching at so I have to root for them!

Stop the madness!

Let me start off by saying this blog won't be entirely about softball but it will tie into it.

So as alot of you probably already know the WPS suspended their 2012 season. I've spent the last two days reading blogs and articles about this and trying to process all of this. My heart is just so...broken. This is just such a huge mess and it doesn't seem anybody knows the whole story. I fear we've seen our last WPS games. One thing I have figured it out is this all goes back to one man. The former owner of MagicJack. What the WPS didn't realize or understand is he had the power to bring the whole thing down and he knew it. He knew better than anybody. The man is obviously a creep who really has no love or passion for soccer. He saw this as a way to make some money and that is all he wanted. So when they suspended his ownership rights, there should have been no doubt what the was going to do. Unfortunately this guys is smart and he knew the WPS didn't have the funds to sustain a long court battle and continue their regular business. So what does he do? He files a lawsuit. The problems go much deeper than this though. The root problem is the same problem the NPF has, a sever lack of funding. There is so little support out there for women's sports! It amazes me that so many other countries can put together professional women's league and have so much success but here in the country where we produce so many of the top athletes in these sports we can't! We've already seen 1 big professional soccer league collapse and 1 professional softball league collapse as well. Now we have 1 professional soccer league that looks to be toast and 1 professional softball league that is barley hanging on. The hard part is, I don't know what the answer is.

I believe these women should have the right to play the sport they love and make a living do it, just like their male counter parts do! I believe young girls should be able to dream about playing professionally! Yet we are no better off than we were in 10 or even 20 years ago. Women still have to fight 10x as hard as men do to be noticed. Their game is still viewed as a watered down mild version and not what it really is.

In the short term there are positive things for the USWNT when it comes to not having a WPS season. In the long run, this is devastating. Softball is finding out the hard way the international game can't carry and grow this sport alone. Not everybody will be on the national team. Only a few women can makes those teams but there is so much more talent(in both sports) out there! That is why we need professional teams! We need strong professional teams. Professional teams that are strong enough to withstand these kind of things. This man came in caused fighting, abused the system, and when the WPS tried to act he used his power for bad and single handily brought the WPS down.

These leagues have got to learn from this. They have to learn to be more careful who they let own teams and they need to be very familiar with their rules and make sure everyone follows them to a T! That is part of what got the WPS in trouble they didn't follow their own rules when it came to suspending the ownership rights of a person and because of that they got sued. They have to learn to get along with one another. Fighting and making enemies never fixes anything. That is the big problem in softball right now. You have the NPF and you have the USWNT. I've touched on this before but both sides refuse to budge. Instead of coming together and working together they are trying to do this separately. I'd like to ask them both how is that working for ya? How much could they gain by working together??

This was just some thoughts on what is going on and I might have more to say later. But for now I just want to say I am heartbroken! I am heartbroken for the women who play in this league! They've given so much of themselves to this sport and they deserve a chance to play professionally and to be able to make a living doing so! I hope this fixed and they are able to have the 2013 season but I am not holding my breath!