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Where is Madeira Beach? And what in the world is an emu? Answers beginning tomorrow.
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Madeira Beach, of course, is in Florida - we can see that by looking at the schedule. It is on the small peninsula where St. Pete and Clearwater are also located, bordered on the west by the Gulf of Mexico and on the east by St. Petersburg. -
Emu is the largest bird native to Australia ... oh, wait. Wrong emu.
EMU is Eastern Michigan University - the Eagles, actually. They are partnering with the City of Madeira Beach to open a brand-new, three field facility with this tournament. Michele Smith, the ESPN commentator and Olympic softball gold medalist, served as a consultant on the project.
There are twelve teams in the tournament, about half of them from the Northeast.Last edited by flyingMoose; February 17, 2015, 11:22 AM.Comment
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If this is accurate Field 3 looks a little on the smallish side:
Perhaps they can move the fence back if they need to.Last edited by 1972Shocker; February 17, 2015, 01:19 PM.Comment
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The Shockers open their games in the tournament on Friday at 3pm (all times CT) against Florida International. The Panthers are picked to finish first in C-USA along with UAB whom we play on Saturday in this tournament. Sophomore Stephanie Texiera is on the preseason all-conference team. They are 7-5 in the two tournaments they have played in with one of the losses coming to 3 Alabama. Texiera and Shelby Graves are their leading hitters, and Corinne Jenkins is their ace in the circle.
Immediately following, the Shocks play Harvard. The Crimson were 14-3-1 in the Ivy League last year, finishing second to Dartmouth in the North Division of the Ivy League. Laura Ricciardone and Taylor Cabe are their returning pitchers, but they graduated their two best hitters from last year. This tournament opens their season.
On Saturday, the Shocks play Villanova at 10am followed by a matchup with UAB. This too is the opening weekend for the Wildcats of Villanova. They are picked seventh of the eight teams in the Big East. DePaul is the perennial power in this conference. (Creighton is picked fifth.) They return most of their starters, but nobody's stats from last year stand out. They will be led in the circle by Kate Poppe.
As noted above, the Blazers of UAB are a preseason pick for first along with FIU in C-USA. Their current record is 5-4. UAB's opening tournament two weeks ago at Auburn included a loss to Evansville. Last weekend, they played at a tournament hosted by TAMU-CC where they won their one game against the Islanders. They return seven regulars led by infielder Caitlin Attfield who was selected to the preseason all-conference team. Megan Smith has most of their innings and four of their starts early in the season.
On Saturday, the Shockers close out the tournament at 8am against Texas State. The Bobcats are picked fourth in the nine team Sun Belt Conference where UL-Lafayette is always the team to beat. Courtney Harris and Kortney Koroll were picked to the preseason all-conference team, but Ariel Ortiz, with eleven of her fifteen hits for extra bases, is their leading hitter early in the season. Randi Rupp, a freshman and Gatorade Player of the Year in Texas last year, has pitched two-thirds of their innings. Texas State has hosted tournaments the first two weekends of the season and has a mark of 5-5. One of the losses the first weekend was to Northern Illinois and Jessica Sturm, a Goddard product.Comment
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I thought so too. Field 1 is marked as 190', and Field 3 is only about 75% of that distance (142.5'). Yikes!! Field 2 appears to have a temporary fence line that is at 190'. For the sake of the pitchers, we can hope the wind is blowing in.Originally posted by 1972Shocker View Post
Current NCAA Rules only require that a fence be less than 235' from home plate, although 190' is a common distance. Minimums are in place by the 2016 and 2017 seasons, those minimums depending upon fence height.
So we can hope the drawing is wrong or that deeper fences will be in place for this tournament.Comment
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Inquiring minds wanted to know, so we asked. The answer is exactly as one would expect. There are a number of inaccuracies in the architect's rendering, but the fields have been looked at by the "NCAA teams" and by the local Sports Commission and approved by the same.Originally posted by 1972Shocker View PostComment
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I like this idea by the northern schools. Maybe there's a way to have a northern school baseball showcase at the start of the season down south. WSU, Nebraska, Oregon, that type of thing would be a lot of fun to watch in Florida or Texas or something like that. I'd go, at least.Comment
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Shocks up 1-0 Bottom of 1stShockerNet is a rat infested cess pool.Comment
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Melanie had a homer in the top of the first to take an early lead against FIU. The Shocks scored again in the third when Layne singled, stole second, advanced on a ground ball and score on Cacy's single. However, the Panthers took the lead in the bottom of the third on a three-run homer by Texiera, their best hitter.
Shocks trail 3-2 after three.Last edited by flyingMoose; February 20, 2015, 06:11 PM.Comment
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In the Shocker fourth, Kelli was hit by a pitch with two out. She then scored all the way from first on an error by the left fielder on a ball hit by Liz.
Tied at three after four complete.Comment
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The Shockers took the lead in the top of the fifth when Ashley had an infield single, advanced on an error by the second baseman and was moved to third on a sac bunt by Melanie. Ashley then scored on a passed ball.
Shocker lead 4-3 after five complete.Comment
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In the bottom of the sixth, a double by Texeira and a single tie the score. After a walk, a two-out double gives the Panthers a 6-4 lead.
Melanie hits a two-out solo shot in the top of the seventh, but the Shocks fall short.
Shockers 5-6 Florida International
Melanie had two solo homers among the five hits by the Shocks. Katie gave up nine hits and a walk, but FIU strung together three hits in both the third and sixth to score their six runs. Five of their runs were driven home with two outs.Comment
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Jenni gets the start against Harvard and Paige replaces Mackenzie at third. The rest of the lineup is the recent regulars.
The Crimson scores in the top of the first with four singles. Fortunately for the Shocks, two of the singles were thrown out at second by Layne when they tried to stretch the hits into doubles.
Harvard leads 1-0 after one.Last edited by flyingMoose; February 20, 2015, 07:40 PM.Comment
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