fastpitch101

Congrats to all the Tennessee High school players who worked so hard and are now going to the College World Series! Whitney Hammond, Megan Givens, Shelby Burchall, Cat Hosfield, Ivy Renfroe, Leah Taylor, and Morgan Fowler. Tennessee has some great high school talent!! Congrats girls!!!!

I think it makes a difference "HOW" you time the runners. The fastest runners in D-I are right at 2.6, but I think the stop watch is started when ball contact is made which is different than a "ready set go" approach.

Tennessee is a top 25 team every year playing in the SEC , which is second only to the Pac 10 . They have, every year, a recruiting class in the top five according to ESPN. Although they may, like any top team , have a bad day here and there, I really dont think they have a weak anything. Alabama was run ruled on their own field by a no name team this past weekend and I dont think they are going to be weak either. By the way, in top college programs especially early in the season it is common for top coaches to swap young freshman or sophomore pitchers in and out to see what one...or the other can do. It doesnt mean they cant finish a game.

I think the Riverdale pitcher is much like another young pitcher, Kelly Troglin, that pitched for Red Bank back a few years ago. As a freshman, with a team full of seniors, she won the state title for Red Bank. She isnt a strike out pitcher and she really depended on her teams defense, which isnt a bad thing. Red Bank didnt repeat. I think a lot of being a good pitcher is mental and the Riverdale pitcher does have the mental game down. I think Riverdale graduated a lot this year and I dont think she will have the season she had last year. That isnt to say Riverdale doesnt have a good pitcher, they just dont have the states best pitcher. That is just my opinion. I think I was most impressed by the young Maryville pitcher. I think Banks and Beech will be my pick for state champions.

And that makes the first part of his quote any better? Kind of arrogant isnt he? He is saying "we" are the better team but "we" let them win. I am with Mr. Best . Crappy comment.

I always thought she was a really good player and I can find where all the other really good players in her class went , all are doing well! Just curious if she continued to play.

Nobody is bashing other associations. They serve a purpose esp at the younger age groups. It is just that ASA " A" and ASA Gold are the highest level of softball played. Period. Basically , you want to play at as high a level as you can compete. In this case at least 6 or 7 of the girls on this team had not committed but are LOOKING for a place to play in college , on scholarship perhaps. The place to find college coaches is 16U A ASA nationals, 18UA ASA Nationals, and 18U Gold ASA nationals. You wont find them at these other National tournaments as the best teams and players are usually not there.

I believe it. The OC Batbusters only seek out the best pitchers out there. They always have a really good team.

LOL .......There is no publicity on this web site. Well..........I guess publicity to a dozen or so parents and a couple of high school coaches. Who was the impressive batbuster pitcher?

The younger pitcher must be Kiewhirt. Here is information on their main ace who is an EA All American: Pitcher - Jolene Henderson (Sheldon, Sacramento, Calif.) Jr. The state junior player of the year in California led Sheldon to a second straight CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Div. I title and No. 4 spot in the final Unapproved Website FAB 50 national rankings. Henderson, a two-time player of the year by the Sacramento Bee and already committed to Cal, went 30-1 with a 0.41 ERA and struck out 326 batters. She also batted for a .400 average and had five homers with 31 RBI.

Their "other " ace is Jolene Henderson , who is going to Cal, and is a senior.

The pitcher for Lady Magic is a SENIOR and she was a first team EA All American that pitched 18U Gold last year, then dropped down to play 16U this year. Her name is Jolene Henderson. Thanks for who ever clearedup that they won fourth. I was have trouble seeing the entire bracket and it appeared they ended up second.

If people are interested in softball then that is what they should talk about. The details of a person losing their job that caused the move are details that were not mentioned by the paper and really are just speculation and should have been left out. Does it really affect the softball community on "why" these people are thinking about moving? NO. I'm not buying they were no longer being talked about. For how many seconds did you think it woud be before these little stories were going to be dredged up again with newer, more juicy details? On a positive note , a fact that DOES affect the softball community , I think Ellen's team, the Southern Force 16U , just placed 2nd at 16U A ASA nationals. The team is made up of 2010 and 2011 graduates. That is a great accomplishment for her team.

I second that and further agree high school ball should be played from 43. Florida has done it for 3 years now.

People care? No , just one or two on this board. The rest of the community really has no interest in the situation.

The Owls and their fans can be just as bad as Soddy. I pick Beech to win it all , they have a great pitching one -two punch, they have good coaches, good hitters, and they have supportive players and parents. One loss and the Owls players, parents and fans will tear themselves apart from the inside. It is hard for a team like that to win state. I hope Coffee county makes it to state but I do not see them winning it all as much as I would like to see them do it. Good luck to them.

Thank you , that was a whole lot clearer than how I put it. Vanderbilt plays volleyball in a program like this.

I checked , you are right, they are not an IVY school. I dont know why I thought that. They have what is called a NCAA Associate Club Sport team, whatever that is. They dont play anybody and they have tryouts each spring.

Have they ever played Coffee County at Coffee county? Trust me I am a Soddy believer, that coach gets the job done but even some things will be too much for him to overcome given his young team. Notice I didnt say Soddy was the weaker team , I am saying Soddy isnt in a good situation to come out with the win.

Her sister goes to Duke so I too am certain that is where she will go. Duke is an IVY league school that doesnt offer scholarships for Athletics. She may end up walking onto the vollyball team or softball team but not on a scholarship. You are right if she had focused on either one or two sports she could have gotten a scholarship somewhere, maybe even a top school,but she is a senior and it is too late now. Her dad is very wealthy so I am sure it wasnt a concern of his.

Soddy doesnt stand a chance at winning against Coffee County when playing at Coffee County. If Mt. Juliet cant even win there Soddy most certainly wont. There is too much of a home field advantage. Just my opinion.

Jennifer used to be a power house pitcher in 12 U. She has a screwball for a fastball she calls a slider. She throws at top speed 58. She also plays two other sports, volleyball and basketball. If she stops and focuses on pitching she has a shot at a good scholarship in softball but as she is now she really isnt effective in upper level travelball. High school teams are much easier for her to keep off balance. My guess is at 5'11 she will focus on basketball, I think she is more successful in this sport.

Does Soddy have to travel to Coffee County to play?

Ohhhhhhh... you mean the term invented by Hendersonville!! Now I have to say Hendersonville did better this year but last year was hilarious what they did to Commando classic.

Zero injuries . Well good for you! Let me be the first to give you a beanie button. I guess everybody elses injuries dont count. How about the thousands of coaches who coach our fine game of softball that have never played baseball and have never had a pair of metal cleats on their feet IN THEIR LIFE. How about all the hundreds a nd hundreds of coaches who coach girls softball who UNKNOWINGLY have less than a desirable knowledge of the game and skills like sliding. How many coaches do you know that coach high school baseball who have never had a pair of metal on their feet? NONE. How many boys play 18U travel in rubber cleats? Almost none . That is what girls , even elite softball athletes have been trained in all their life. Rubber and plastic cleats are different and if you say not , you need to put on a pair and play in them for a while. The training to wear metal isnt in place across the board for the majority of the girls that play middle school and high school softball and you are NOT going to fix that by strutting around with your cocky little attitude stating" my girls are fine". There are many good coaches in softball but face it: Girls are not ever, across the board have the training in place. Until YOU do something about THAT my solution is not to whine, it is to do everything in my power to take the weapons off the girls feet. Metal cleats are not needed in the middle school and high school game. Metal cleats ARE causing a lot of injuries.