Another excellent after action report by Boozer92 - thank you.
Almost. Almost. Tech scored the go-ahead run in the Top of the 5th after a couple of boo boos by the Ags. In the bottom of the inning with one on and two outs Ariel (aka AK) came close to taking the lead with a hard shot to CF but it was not quite long enough. Would have been awesome if it had left the park. Or if she had just got on because Mya was up next. We had a great response to their 1st inning with two runs in the bottom of the inning and it would have been another great response if we would have got two or more right after they had gone ahead. But ...
The other night at Rudy's the guy (always forget his name) called Tech the "travelling all-star team". Tech has money and has brought in a ton of talent. Three All-Americans in the last transfer class to go along with Canady from the year before and there might be another one or even two on the roster. As Boozer92 mentioned, they have awesome talent ... as backups! I think Tech has equalled the sips and sooners at being able to bring in the best of the best.
After our Fall season I had questions about our pitching and hitting.
Our pitching has really worked out well so far. Unfortunately, Lessentine's early adrenaline did not lead to just a few inconsequential singles but to two quick homers that put us in a quick hole. But she settled down and did really well against one of the best hitting teams in the country. I STILL think she is our #1 pitcher and am STILL a HUGE fan. I WAS a bit concerned when Coach sent in Munnerlyn next instead of Sidne because last year she tended to give up some big hits at the wrong times but she responded brilliantly. I was impressed. Then Sidne came in and did the same. I was really, REALLY impressed with the three last night. I mentioned it during the game and Boozer92 brought it up - we gave up 0 BB and 0 HBP last night. Those have hurt us a LOT in big games the past several years.
But in four games this year, after 24 IP, our staff has given up only 2 walks. Only two. This is great.
Last year Coach Ford talked a lot about using multiple pitchers in each game. Basically, so each opposing hitter would not see the same pitcher twice and to give them a different look and style of pitching each time they came up to bat. But she did not do that as much as I thought she would. I think she did it well tonight. IF Grace and Taylor B. can also do well this year - wow !!
Hitting. Only four hits on the night. One was huge. But, again, we were facing a monster pitcher. A million dollar (twice) pitcher. We DID hit the ball really hard at times but, unfortunately, right at someone. Canady usually strikes out a ton of hitters but only five last night. She does have a tendency to walk some batters but 0 last night. Darn it. After she gave up the homer she settled down (just like Lessentine). Overall, I think we did really well against her although not quite enough.
Defense. Still think it (and base-running) will be a strength this year. We have had several boo boos this year. Costly ones. BUT, we are only four games into the season - this WILL get better.
Good 'catch' (pun intended) by Boozer92 on Maddie not focusing on actually securing the catch. I was primarily a catcher in my youth (backup 3B) and one of my coaches always preached "your primary task is to CATCH THE BALL. That includes holding on to it after the catch!" But that was a long time ago and I missed it. Shame on me. But I really dig Maddie. Highly rated. Followed by Ford for many years. I think she will work it out and be a star for us.
Please recall the Fall games. Many of us had a lot of questions and concerns. Hitting and pitching, mostly. But I think those questions have been answered. I think we have a ton of talent in the field and on the mound and I think the few issues will be ironed out and we will be very successful this season.
To close (YEAAAA, the crowd shouts !!), I will say this ...
I used the phrase toe-to-toe in a comment during the game. Kayla Gaither used it in the first sentence of her TexAgs article this morning. I think it is perfect. We went toe-to-toe with the #1 ranked team in the country. The National Runner Up that brought in even more talent in the portal. (I think they would have won it all last year if they had another really good pitcher after Canady). A professional team of All-Stars. We gave up only two earned runs against them, a team that usually scores a LOT of runs. We ALMOST beat one of the best pitchers in softball history. To paraphrase old thoughts - we lost on the scoreboard but we won big time because of what we found out about our team. I am soooo proud of their performance last night - Aggie Softball Rocks !!
