Lady Shocks at Memphis

[1972Shocker]

I believe that tied it at 1-1

My bad. Your right. Memphis scored in the 4th on a leadoff Double followed by 2 Fielder's Choice ground balls.

Shocks answered in the top of the 5th when Lindsie Mitts was HBP, moved to second on an infield hit by Kersti Rowan and then scored on a single by Kara L'Huiller. Both hits coming with 2 outs.

Jamie Hull in relief of Katie to start the 6th inning (correction - after a lead off walk). Very nice 1st college outing for Katie.

[Quick Pitch]

One on nobody out and Hull comes in to relieve Armagost? Cross your fingers! :whistle:

[1972Shocker]

Gotta run. Hopefully, the Shocks can pull this game out.

Katie wasn't overpowering. Only 1 strike out in 5 innings, but she kept the ball in the park, with mostly ground ball outs, and she did not give up a lot of free passes (2 walks).

[Quick Pitch]

Hull got it done in relief. Just what we needed.

[flyingMoose]

... well all these girls we have now have had stellar careers until they get here.

I'm sorry, but that is an unfounded statement. Would you care to document it?

[shoxsoftball]

What do you mean unfounded fm? Look at their bios

[flyingMoose]

Game Two

As '72 and QP mentioned, the most impressive part of this game was the pitching we got from Katie and Jamie. Despite the cancellation of the tournament, all four of the pitchers got some time in the circle, and the two least experienced, showed the best.

'72 noted that Katie kept the ball in the park, a distinct improvement over the first game. Jamie came in with a runner on in the sixth and gave up a lead-off double in the seventh, but no one scored on her. Her being able to keep it together was not a common occurrence last year.

I expressed doubt in the past about the contributions Katie would be able to make as a freshman. But being primarily a drop ball pitcher makes it more likely that her mistakes will stay in the park. If this is an indication of what is to come, she will have made a great transition to college ball. Congrats!

[flyingMoose]

What do you mean unfounded fm? Look at their bios

Bios are written by the Sports Information folks. For purposes of assessing how they might do in D-I, the only thing that counts (IMHO) is their performance in 18U Gold. But maybe I will go read the bios anyway.

[1972Shocker]

Maybe I should just stay away. Nice job by the Shocks coming back after being boatraced in Game 1.

Big game winning, two-out bases loaded double by Kara who is our best clutch hitter. She drove in all 4 runs in Game 2 -- all with 2 outs.

Have to be pleased with the performance that Katie and Jamie gave in the cirlcle. Memphis had to be feeling pretty good about their offense after putting up 11 runs in game 1.

Jamie showed some competitive toughness keeping Memphis scoreless after inheriting a lead-off walk in the 6th and giving up a lead-off double in the 7th.

Too bad the tournament was snowed-out as we could have used the work. At least they were able to salvage the doubleheader with Memphis. Kudos to whoever put that together on the fly.

I'll have to plead ignorance about the coaching question. That's way above my pay grade. I will say that Ashley Bright did OK after moving to WSU. Not that that proves anything one way or the other.

[1972Shocker]

What do you mean unfounded fm? Look at their bios

Bios are written by the Sports Information folks. For purposes of assessing how they might do in D-I, the only thing that counts (IMHO) is their performance in 18U Gold. But maybe I will go read the bios anyway.

AFAIK Kasha did OK in 18U Gold play. Not sure why that has not YET translated to success at the College D-1 level.

Am I correct that they pitch from 43 feet in college and 41 feet in high school and in 18U Gold play? If that is the case, can that extra couple of feet make a big difference in how effective a particular style of pitching
might be? Maybe hurting a rise ball pitcher (Kasha) and helping a drop ball pitcher (Katie)?

Also, I remember Kasha saying she rarely threw fastballs because hers was pretty straight (not a lot of movement). If College hitters are laying off her rise ball and she has to pump a straight fast-ball when she needs a strike she might get hurt. I really have no idea if there is a particular pitch or situation that is hurting Kasha. Just some things I was wondering about.

[flyingMoose]

What do you mean unfounded fm? Look at their bios

Bios are written by the Sports Information folks. For purposes of assessing how they might do in D-I, the only thing that counts (IMHO) is their performance in 18U Gold. But maybe I will go read the bios anyway.

AFAIK Kasha did OK in 18U Gold play. Not sure why that has not YET translated to success at the College D-1 level.

Am I correct that they pitch from 43 feet in college and 41 feet in high school and in 18U Gold play?

No, they pitch from 43 feet in 18U Gold also and have for a number of years. As an aside, the current pitching distance in high school in Kansas is 40 feet, but all high schools nationwide must start using the 43 foot distance in 2011 and may, by state adoption, start using the distance in 2010.

The following is from memory, but I am reasonably certain it is accurate. Kasha played summer ball for the Tulsa Eagles, the premier Gold team in NE Oklahoma. The #1 pitcher on the team was the ace last year as a freshman for Arizona State and pitched in the WCWS this past spring. I am certain (but could be wrong) that Kasha was the #2 pitcher on the team. (This next part is where my memory may have failed me.) At Nationals in 2008, the Tulsa Eagles went 0-2, each pitcher losing a decision.

The upshot of that is that, yes, Kasha came to the program with reasonable credentials. And she had games last spring where she was quite good - and others where she was not so good. This was the first game in her sophomore year. Let's see what follows.

[1972Shocker]

Thanks for the info 'moose.

[1972Shocker]

As flyingMoose noted Kasha has been effective at times. It just seems like she has had the propensity to give up too many big flies, especially with ducks on the pond. Runs are generally tough to come by in fast-pitch softball so a 3-run dinger can be especially tough to overcome.

By all accounts Kasha is a very hard working and determined young lady so it would not surprise me if she gets it figured out at some point.

It will be interesting to see how Katie Armagost works out. While I love overpowering flame throwers, I also like to see finesse pitchers work games and use their defense effectively. Especially, would like to see a local walk-on be successful.

[flyingMoose]

Is is possible that our best pitcher is a walk on? KA

Katie Armagost ... would like to see a local walk-on be successful.

If the stories I have heard are to be believed, her being just a walk-on is more complicated than it might appear. Since I did not hear these stories first-hand, I will have to leave it at that.

[Hovpen]

Derby grad Kayla Foster hit two home runs on opening day for Utah. That gives her 55 for her career. Hummmm.

Good to see Sammie get a hit in her first official ab but Sammie, game two???

Katie: No surprise here. She has always had good control. Time for WSU to actually start looking at some of our local talent for a change. The fact that they didn't want Belle Plaine's Kim Jerrick is a crime.

I noticed a lot of Wichita area girls playing well for out of state teams in their opening games this season.

Keep Katie on the mound twice through the order and WSU fans may be surprised this year.

That said, I was extremely disappointed with the writeup on the Shocker Web Site. That was a great win, yet only got a couple paragraphs at the bottom of the thing which focused more on an 11-2 beat down. Could it be that the writers there are getting more like me and want to see new leadership who would actually want to recruit some of these local athletes who end up going out of state. And I'll say the same about the women's basketball program.