Game Thread Lady Vols Softball Team week 9

#151
#151
508mikey said:
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I have missed a few games -- 1st Ive seen of these vested type uniforms
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I didn't watch, but the radio broadcast said it was only the second time they had been worn this year.
 
#152
#152
2Alum4EverVol said:
What a pleasant day it was at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium today getting the sweep over the nation's 10th ranked A&M Aggies! The stadium was rocking and the crowd was fired up to get the W today. I just forgot to bring a broom to the game, but that's okay, I expected the sweep before the series started. :)

Aubrey Leach and Brooke Vines at the the top of the lineup remind me of Chavanne and Dotson 1-2 punch we used to have a few yrs back. What an offensive weapon/juggernaut Chavanne and Dotson were, and if Leach and Vines stay the course, we'll have something special to watch over the next 3 and half yrs. As Ralph mentioned in the post-game interview Aubrey Leach just has a great instinct as a baserunner. She can flat out run the bases. And at the plate she seems to have a great feel for the game too. If she will totally clean up the fielding errors moving forward, she could challenge to be named the SEC freshman of the year at the end of the season. We'll see about that.

I'm happy for Scarlett McSwain for getting that single; that was a great call by Ralph to put her in that spot as a PH. McSwain is a good (clutch) hitter, and we just have to utilize her offensive prowess any way we can to help us win more games. But she can't field?! On the other hand, CJ McClain who happens to be a great fielder is helpless at the plate. I'm not too sure whether she'll pan out as a slapper moving forward. It was painful to watch her struggle to get a hit in three futile attempts. Maybe she'll blossom given more time but I'm not too optimistic at this point. She just doesn't seem to have an instinct/feel for it. Once again the word, "instinct".

This has been under the microscope before but IF Ralph (& Karen) can figure out the perfect timing/dynamics of when to pull a struggling starting pitcher AND put in the "right" mid-inning reliever/late game closer, not to mention starting the "right" pitcher for certain games, it greatly increases their chances of hoisting a championship trophy one day. It will mean a world of difference in close/crucial games such as the ones they will find in OKC in late May-early June. To me either they innately lack the instinct/feel for it, or they just don't study the analytics of the match-ups, head-head statistics long and hard enough. This single trait is the most glaring weakness I've found on their otherwise stellar coaching resume particularly since the NC series against OU back in 2013.

Great job everyone for getting the third series sweep of the season! Woohoo!

#BeatGA #GetTheSeriesWin #LetsGoVols
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McSwain can field. She started at 3rd base most of last year. She's in a fielding rut. I hope Ralph will play her in the mid week games and maybe she'll work out of it. That was bonehead by Ralph pulling Gabriel. He seems to pull her quicker than anyone when she is pitching well but he'll leave Gaffin in there to get pummeled.
 
#153
#153
The fielding errors are a team problem. Tennessee's record when committing zero errors is 18-0. When committing one error, 11-5. When committing multiple errors, 8-5. That is pretty telling.
 
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#154
#154
Here are the chances/error of the starters. McSwain is the 4th worst at 14.4 chances before an error. Surprising and ironic who's worst - Geer, her replacement at third.

Player................Chances......Errors....# of chances before an error
Lexi Overstreet......303.........3............101.00
Gretchen Aucoin.....137.........2............68.50
Abby Lockman.......96...........3............32.00
Meghan Gregg.......111.........5.............22.20
Shaliyah Geathers..22..........1.............22.00
Rainey Gaffin.........72..........4.............18.00
Scarlet McSwain.....72..........5.............14.40
Brooke Vines..........43..........3.............14.34
Aubrey Leach.........119........13............9.15
Megan Geer...........52...........6............8.67
 
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#155
#155
I would guess that actually a couple or more errors that Geer made was in the center field position. I think that McSwain has let the mental part snowball. I seem to recall that her errors are not due to the ball not being handled but what happens after. Of course my memory is not great but McSwain is still important to this team! One thing that I noticed was that Geer tends to play a little deeper than McSwain in most situations. Geer has a stronger arm and can do this more easily. Until CJ can get a little more offensive, which I think she can, especially if she puts it in play on the ground.
 
#156
#156
sccshortstop said:
I would guess that actually a couple or more errors that Geer made was in the center field position. I think that McSwain has let the mental part snowball. I seem to recall that her errors are not due to the ball not being handled but what happens after. Of course my memory is not great but McSwain is still important to this team! One thing that I noticed was that Geer tends to play a little deeper than McSwain in most situations. Geer has a stronger arm and can do this more easily. Until CJ can get a little more offensive, which I think she can, especially if she puts it in play on the ground.
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With her blazing speed to the 1st base (2.5 secs!), it seems like she should be able to do that, doesn't it? Easier said than done. But if she can get on the base somehow along w/ Leach & Vines, that's a nightmare for the opposing team. This team has so much speed all around, and in particular the trio of McClain, Leach & Vines can create so much scoring chances.
 
#157
#157
I just watched a replay of the game

they did pretty good other than giving up so many runs

but get the brooms out against the 10th ranked team in the Nation :)
 
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#158
#158
governmentmule said:
I just watched a replay of the game

they did pretty good other than giving up so many runs

but get the brooms out against the 10th ranked team in the Nation :)
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Wonder why we only moved up 2 spots in the rankings though? I think sweeping the #10 team in the nation should warrant us moving up a few more spots. Instead of #17 I think more like #13 or #14.
 
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#159
#159
they have lost a lot of games,which it isn't actually that many,but lose them they did and pitching is still a concern and all the unearned runs

but they seem to be overcoming those problems,i think they are ranked a little bit low too,but some good softball will take care or it :)
 
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#160
#160
governmentmule said:
they have lost a lot of games,which it isn't actually that many,but lose them they did and pitching is still a concern and all the unearned runs

but they seem to be overcoming those problems,i think they are ranked a little bit low too,but some good softball will take care or it :)
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What was they ranked pre-season? Wasn't it in the top 15? I can't remember. I was thinking around #14 but I may be a few spots off. #16 maybe?
 
#163
#163
sccshortstop said:
Don't know how we come out in the next polls but anything above #15 is not cool. I do not know how the rest of the power conferences fared this weekend but I know that TAM as well as LSU and Missouri struggled. Just keep winning and polls will take care of themselves.
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as I said in this thread and I still thinks so today we should be NO LOWER THAN 15 AND THAT IS STILL TRUE AFTER THE POLLS HAVE COME OUT!!
 
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#166
#166
Escape Goat said:
Why ranked so low after years of being a beast?
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We've lost a few games this season & a couple to teams we should not lose to period. That was early in the season though. We are I think #6 right now in the conference so we don't deserve to be ranked too high nationally. We will possibly get back into the top 10 where we should be here soon because we just swept Texas A&M who was ranked #10.

We only moved up 2 spots nationally though. When we usually lose 2 out of 3 in a series down we go 4-5 spots at least. Doesn't seem right nor fair but we're picking up steam now. Look for us in the top 10 where we should be within the next 2 weeks.
 
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#167
#167
tonybologna said:
We've lost a few games this season & a couple to teams we should not lose to period. That was early in the season though. We are I think #6 right now in the conference so we don't deserve to be ranked too high nationally. We will possibly get back into the top 10 where we should be here soon because we just swept Texas A&M who was ranked #10.

We only moved up 2 spots nationally though. When we usually lose 2 out of 3 in a series down we go 4-5 spots at least. Doesn't seem right nor fair but we're picking up steam now. Look for us in the top 10 where we should be within the next 2 weeks.
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A loss to Fresno State (where our VFL Melissa Davin is serving as Operations Assistant I think) very early in the season didn't look too good. Our team was ranked #8 at the time, and it looked as if we should've handled Fresno State with ease. But now Fresno State is ranked inside top 25, and the loss doesn't look too bad after all. Still, we should've beaten them no matter. We lost to James Madison early in the season too, but JMU was and still is ranked, and looks to be a pretty darn good team. Other than that I can't think of any bad losses. The teams we should never lose to (period) are Jacksonvilles, Green Bays, Kennesaw States of the world, or any in-state schools against which we have won like 80-plus games in a row under the Weeklys. Fresno State and James Madison do actually present legitimate challenges, and both are solid softball programs. I hesitate to categorize these two teams as "should never lose to. Period".

Sure, we should've had one more win against Mizzou, and we let Alabama off the hook when we could've won the game. I really don't blame our girls for being swept by Gators down in Gainesville even with all the errors they committed in the series. It's just tough to win down there no matter what.

I'm hoping that our girls have a good showing against GA and Auburn so that our RPI can keep climbing up towards inside top 7-10; that'll be a crucial factor deciding whether we host a super regional series or not. Bring it on Volunteers, it's getting close to be a crunch time again!
 
#168
#168
I saw the Fresno State loss in person and I characterized it as a "failure to compete". Nobody was ready to play, Fresno St. jumped all over the LV's and they never responded.

I did not see the James Madison loss, but their pitcher is top-rate. 9-0 is an eye-opening loss, however. An inability early on to beat a ranked team hurt. Losses to Arizona, Arizona State, and Alabama could (should) have been wins.

However, the team is solid and is on the verge of being really, really good. The UGA series will tell us a lot.
 
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#170
#170
armchair said:
Why the Sat, Sun, Monday game schedule this weekend? What am I missing?
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I don't know. I thought that was weird too. I know college baseball has changed their series format to include a few Thur-Sat series but the women I don't believe I've seen this yet. Monday is odd to finish a series up. All 3 games are on TV though & that's good.
 
#171
#171
armchair said:
Why the Sat, Sun, Monday game schedule this weekend? What am I missing?
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As far as I know it's part of the SEC network lineup. There have been other Monday night softball games this season. Last Monday was game three of the Kentucky-LSU series.
 
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#172
#172
LVJeff said:
As far as I know it's part of the SEC network lineup. There have been other Monday night softball games this season. Last Monday was game three of the Kentucky-LSU series.
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That's just odd to me. I can understand having single games like non-conference games on Mondays every once in a while but Sat.-Mon. series are just odd for conference play.
 
#173
#173
Been fishing for two weeks and now ready to get back to some serious softball watching after the Orange & White football festival this afternoon.Hopeful of some wins against Georgia this weekend.
 
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#174
#174
tonybologna said:
That's just odd to me. I can understand having single games like non-conference games on Mondays every once in a while but Sat.-Mon. series are just odd for conference play.
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Every week, there are a couple of baseball series played Thursday-Saturday. I assume it's for television purposes to get more games on. It's also good exposure because it's the only college baseball game on tv. UT and Auburn were on two nights ago. So, softball is doing it Saturday-Monday to get games on.
 
#175
#175
Well Gaffin again stands in the box and watches strike 3 go by and ending a rally. She does this so often it seems.
 
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