Welp. It's an inexperienced lineup on opening weekend. Hitting should improve, though I doubt it'll be as good as the past two seasons. Betsa is as good as ever. Blanco is capable, but will have to be more consistent as the #2 option for this team to continue at the level we've seen in recent years.
FWIW, here's a site I made myself. Has video-game-like ratings and simple matchup simulation. Also made one recently for NHL if anyone's interested in that.
Minny will be good for sure. I know they were able to snag Tori Finucane from Mizzou in the offseason transfer market. She's the pitcher with the mask we played in the super regional and former winner of SEC freshman of the year. So they now have another top quality pitcher that will be capable of shutting down many Big Ten teams.
I still think that top to bottom there is nobody in the conference that can match the talent and coaching ability that Michigan has. Not to say it's a sure thing, but we didn't just stumble into winning so many seasons in a row.
Blanco is extremely talented in the circle. Her problem has been nagging pitching-related injuries, and there was no reason to push through that with Betsa / Wagner / Driesenga available and considering how well she was playing 1B. If she and Betsa are able to remain healthy, Michigan is still the clear favorite to win the conference.
Nemitz is still at Michigan as the Director of Softball Operations. The assistant at Duke is actually Chiddy, and the head coach there is Marissa Young, another former UM great.
Next game in twelve hours. How many times this season have we won three in a row? I'm no mathematician, but I think the answer is "a lot." Don't freak out.
Edit: Just FYI, we get Oklahoma again in the finals.
Not an ideal start, but maybe this lifts the tension that's been holding back the bats. We saw one team come back from a big early deficit already today. We certainly have the ability to do it.
For anyone confused about the implications of this game: If we win tonight we'll need to win 1 of 2 against the winner of LSU/UGA to reach the final. If we lose, we'll need to win three straight against FSU (1 game) and Auburn (2 games) to reach the final.
Not to get too far ahead, but I'd like to see UGA win this game. If we don't win tonight, I'd rather face FSU and then UGA twice instead of Auburn twice. If we do win tonight, I like our chances to make the final regardless, and the likely matchup there would be UGA (16 seed) or Oklahoma (Romero-Romero for all the marbles). Both appealing options.
She was just named the Gatorade Michigan POY yesterday after winning last year as well. 286 strikeouts to 3 walks in 135 innings so far this season w/ three no hitters and one perfect game. Insane. She has dominated top tier travel ball tourneys as well. There are at least a couple of full games on youtube. Here's an article posted yesterday about the Gatorade award. I think the quote from the opposing coach sums it up nicely.
Chances are good that she'll be the workhorse from day one. No pitchers coming in next season and Blanco's future there is uncertain because of her shoulder. Crockett could develop into a reliable option, but for now we don't know much.
They were both very highly rated. Not sure of the final rankings, but Sydney was at #2 overall going into her senior year and Sierra was ranked similarly.
In my opinion Sierra was a slightly better prospect. Just from articles and interviews it was clear she had a unique edge to her game. I remember seeing the picture of her holding up her hands w/ her batting gloves completely torn to shreds and knowing this would be one of the best players we've ever had. When Sua Cravens was announcing his decision I posted that Michigan already had the best athlete at VMHS. It was obvious that she was special.
There's another game scheduled for 11 am tomorrow, so not a lot of wiggle room. During Romo's freshman year there was a tornado and I think they played past 2 am. Hopefully this clears up soon.
Really hard to win this award if you're not a pitcher. And last year we saw Lauren Chamberlain close out her career without winning, so it's not just handed out based on cumulative achievements.
She hit right-handed in HS so probably doesn't have the same power as a lefty. The official roster actually lists her as a switch hitter, but I don't recall seeing her do any switching.
Florida's pitching is better than Kentucky. James Madison's pitching is better than Florida in my opinion, but UF's defense as a whole is the best. Our pitching so far has been a bit spotty.
Also important to note that ULL's Lexi Elkins was hurt for the series against UF. She's pretty much their entire offense, so the result was predictable.
Don't know if it's been brought up, but John Madden is an assistant with the Florida Panthers now. I know Pearson is a proven commodity and would probably come back if asked, but if that doesn't work out and Madden is interested, I would be more than happy with that result.
Very interesting that Sobczak was pulled mid-game for Katie Alexander.
Alexander's high school coach was Alicia Seegert, one of the best catchers in Michigan history, and her school principal also caught for the Wolverines. So she has had amazing mentorship at the position.
On the other had, Sobczak played mainly third base in high school. So while Sobczak is more highly regarded as a hitter, Alexander is almost certainly a better catcher.
If Alexander can show some ability with the bat, I think she stays there as the starter. If not, perhaps give Falk the job again and use Vargas or Swearingen as DP. Then Sobczak can take over the spot at third where she is most comfortable. I think that's our best option at this point.
I think she has only played middle infield until now, which doesn't give her anywhere to break in currently, but I agree 100% -- will be key next couple of years and probably worth giving her a shot at third.
Nebraska upset Oregon today. Knighton looks like a legit POY candidate so far, hitting well over .500 with 7 HR, though they've played mostly cream puffs. Three game series in Lincoln may decide the conference this season.
Also, they will play Florida later tonight, so go Huskers. Florida is playing Washington now, which is another very interesting game. Both are streaming on flosoftball if you bought the membership for this tournament.
That was quite a game. Anyone who paid for streaming of this tournament is definitely getting their money's worth.
About midway through I thought we might be headed for a bad loss, but the offense just wasn't having it. Major highlight for me was Vargas swinging so hard that it caused her bat to fall apart. Basically summed up the game.
Also, I'd just like to mention that the setting of this tourney is absolutely beautiful. Stunning location and looks like a great facility as well. I'd like to get out there one of these years.
Need to limit the free passes but they're getting a lot of experience working out of jams. Sobczak is a baller. One of the best prospects in state history and way underrated nationally as a recruit. Been pretty vocal about that for a while and so far so good. Her throws have been errant at times but that will not be a long term problem. Looks great in warmups and wasn't a full time catcher in high school, so it will come.
For your post below, seems it could go either way between Monty and Canfield. I think the knock on Swearingen taking the spot at third is her fielding ability there compared to Monty. Like her better at first or perhaps in the outfield longterm. That doesn't seem to be the case with Canfield. Saw her play in person last weekend and she is very good. Think there's a good chance this will be cleared up by the end of next week.
Edit: another possiblilty we may see is flexing Monty when Blanco pitches. So Monty could play in the field and not have to hit.
Just checked the national scores today. Here are some interesting results:
Florida squeaked by Elon, 3-1. They are not unbeatable.
Central Michigan upset #10 Arizona, 4-1.
Central Michigan also got destroyed by #9 Washington, 23-0.
#20 James Madison shut down #3 Auburn's high powered offense, winning 3-2. JMU's top two pitchers are unbelievable. They've also shutout Tennessee and UCF, and allowed only two hits against Alabama, dropping that game 2-1 due to errors.
Illinois(!) also beat FSU 5-1 last weekend, though that doesn't count towards this challenge. Another notable result was Minnesota beating Oklahoma. There have been some disappointing losses sprinkled in for pretty much everyone, but a much better start overall for the Big Ten this season.
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They lost 5-1 to Florida A&M earlier today and 13-2 to Northwestern St. yesterday. And so far it's not a fluke. They have 9 hits to UF's 3.
0-8 Maryland is beating #1 Florida 4-2 right now in the sixth inning.
Welp. It's an inexperienced lineup on opening weekend. Hitting should improve, though I doubt it'll be as good as the past two seasons. Betsa is as good as ever. Blanco is capable, but will have to be more consistent as the #2 option for this team to continue at the level we've seen in recent years.
UF is periscoping (streaming video) of the game here:
https://www.periscope.tv/w/1YqJDXvbrqQJV
1-1 heading to the 5th
St Johns is tied 2-2 with UF in the 5th. Probably won't last, but what an upset that would be.
Michigan plays UF right after.
You're reaching here. The two freshmen goalies have been very good and it's natural for a recruit at that position to have second thoughts.
FWIW, here's a site I made myself. Has video-game-like ratings and simple matchup simulation. Also made one recently for NHL if anyone's interested in that.
https://cfbsim.netlify.com
Minny will be good for sure. I know they were able to snag Tori Finucane from Mizzou in the offseason transfer market. She's the pitcher with the mask we played in the super regional and former winner of SEC freshman of the year. So they now have another top quality pitcher that will be capable of shutting down many Big Ten teams.
I still think that top to bottom there is nobody in the conference that can match the talent and coaching ability that Michigan has. Not to say it's a sure thing, but we didn't just stumble into winning so many seasons in a row.
Blanco is extremely talented in the circle. Her problem has been nagging pitching-related injuries, and there was no reason to push through that with Betsa / Wagner / Driesenga available and considering how well she was playing 1B. If she and Betsa are able to remain healthy, Michigan is still the clear favorite to win the conference.
That was also a joke. MSU coaches allegedly threw at a player in practice to send a message.
Nemitz is still at Michigan as the Director of Softball Operations. The assistant at Duke is actually Chiddy, and the head coach there is Marissa Young, another former UM great.
She says her arm injury hasn't improved much, so I'd be surprised to see her move back to SS.
Next game in twelve hours. How many times this season have we won three in a row? I'm no mathematician, but I think the answer is "a lot." Don't freak out.
Edit: Just FYI, we get Oklahoma again in the finals.
Tera Blanco has HODOR written on her arm which is the best thing I've seen in a long, long time
We're down three with six innings left. Don't freak out.
Not an ideal start, but maybe this lifts the tension that's been holding back the bats. We saw one team come back from a big early deficit already today. We certainly have the ability to do it.
For anyone confused about the implications of this game: If we win tonight we'll need to win 1 of 2 against the winner of LSU/UGA to reach the final. If we lose, we'll need to win three straight against FSU (1 game) and Auburn (2 games) to reach the final.
Not to get too far ahead, but I'd like to see UGA win this game. If we don't win tonight, I'd rather face FSU and then UGA twice instead of Auburn twice. If we do win tonight, I like our chances to make the final regardless, and the likely matchup there would be UGA (16 seed) or Oklahoma (Romero-Romero for all the marbles). Both appealing options.
She was just named the Gatorade Michigan POY yesterday after winning last year as well. 286 strikeouts to 3 walks in 135 innings so far this season w/ three no hitters and one perfect game. Insane. She has dominated top tier travel ball tourneys as well. There are at least a couple of full games on youtube. Here's an article posted yesterday about the Gatorade award. I think the quote from the opposing coach sums it up nicely.
http://usatodayhss.com/2016/gatorade-michigan-softball-poy-meghan-beaubien-2
Chances are good that she'll be the workhorse from day one. No pitchers coming in next season and Blanco's future there is uncertain because of her shoulder. Crockett could develop into a reliable option, but for now we don't know much.
They were both very highly rated. Not sure of the final rankings, but Sydney was at #2 overall going into her senior year and Sierra was ranked similarly.
In my opinion Sierra was a slightly better prospect. Just from articles and interviews it was clear she had a unique edge to her game. I remember seeing the picture of her holding up her hands w/ her batting gloves completely torn to shreds and knowing this would be one of the best players we've ever had. When Sua Cravens was announcing his decision I posted that Michigan already had the best athlete at VMHS. It was obvious that she was special.
I feel the same about Meghan Beaubien.
Betsa is a freaking hero right now.
Time for the rest of the team to help her out.
ಠ_ಠ
Amazing job by Megan Betsa to battle through that.
Walks her on five strikes lol
60% chance of rain past 2pm though. This will potentially set the tourney back an entire day.
Forecast looks really bad for tomorrow. I hope they figure something out that is fair to the teams in our side of the bracket.
There's another game scheduled for 11 am tomorrow, so not a lot of wiggle room. During Romo's freshman year there was a tornado and I think they played past 2 am. Hopefully this clears up soon.
0-0 for Bama-Oklahoma
Rain delay started in the middle of the second inning and has lasted over two hours now.
Maybe the team can sneak in a nap here. It's gonna be a late night.
Congrats, Romo! Very well deserved.
Really hard to win this award if you're not a pitcher. And last year we saw Lauren Chamberlain close out her career without winning, so it's not just handed out based on cumulative achievements.
She hit right-handed in HS so probably doesn't have the same power as a lefty. The official roster actually lists her as a switch hitter, but I don't recall seeing her do any switching.
LOL she left waaaaay too early there.
Practice this week
At the time of the injury for Elkins I think they were saying 4-6 weeks, so I'd guess she'll be back before the end of the season.
Florida's pitching is better than Kentucky. James Madison's pitching is better than Florida in my opinion, but UF's defense as a whole is the best. Our pitching so far has been a bit spotty.
Also important to note that ULL's Lexi Elkins was hurt for the series against UF. She's pretty much their entire offense, so the result was predictable.
Don't know if it's been brought up, but John Madden is an assistant with the Florida Panthers now. I know Pearson is a proven commodity and would probably come back if asked, but if that doesn't work out and Madden is interested, I would be more than happy with that result.
Very interesting that Sobczak was pulled mid-game for Katie Alexander.
Alexander's high school coach was Alicia Seegert, one of the best catchers in Michigan history, and her school principal also caught for the Wolverines. So she has had amazing mentorship at the position.
On the other had, Sobczak played mainly third base in high school. So while Sobczak is more highly regarded as a hitter, Alexander is almost certainly a better catcher.
If Alexander can show some ability with the bat, I think she stays there as the starter. If not, perhaps give Falk the job again and use Vargas or Swearingen as DP. Then Sobczak can take over the spot at third where she is most comfortable. I think that's our best option at this point.
YOU ARE THE BEST
I think she has only played middle infield until now, which doesn't give her anywhere to break in currently, but I agree 100% -- will be key next couple of years and probably worth giving her a shot at third.
lol she is so clutch. Also came off the bench late in game three of the WCWS final and got a hit when nobody else could.
Looks
Thanks for the stream!
Looks like I've already missed a lot. Annnnnnnd UCLA hits a solo home run as I type.
No, it will be Betsa / Blanco / Crockett next season.
But Meghan Beaubien comes in the year after and will very likely be the ace from day one.
Best we can do is a tie now.
Ha, of course Monty would come up with a huge HR for her first hit of the season. Clearly she was just waiting for the right time.
Nebraska upset Oregon today. Knighton looks like a legit POY candidate so far, hitting well over .500 with 7 HR, though they've played mostly cream puffs. Three game series in Lincoln may decide the conference this season.
Also, they will play Florida later tonight, so go Huskers. Florida is playing Washington now, which is another very interesting game. Both are streaming on flosoftball if you bought the membership for this tournament.
That was quite a game. Anyone who paid for streaming of this tournament is definitely getting their money's worth.
About midway through I thought we might be headed for a bad loss, but the offense just wasn't having it. Major highlight for me was Vargas swinging so hard that it caused her bat to fall apart. Basically summed up the game.
Also, I'd just like to mention that the setting of this tourney is absolutely beautiful. Stunning location and looks like a great facility as well. I'd like to get out there one of these years.
Need to limit the free passes but they're getting a lot of experience working out of jams. Sobczak is a baller. One of the best prospects in state history and way underrated nationally as a recruit. Been pretty vocal about that for a while and so far so good. Her throws have been errant at times but that will not be a long term problem. Looks great in warmups and wasn't a full time catcher in high school, so it will come.
For your post below, seems it could go either way between Monty and Canfield. I think the knock on Swearingen taking the spot at third is her fielding ability there compared to Monty. Like her better at first or perhaps in the outfield longterm. That doesn't seem to be the case with Canfield. Saw her play in person last weekend and she is very good. Think there's a good chance this will be cleared up by the end of next week.
Edit: another possiblilty we may see is flexing Monty when Blanco pitches. So Monty could play in the field and not have to hit.
Just checked the national scores today. Here are some interesting results:
Florida squeaked by Elon, 3-1. They are not unbeatable.
Central Michigan upset #10 Arizona, 4-1.
Central Michigan also got destroyed by #9 Washington, 23-0.
#20 James Madison shut down #3 Auburn's high powered offense, winning 3-2. JMU's top two pitchers are unbelievable. They've also shutout Tennessee and UCF, and allowed only two hits against Alabama, dropping that game 2-1 due to errors.
Illinois(!) also beat FSU 5-1 last weekend, though that doesn't count towards this challenge. Another notable result was Minnesota beating Oklahoma. There have been some disappointing losses sprinkled in for pretty much everyone, but a much better start overall for the Big Ten this season.