Looking ahead to next year's softball season

#26
#26
Norris was not on the roster in 2014 yet is listed as a sophomore. I speculate she was asked to be a practice player. She was one of the ones that spent all her time in the bullpen catching the pitchers during warmups. That may be the case with a couple of others as a stop-gap measure awaiting the arrival of the large incoming class. Speculation on my part only, I have no inside information.

I assume coaches typically overrecruit in softball. 18 are needed to have a game scrimmage, therefore rosters are typically at least that size.
 
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#27
#27
volcrazy89 said:
...And then there is Geer who simply isn't very good at 2B. She's supposedly a natural outfielder but I don't think she's a better option in the outfield over some other players...
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Geer's bio states she played 2B all four years in high school. I remember her playing in the outfield some as a freshman, but not this season.

Both 2B and 3B need to be tightened up as far as fielding. Way too many errors. The same could be said for SS but I think Gregg was well on her way to fixing that part of her game as the season concluded.

The coaches will have some interesting decisions to make next season.
 
#28
#28
LVJeff said:
Geer's bio states she played 2B all four years in high school. I remember her playing in the outfield some as a freshman, but not this season.

Both 2B and 3B need to be tightened up as far as fielding. Way too many errors. The same could be said for SS but I think Gregg was well on her way to fixing that part of her game as the season concluded.

The coaches will have some interesting decisions to make next season.
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I don't recall this happening very often..UT softball players being recruited over..happening more and more in football though...that's why we are seeing so many upperclassman transfer
 
#29
#29
We've had quite a few actually. Ashton Ward, Cat Hosfield, and Jessica Spigner come to mind.
 
#30
#30
VolnJC said:
I don't recall this happening very often..UT softball players being recruited over..happening more and more in football though...that's why we are seeing so many upperclassman transfer
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Like the wild west gunslingers you're the best until someone faster(better) comes along.
 
#31
#31
armchair said:
Some have speculated that Aldrete had an injury late in the year--or maybe it was just fatigue.
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Aldrete did have an injury. She missed several games with an elbow injury. I believe it was early to mid April? IIRC she injured it at ETSU.
 
#32
#32
Who are the pitchers we have coming in next season?

And what year does Shipman little sister join the squad or did she decide to go else where? I recall her committing awhile back
 
#34
#34
And I would be highly surprised if Bush is the ace of the staff next year. As a matter of fact she may never be the ace of the staff at UT.
 
#35
#35
volbabyvol said:
Who are the pitchers we have coming in next season?
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Moss and Bush are pitchers only. Lilley and Morrison are utility players who can pitch.

The following year is when Kaitlyn Martin comes in.

The year after that is when potential superstar Gabby Sprang arrives, and the next year her club teammate from the Georgia Impace, Logan Caymol, comes in. I believe they are both 6 footers. Sprang is ranked #9 in her class and is, I think, a lefty.

And what year does Shipman little sister join the squad or did she decide to go else where? I recall her committing awhile back
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She is class of 2018. She is currently ranked #7 in her class (rising sophomore).
 
#37
#37
I would be surprised if she's the ace on a staff next year that includes Gabriel and Gaffin.

She is an interesting college prospect because she's not really a strikeout pitcher. She's more of a pitch-to-contact hitter. Which could mean she's fantastic for her career like Hannah Rogers or Megan Langenfeld or she could just be average like Lexi Davis.

I do like the fact that Moss is a power pitcher and Bush isn't. That's good recruiting strategy.
 
#38
#38
Bush's pitching stats last fall: 19-0, 0.74 ERA, 114 IP, 109 K, 19 BB, 71 hits, 16 complete games & 6 shutouts.

Bria Bush is a rare blend of elite talent and humility.

SheÂ’s leaving high school as the best pitcher to ever grace the circle for Buford High, according to her coach, Tony Wolfe.

Bush, a signee with the University of Tennessee, knows her main weapon is the ability to locate pitches with unbelievable precision. And on the rare occasion she makes a mistake, Bush isnÂ’t going to dwell on making a bad pitch.

“Bria’s got incredible poise,” said Wolfe, who guided Buford to its state-record eighth straight state title in 2014. “She doesn’t get shaken when she’s in the pitching circle.”
All-Area Softball Pitcher of the Year: Buford's Bria Bush
 
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#39
#39
volcrazy89 said:
Jessica Spigner wasn't recruited over.
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I'm not really into arguing about it but if it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck it's a duck. You don't up and leave your senior season for funsies. She got beat our by Raven Chavanne plain and simple.
 
#40
#40
WVU05UT09 said:
I'm not really into arguing about it but if it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck it's a duck. You don't up and leave your senior season for funsies. She got beat our by Raven Chavanne plain and simple.
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Not really. Chavanne was already in the lineup, playing outfield. She was a better third baseman than Spigner, but they wanted/needed Spigner's bat.

She wanted to play third. The staff wanted her to move to first or DP. She transferred instead. The other players helped her pack.
 
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#41
#41
Isn't it ironic that after all Jessica Spigner actually ended up playing 1B at Arizona in her final year of college softball? She had a subpar year in the desert as well by her standard anyway. She struggled terribly in Pac12 conference play all season long. She also missed out on Tennessee's 2012 WCWS appearance since Arizona fell to OKlahoma in the super regional that year and didn't get to OKC. I guess the grass isn't always greener on the other side. This was one transfer move which I couldn't quite figure out at the time...
 
#42
#42
Regarding the pitching, I don't care who is the ace or who starts, except I hope Gaffin goes back to being a seldom used closer. It's somewhat counter-intuitive, but despite the fact the LV's got to the WCWS with her being a major force in the circle, I think the team would have gone farther with a healthy and dominant Gabriel. We'll never know, but I think it was very difficult on Gaffin what all she was required to do. What a performance all season long. My hat is off to her, but I hope another dominant pitcher emerges.
 
#43
#43
WVU05UT09 said:
I'm not really into arguing about it but if it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck it's a duck. You don't up and leave your senior season for funsies. She got beat our by Raven Chavanne plain and simple.
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It should be well-known at this point that Spigner was dismissed from the team.

And getting beaten out for a defensive spot doesn't mean you were recruited over.
 
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#44
#44
Watching Michigan and Florida battle it out for top spot has been great fun......Our time will come again, but this is great theater.

Pitching is so important and the old adage of good pitching slows down good hitting has been realized once again....Do we have any left hand pitchers coming in next season? A powerful lefty is a valuable tool.

Who are you guys for tonight? I'm for a good game, and have a hard time rooting for Florida, since the more they win the more the kids will want to go there. But the SEC fan in me wants them to win too. It is a struggle.
 
#45
#45
I guess I hope Forida wins because of SEC but I usually won't pull for them otherwise. The Michigan coach seems like a good egg and their pitcher last night sure did slam the door on Florida. Funny thing, though, Florida had more hits than Michigan, 5-4 or 6-4 or something like that. If Haeger hadn't allowed the 2 hits in the first inning they might still be playing that game with someone trying to score.
 
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