Florida v. Kentucky

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Dec 11, 2010
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This has been fun to watch. There are a ton of interesting stories here. Barnhill has six ip’s called and still dominates. She is going to win us a gold medal in 2020. Freshman Grace Baalman, (Hardin Il HS), is good and only going to get better. Ocasio.... She can pitch. She can hit. She has speed. She wants to play every inning and can play pretty much anywhere you put her. Katie Reed might be the best ss in softball. Kentucky scores the first run on Florida since February 23rd, (Go Redbird’s!). Bailey Vick, the lf for Ky wasn’t playing tb and had no intention of playing college sb when Kentucky recruited her. Abby Cheek hasn’t done much in this series but she is a really good hitter and hit one over the scoreboard in a preseason game I watched last weekend.

I’m sure there is more.
 
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Oct 3, 2011
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Right Here For Now
Just a great finish to the series! 14 innings last night then this ending! What a battle for both teams. An absolute enjoyable experience to watch that kind of talent as well as the coaching duel involved and their play/pitch calling.
 
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Feb 20, 2015
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illinois
Good to see local girls going on to perform well on bigger stages. Grace Baalman is from a tiny little town near me. She is a stud. Set an Illinois state record in 2016 with 39 strikeouts in a 17 inning marathon game. Batting average was in the .500s her junior and senior year also.
 

Cannonball

Ex "Expert"
Feb 25, 2009
4,854
113
Good to see local girls going on to perform well on bigger stages. Grace Baalman is from a tiny little town near me. She is a stud. Set an Illinois state record in 2016 with 39 strikeouts in a 17 inning marathon game. Batting average was in the .500s her junior and senior year also.

Yes, it was good to see Grace do so well. She is one tough cookie and so, she will only get better.
 
Dec 11, 2010
4,713
113
I had heard of Grace, several girls on our summer team played against her in hs. I agree, it is so cool to see a kid from a small town on a stage like that. Facing one of the toughest lineups in the country with poise. She really did well. Alex Martens, also from Illinois had one of the absolute bombs in the series!

There is some great coaching on both sides. I think it says something about Kentucky when you see how many kids on their roster grew up a a short drive from Lexington.
 
Dec 11, 2010
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Yocoach, I think the most eye opening thing for me when it comes to college softball is truly good pitch calling. It is a difference maker. Like the difference between good and great for the same pitcher.

I think there is also a huge gulf between different catchers in how many strikes they are able to get for the pitcher. I wish I understood it better. In my limited knowledge it seems like “over framing”, even just a little bit, makes the pitchers life hard.
 
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Oct 3, 2011
3,478
113
Right Here For Now
Yocoach, I think the most eye opening thing for me when it comes to college softball is pitch calling. It is a difference maker. Like the difference between good and great for the same pitcher.

I think there is also a huge gulf between different catchers in how many strikes they are able to get for the pitcher. I wish I understood it better. In my limited knowledge it seems like “over framing”, even just a little bit, makes the pitchers life hard.

As Dave Weaver said, and Jay continues to say, "keep a strike looking like a strike." The catcher isn't out there to try and fool the umpire. They have eyes and ears also. Thus, they know when a ball hits the mitt and where it crossed the plate. When a catcher feels the need to "pull" the mitt back into the zone, usually on marginal pitches, it's often to the detriment of the pitcher because any human being would think to themselves, 'Well, if the catcher didn't think that was a strike and felt the need to pull it into the zone, then it must have been a ball.' Umpires are no different.

A properly trained catcher will beat the ball to it's intended spot, "stick it," and present the back half of the ball so the umpire can see it (or the back half of the mitt if a closed web) without moving the mitt. Invariably, this promotes more of a trusting relationship with the umpire and will then (usually) result in more strike calls on the marginal pitches.

So yes, "over framing," as you put it will often be to the detriment of most pitchers.
 
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Dec 11, 2010
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Yes! That’s what I was talking about and it makes sense explained that way. The more I learn about catching, the more I think that most people such as myself have NO IDEA what makes a catcher good or know good catching when they see it. I think the credit for good catchers often goes to the pitcher if that makes sense.
 
Oct 3, 2011
3,478
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Right Here For Now
There's a saying, "Behind every great pitcher is a great catcher." There's a reason for that saying. Most great catchers are under-appreciated. Up until recently, the only ones that realized that fact, and they rarely talked about it, were the pitchers. It's kind of obvious for everyone looking back as to why pitchers have their favorite catchers nowadays.

It's only become apparent in the past few years that the position has come into somewhat of a focus and how important it is. For instance, Major D1 SB coaches still think, for the most part, that they need a big stick and try and train one of their better athletes with a big stick or decent stick in the position. However, studies by MLB have proven that a great defensive catcher that receives (frames a naughty word by NECC now www.catchingcamp.com parlance) properly, drops and blocks, has a strong arm/accurate throwdowns and gets their pitchers those extra strikes, only has to bat .170 to justify putting them on the field. Maybe someday the SB coaches and fans will catch up to that fact.
 
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