2022 NCAA Softball Tournament

[1972Shocker]

[Stickboy46]

Rough few games for Addie

[1972Shocker]

Not the start the Shocks were hoping for. But same start as against Princeton.

[ShockerFever]

The home plate ump is garbage.

[WuShock16]

Top 4. WSU down 4-1. Oregon just loaded bases with 2 out. WSU can’t win it here but they could for all intents and purposes lose it here.

[Stickboy46]

Way too many freebies

[ShockerFever]

WSU sure allows a lot of 2-out runs.

[WuShock16]

Top 4. WSU down 4-1. Oregon just loaded bases with 2 out. WSU can’t win it here but they could for all intents and purposes lose it here.

Wild pitch and base hit clear the bases. 7-1 Oregon.

I’m going to call it a night. Pretty good season for the ladies. Keep building.

[1972Shocker]

Wild pitch and base hit clear the bases. 7-1 Oregon.

I’m going to call it a night. Pretty good season for the ladies. Keep building.

Same here. I think it was a very good season for the Shocks. This team exceeded my expectations and they were a fun team to watch. We knew the pitching was a big question mark coming into the season and that never went away. We lost some very good position players off of last seaons team as well and I really thought the team might take a step back on top of that . Throw in the early season ending injuries to Arielle James and Bailey Urban and I have to give these young ladies a lot of credit for the year they had.

[ShockerFever]

For how bad the pitching has been, the real disappointment has been the vaulted offense. It sure has fluttered when the lights got turned on. Perhaps the benefactors of playing a bunch of bad AAC teams?

Well it was a good season I guess. Congrats on the NCAA bid.

[ShockTalk]

For how bad the pitching has been, the real disappointment has been the vaulted offense. It sure has fluttered when the lights got turned on. Perhaps the benefactors of playing a bunch of bad AAC teams?

Well it was a good season I guess. Congrats on the NCAA bid.

Just as in baseball, great pitching most likely trumps great hitting. It doesn't matter what name is on the jersey.

[1972Shocker]

Just as in baseball, great pitching most likely trumps great hitting. It doesn't matter what name is on the jersey.

And just as in baseball warm weather teams have an advantage over cold weather teams. P-5 team and their mega-budgets and facilities have an advantage as well.

One trend that HCKB has commented on in the past few years is that teams are carrying deeper pitching staffs than they used to. In the past they might get by with 2 good arms. Now a lot of teams have 4 good arms. And as collegiate softball grows in popularity more and more of the P-5 teams are putting more resources and effort behind their softball programs. The power teams accumulate the top talent and the rest are left to fight for the best of the next tier. Anyone notice that Tulsa's #1 pitcher from last year is now the #2 pitcher at Arkansas this year.

I don't think there is any doubt that the Shockers' offensive numbers reflect playing a lot of games against 2nd tier pitching. In the AAC this year the Shocks were 2-4 against UCF and USF and 12-0 against the rest of the league. What separates UCF and USF from the rest of the league is their pitching (I don't think it is coincidence that both those teams are in Florida). What separates the Shocks from everyone else in the league is their hitting. When you get to the NCAA you are generally facing teams with good pitching. Even Princeton's pitching against the Shockers looked pretty decent. Not many hitters are going to hit as well against top tier pitching. Maybe 15-16 games during the regulars season will the Shocks face top tier pitching. The bulk of their 18 losses came in those games. For example, in the 4 games the Shocks played against Oklahoma State and Oklahoma they went 0-4 losing by a combined score of 32-4. The were competitive in 1 of those 4 games. A 4-1 loss to OSU at home.

The one player on the Shockers team that does not seem to be effected as much as most by top tier pitching is Syd McKinney as shown by her 7-10 performance at the plate in the regionals. But Syd has unique game and skill set and I think she is clearly the best softball player on the Shockers team.

Considering everything HCKB is up against I think she has done a terrific job. Yes, I would like to see us upgrade our pitching but I have no doubt HCKB shares that desire. It is apparently easier said than done. I would also like to see the Shocks mix more of speed game into their lineup as well as I think that can hold up better against top tier pitching than our power game does. Again, see Syd McKinney who has a nice mix of speed and power in her game. But obviously those players don't grow on trees either.

All that said, this Shocker team has been entertaining to watch, they obviously have good time and genuinely like each other and they are good students and great ambassadors for Wichita State and will no doubt be productive and successful alumni in their future endeavors.

[Stickboy46]

And just as in baseball warm weather teams have an advantage over cold weather teams. P-5 team and their mega-budgets and facilities have an advantage as well.

One trend that HCKB has commented on in the past few years is that teams are carrying deeper pitching staffs than they used to. In the past they migtht get by with 2 good arms. Now a lot of teams have 4 good arms. And as collegiate softball grows in popularity more and more of the P-5 teams are putting more resources and effort behind their softball programs. The power teams accumulate the top talent and the rest are left to fight for the best of the next tier. Anyone notice that Tulsa's #1 pitcher from last year is now the #2 pitcher at Arkansas this year.

I don't think there is any doubt that the Shockers offensive numbers reflect a playing a lot of games against 2nd tier pitching. In the AAC this year the Shocks were 2-4 against UCF and USF and 12-0 against the rest of the league. What separates UCF and USF from the rest of the league is their pitching (I don't think it is coicidence that both those teams are in Florida). What separates the Shocks from everyone else in the league is their hitting. When you get to the NCAA you are generally facing teams with good pitching. Even Princeton's pitching agaisnt the Shockers looked pretty decent. Not many hitters are going to hit as well against top tier pitching. The Shocks see some of it in the regular season to the same effect, they just see more 2nd tier pitching in the regular season all that often. Maybe 15-16 games during the season. The bulk of their 18 losses came in those games. For example, in the 4 games the Shocks played against Oklahoma State and Oklahoma they went 0-4 losing by a combined score of 32-4. The were competitive in 1 of those 4 games. A 4-1 loss to OSU at home.

The one player on the Shockers team that does not seem to be effected as much as most by top tier pitching is Syd McKinney as shown by her 7-10 performance at the plate in the regionals. But Syd has unique game and skill set and I think she is clearly the best softball player on the Shockers team.

Considering everything HCKB is up against I think she has done a terrific job. Yes, I would like to see us upgrade our pitching but I have no doubt HCKB shares that desire. It is apparently easier said than done. I would also like to see the Shocks mix more of speed game into their lineup as well as I think that can hold up better against top tier pitching than our power game does. Again, see Syd McKinney who has a nice mix of speed and power in her game. But obviously those players don't grow on trees either.

All that said, this Shocker team has been entertaining to watch, they obviously have good time and genuinely like each other and they are good students and great ambassadors for Wichita State and will no doubt be productive and successful alumni in their future endeavors.

On the bolded parts .... if i remember right .. at least half of her hits this weekend were beating out infield hits ...

[shocks02]

Definitely a positive season. We lost a bunch of seniors last year and the offense was still even better this season. Lots of players will likely return. Ali Cooper and Kenzie Schopfer showed flashes. This team could be one standout pitcher away from being very, very good next season.

[1972Shocker]

Definitely a positive season. We lost a bunch of seniors last year and the offense was still even better this season. Lots of players will likely return. Ali Cooper and Kenzie Schopfer showed flashes. This team could be one standout pitcher away from being very, very good next season.

I have started a new thread to discuss this.