SB: 2023 in season news

[shoxlax]

I don't think it is nearly unbalanced now as it was earlier in the year. Early on we were getting next to nothing from Lainee, Sami, Taylor and Krystin.

As of around Feb 25th (about 15 games into the season) Lainee was hitting .167, Sami was at .179. Taylor was at .192 and Kristin was at .000 (and would not get her first hit of the season until March 11th vs Missouri State).

Currently Lainee is at .275, Sami is at .220, Taylor is at .305 and Krystin is at .231 plus Lainee, Sami and Taylor have shown some occasional power.

Herring was a huge loss in the field and with her bat, wasn’t she?

[SubGod22]

Softball questions: what are minimum/maximum standards for outfield fence distances in college? Seem to be increasingly too short for female athletes as they get stronger over the years with the technology of training based on focused analytics.

Side note: too lazy to look up.

I believe the lines are 190 to 225 and CF is 200 to 225.

[shockerfan_realist]

Softball questions: what are minimum/maximum standards for outfield fence distances in college? Seem to be increasingly too short for female athletes as they get stronger over the years with the technology of training based on focused analytics.

Side note: too lazy to look up.

I said the same thing after watching OU and honestly us the last 3-4 years. The home runs are super fun, especially since we hit a ton of them, but some of the hits these girls have... For instance I saw an OU girl against Tejas last Saturday that stuck her butt out threw the bat out and pulled an outside pitch over the fence. In baseball, your lucky if that's a blooper over the infield. Just seems a little too easy at times but why change something that works.

[1972Shocker]

While I think that observation about the distance of the fences is valid moving the fences back would be very expensive and, in some facilities, not possible in their current footprint.

What really opened up the offenses was the rule changes for pitching distance in 1993 and the introduction of a livelier ball in 1998.

This article discusses those changes.

Softball's come a long way Rule changes transform game from bore to battle

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2001/05/24/softballs-come-a-long-way-rule-changes-transform-game-from-bore-to-battle/62145449007/

Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso remembers the way softball used to be.

"Games were either 1-0 and 75 minutes, or they were going 20 innings with two hits apiece," Gasso said.

Or, put another way:

"It was kind of boring," Arizona coach Mike Candrea said.

The days of pitchers, catchers and not much else are long gone. These days, teams run, hit and play defense.

College softball's evolution - revolution? - started in 1988, when the NCAA instituted a rule change that moved the pitcher's rubber from 40 to 43 feet. It continued in 1993, when a more lively ball was introduced.

The ball is optic yellow, with raised, red seams to aid batters. What really helps hitters is what's inside - a harder core.

There are other factors. Bat technology has improved. There's better coaching at the youth level, better strength-and-conditioning work at the college level.

But the rules changes have had the greatest effect.

But it's hard to find anyone - other than a pitcher, perhaps - who really misses that era.

---

So you could move the fences back but the simpler solution would be to perhaps make the balls less lively and bats less effective (like they did in college baseball). Moving the pitchers close would reduce not only home runs, but hits in general and I don't think there is much interest in returning to the old pitcher dominated game.

[flyingMoose]

Softball questions: what are minimum/maximum standards for outfield fence distances in college? Seem to be increasingly too short for female athletes as they get stronger over the years with the technology of training based on focused analytics.

Side note: too lazy to look up.

From Rule 2.10 Fences

It is highly recommended that the playing field be enclosed completely by sideline fences and a permanent home-run fence in a smooth arc of not more than 235 feet from home plate. If a 6-foot fence, it is highly recommended to be a minimum of 190 feet in left and right fields and 220 in center field. If a 4-foot fence, it is highly recommended to be a minimum of 210 feet in left and right fields and 230 in center field.

[barry1305]

Herring was a huge loss in the field and with her bat, wasn’t she?

That’s my girl. Of course, we all miss her being a Shocker and being out there. Wish she could play forever :)

[Shockm]

While I think that observation about the distance of the fences is valid moving the fences back would be very expensive and, in some facilities, not possible in their current footprint.

What really opened up the offenses was the rule changes for pitching distance in 1993 and the introduction of a livelier ball in 1998.

This article discusses those changes.

Softball's come a long way Rule changes transform game from bore to battle

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2001/05/24/softballs-come-a-long-way-rule-changes-transform-game-from-bore-to-battle/62145449007/

Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso remembers the way softball used to be.

"Games were either 1-0 and 75 minutes, or they were going 20 innings with two hits apiece," Gasso said.

Or, put another way:

"It was kind of boring," Arizona coach Mike Candrea said.

The days of pitchers, catchers and not much else are long gone. These days, teams run, hit and play defense.

College softball's evolution - revolution? - started in 1988, when the NCAA instituted a rule change that moved the pitcher's rubber from 40 to 43 feet. It continued in 1993, when a more lively ball was introduced.

The ball is optic yellow, with raised, red seams to aid batters. What really helps hitters is what's inside - a harder core.

There are other factors. Bat technology has improved. There's better coaching at the youth level, better strength-and-conditioning work at the college level.

But the rules changes have had the greatest effect.

But it's hard to find anyone - other than a pitcher, perhaps - who really misses that era.

---

So you could move the fences back but the simpler solution would be to perhaps make the balls less lively and bats less effective (like they did in college baseball). Moving the pitchers close would reduce not only home runs, but hits in general and I don't think there is much interest in returning to the old pitcher dominated game.

Bat technology has changed in baseball. The old aluminum bats were hitting too many home runs, but mostly rules makers were concerned about the pitcher's health (the balls were just being hit too hard), so they deadened the bats.

Did they deaden the bat in softball? I see that the pitchers wear masks for protection. I'm not sure if the bats were deadened in softball and therefore homeruns are limited (at least a little). Does anyone know if the bat has been modified for softball too?

[wichshock65]

Did anyone ever hear what happened to Zoe?

[SubGod22]

Did anyone ever hear what happened to Zoe?

I've still seen nothing mentioned.

[WeWillShockU2]

Wichita used to have Club Rodeo. Those were good times. :)

Yes they were. The ladies really loved the Rodeo. Had many good nights there.

[SubGod22]

Are you surprised? I'm not surprised.

[SubGod22]

Alex is having a hell of a freshman year!

[SubGod22]

Taylor had a tweet below it about Syd having another 12 regular season games I think it was, then another three or so in the conference tournament and then probably three or four in the NCAAs. She has a chance at the top spot but barring a very un Syd like slump top 5 should almost be a given.

[1972Shocker]

When you adjust the list to a hits per game average Syd is #4 (assuming I calculated correctly):

Alison McCutcheon - Arizona - 1.582
Natasha Watley - UCLA - 1.574
Chelsea Bramlett - Mississippi State - 1.541
Sydney McKinney - Wichita State - 1.539

Those are career averages. Over last year and so far this year Sydney has 176 hits in 97 games for an average of 1.913 hits per game. At that pace, if she plays another 17 games, she will end up in 4 the place on total hits and 3rd place in hits per game. To get to 405 at her current pace she would have to play in 33 more games. That's not happening. If she does just have 17 games left to play, she would have to average 3.0 hits per game i.. Not likely, but not totally impossible. Any additional games beyond that make the challenge, while formidable, just a little easier.

The fact that we are even talking about a Shocker softball player in these terms is amazing in and of itself.

Maybe we should start a Sydney McKinney hits countdown thread to track her progress. However, I don't want to jinx her.

She could enter the Top 10 after this weekend's series vs Houston.

[SubGod22]