The Saga of Rebuilding a School Program: A parent-coach's journal

[PJR202]

At the end of March we played the perennial doormat. I can go back several years in the state records and this team basically wins 0 - 2 games every season. Two years ago, I think we were their only win, and it was because they invited another team over to play us first and didn't actually tell our coach until the bus was 20 minutes away from arrival. We didn't have two pitchers who could get it done, so they blew us out. But we beat them something like 18-1 when they came to our place a few weeks later.

Anyway, back to the present. At this point I've decided never to consider any team a "gimme" game, but it's hard not to think that when playing this bunch.

It was not to be, though. I don't know WTF happened. Maybe it was the rubber being at 40ft causing our hitters to be wonky. Maybe it was the enormous hole at the rubber causing our pitcher to lag. It was so deep my kid's cleat was vertical as she pushed forward (she struggled bad in the JV game), or maybe it was just dumb luck, but we barely got out of there with a 6-5 varsity win. Their pitching was very weak. Their hitting was below average. Everything I had expected to see, but we were just OFF. I know that happens periodically, but geez. These girls have taken so many games down to the wire. But, they've won most of them. I'll take that.

Several days later we traveled out of state a ways and played a christian school. There are basically no stats available for them, and christian schools are kind of a crap shoot. They're usually either loaded with scholarship kids and destroy people, or they're loaded with 7th graders and they suck. This one was actually somewhere in-between.

Pitcher #1 got the start and came out hot. She had given up just a couple hits and one run over four complete innings. Then, things went south.

My family had shown up to watch since it was closer to home for them, so I was behind the dugout chatting and getting them set up, and when we sat down to watch, our other pitcher was out there, and the starter was nowhere to be found. I found out she had stepped out of the dugout, which sits about 6 inches above ground level, and rolled her ankle so bad she had to leave. So, the game carries on. Now 3B had to move to 1B because 1B had moved to pitcher. 3B was now occupied by a girl who had been in RF and has no real infield experience. DD2, who has three years of 3B experience, is still in the dugout, presumably still being saved to be fresh to pitch the JV game.

The opponent starts hitting the ball well and some runs are given up. The next inning I look up and our catcher has been replaced. I go ask her parents what's up and am told she hurt her knee. The gound was ROUGH. I didn't even realize it because it looked nice, but it clicked when I realized why none of the girl had been sliding.

By the 6th inning, we had given up a few runs (which would have been more had we not seen one of their runners miss home plate as she trotted in ahead of a 3 run homer) and the score was something like 6-4. Luckily our girls were still hitting well. They had also replace their pitcher around the same time we did. I'm not sure if it was her performance, or injury, but she had the best mechanics I've seen all season. Not much movement, but I expect she'll be a killer in the next few years. Her replacement had been decent, but we hit her just as well and finally stopped the bleeding and won 9-6.

I started warming the kid up for JV and over the course of 20 minutes, 3 of the 4 field lights clusters went dark. They were unable to get them fired back up (not the first time it's happened) so JV was cancelled. So we hit cracker barrel with the family and called it a night. That's probably the 4th or 5th time there's been no JV game for one reason or another.

 

[PJR202]

That brings us to Saturday, a varisty double header against a team about 45min away that I don't think we've played before. Also in another state. Nice turf field. Best ballfield popcorn I've ever had. I do rank them.

Pitcher 1 was there but not 100%, so pitcher 2 started game 1 and DD2 got her first varsity state for game 2.

Game 1 went well. We gave up a lot of contact but only a moderate amount of hard hit balls. The D played really well and left a lot of runners stranded. Their pitcher wasn't too bad, but we started to hit her well and she was showing physical signs of frustration. Shortly after, one of our girls hit her in the shoulder with a rocket line drive and she went down. She did recover and get back to pitching, but it just got worse from there. She was in tears after another inning or so. She wasn't throwing a ton of walks, but she was clearly gassed. We stopped stealing, held runners up on extra base hits, and eventually stepped off the bag to end the inning. Final score, 18-3.

As I said earlier, DD2 doesn't have much endurance. We threw regularly before the season started, but since spring practices began she's only thrown BP and games. She's averaging less than 50 pitches in the 3 inning JV games, and Friday in practice she threw BP and including her warmup, I'd say she threw 50. I was concerned that she would come out for game 2 Saturday and not be very effective.

100%, I expected her to give up a lot of hits regardless. These are varsity hitters and she's all over the zone but still is throwing well under 50mph. The D was playing very well, though. Anyway, I can see right off the bat that she's not even throwing her usual 45-47. She's throwing strikes, though. She threw three innings, gave up 6 runs and a bunch of hits. Walked two and I think had one HBP. HC had told her before the game that he would pull her if they hit her too badly because he didn't want her first start to leave a sour taste. That was nice of him. He's always taken care of her in that regard. We were hitting their new pitcher well also, so it was 6-4 at that point I think.

I expected to see the previous game pitcher come in, but it was actually pitcher #1. She had been playing DH in game 1. I could see also right off the bat that she didn't have her usual stuff. I think it was her drive foot ankle that had been sprained. I had to leave early and I think it was 8-6 them at that point. They had actually brought their game 1 pitcher back after the second inning, and she was throwing pretty well. The game ended in a 14-11 loss for us. I didn't get the full report, but I got the impression that it got close again later and some things fell apart.


But, we're 14 games into the season and sitting at .500, and 2-0 in district games. I think that's a lot better than anyone expected.

Got a game tonight, and another tomorrow if we win. Mid season tournament thing. Then another game or two later in the week. We'll see how it goes.

 

[PJR202]

Middle school lost last night. That puts them at 2-2. The team they played wasn't very good, but ours made 7 errors, and you can't beat most teams with 7 errors.

High School played our tournament game last night. They do this one every year, but I've never really understood what this tournament is. It always just seems like some random teams play and I'm not sure what the prize is. As of about an hour ago I understand.

I think I've stated here before that our state has no classes in baseball and softball, so a 4A or a 2A size school (for something like football), can be playing in the same district and literally anyone can win the state championship. So this tournament is a side thing for the smaller schools from the districts and lets them duke it out. The requirement is 525 students or less. We have something like 450.

So in our district there are four schools that qualify for this. Two of them we've already played. The other team is a perennial power in the district and was hosting the tournament.

Last night's opponent beat us 11-10 in a nail biter a few weeks ago. But this time, with the help some some bad defense on their part, we managed to beat them 9-3. Our pitcher #1 had a no-no going into the 6th inning, but they managed to eke out a few hits and runs in the 6th and 7th. In all reality, had their defense played a little better we'd have scored more like 4 or 5 runs. We sent quite a few high pop-ups out there that should have been caught. Our defense was almost flawless. I think we had one error on a catch attempt and then a few that rolled past the outfielder. Had three double plays as well, if I recall correctly. Anyway, we got the W and are now 8-7 on the season.

The other two teams played before us. The host team won 9 or 10 to 0. I forget exactly. We play them in a couple hours. To be completely realistic, if we take them 7 innings I would feel pretty good about it. They aren't in our division so it's not a required game, but they won the entire district last year, which includes schools with closer to 1,000 kids. I've seen their pitcher throw a lot as well and she's an ace, for sure. Their middle school team beat the piss out of ours last year. They're big kids.

We shall see how it goes here in a bit.

 

[PJR202]

So the small school district championship went as expected. 16 hits and 10 earned runs against the starter over 5 innings. Coach sent DD2 in to mop up as we were down 14-0 in the bottom of the 5th. She walked the first batter, then the second hit a 2 run homer (her second of the night) to put it into a run-rule. She looked angry as we left. The conversation went as follows.

Me- "What are you angry about? Your job was to get some varsity time and end the game."
DD2 - "Because...what kind of LOSER walks the first batter!"
Me - "Well you did, and it helped you give up the needed run to end the game. It was a great walk. Stop being dramatic."

*side hug*

DD2 - "I didn't wash my uniform. People on the bench don't sweat. Smell my armpit!"

Truth be told though, she's super rusty. We went to the field yesterday since it was a day off, just to get in some work on her drive speed. I think some reps there and some lunges will get her back to normal-ish.

The day after the game was a rematch with a team we already beat. It was a pitching duel for the most part. In the second inning, though, one of our girls slid into home headfirst and the catcher was in the base path while waiting for the throw. It was an awful popping sound as face collided with knee pad. We knew immediately that it would be bad. That kid always slides headfirst, too. I don't think it's in her DNA to do otherwise.

Spent 30 minutes on her back. A few lower teeth pushed through her bottom lip. She left in an ambulance but sent us all a message shortly before midnight to know she was home with some stitches. It was scary for a few though, and that poor catcher was beside herself.

Ended up losing 2-0. I was surprised at the lack of hitting on both parts. Lots of junk contact, but not much otherwise. Our D was really solid again. It's nice to expect the routine plays to result in an out. Our #1 gave up 1 hit, and 1 ROE via passed ball. Theirs gave up 4 hits with 12 strikeouts.

Tonight we're playing the team we beat on Monday in the tournament. We're 1-1 vs them at the moment. The first game was a late rally, 11-10 victory for them several weeks ago. Their field doesnt have lights so the games this early in the season are sometimes ending in 5 or 6 innings. Hopefully we can get out of there with another W.

Current record 8-9.

 

[Northball]

So the small school district championship went as expected. 16 hits and 10 earned runs against the starter over 5 innings. Coach sent DD2 in to mop up as we were down 14-0 in the bottom of the 5th. She walked the first batter, then the second hit a 2 run homer (her second of the night) to put it into a run-rule. She looked angry as we left. The conversation went as follows.

Me- "What are you angry about? Your job was to get some varsity time and end the game."
DD2 - "Because...what kind of LOSER walks the first batter!"
Me - "Well you did, and it helped you give up the needed run to end the game. It was a great walk. Stop being dramatic."

*side hug*

DD2 - "I didn't wash my uniform. People on the bench don't sweat. Smell my armpit!"

Truth be told though, she's super rusty. We went to the field yesterday since it was a day off, just to get in some work on her drive speed. I think some reps there and some lunges will get her back to normal-ish.

The day after the game was a rematch with a team we already beat. It was a pitching duel for the most part. In the second inning, though, one of our girls slid into home headfirst and the catcher was in the base path while waiting for the throw. It was an awful popping sound as face collided with knee pad. We knew immediately that it would be bad. That kid always slides headfirst, too. I don't think it's in her DNA to do otherwise.

Spent 30 minutes on her back. A few lower teeth pushed through her bottom lip. She left in an ambulance but sent us all a message shortly before midnight to know she was home with some stitches. It was scary for a few though, and that poor catcher was beside herself.

Ended up losing 2-0. I was surprised at the lack of hitting on both parts. Lots of junk contact, but not much otherwise. Our D was really solid again. It's nice to expect the routine plays to result in an out. Our #1 gave up 1 hit, and 1 ROE via passed ball. Theirs gave up 4 hits with 12 strikeouts.

Tonight we're playing the team we beat on Monday in the tournament. We're 1-1 vs them at the moment. The first game was a late rally, 11-10 victory for them several weeks ago. Their field doesnt have lights so the games this early in the season are sometimes ending in 5 or 6 innings. Hopefully we can get out of there with another W.

Current record 8-9.

I was going to give the "haha" in regard to your DD2's comment "People on the bench don't sweat. Smell my armpit!" But I couldn't when you added the head-first sliding injury story. Still enjoying the write-ups, though.

 

[PJR202]

I was going to give the "haha" in regard to your DD2's comment "People on the bench don't sweat. Smell my armpit!" But I couldn't when you added the head-first sliding injury story. Still enjoying the write-ups, though.

Glad you're still enjoying these long winded posts...lol

The kid cracks me up sometimes. I was honestly kind of surprised that I got her back to laughing so quickly. I think she's finally accepted that she's gonna continue to get most of her innings in JV, but knows I'll work with her in the offseason. DD1 insists that's she's gonna play and although she needs hitting work, she's money in the infield, so I expect that she'll start. So DD2's chances of getting an empty position will be a little smaller yet. I really hate to already be thinking about the offseason when we still have 16 games and a tournament remaining, but my own kids are my primary reason for being involved, so whatever their situation is at the moment is the deciding factor in how I spend my softball time.

The collision was a scary moment for sure. I went back and recorded screen from the game changer feed. The impact was full force. The hardest part to watch was seeing that the catcher lost hold of the ball, so it was laying beside our kid's leg. Poor thing probably couldn't feel her face by then, but when she realized the ball was loose she walked her fingers out toward the plate but was just a touch too late getting there. I think she's lucky she didn't end up with a neck injury.

It looked to me like her decision to slide was late, which had her end up lowering herself while she still had a leg way out in front of her. So when she caught up to the leg and started downward she was too close to the plate and was more trying to drop down to it than sliding in low. Face ended up right at the catcher's knee height. Man it was a serious pop too. Ugh.

 

[PJR202]

Didn't get to go to the HS game, but caught the last 4 innings of the gamechanger stream. Game was tied 7-7 in the bottom of the 7th, with one out and a runner on first and third. Managed to get a 4-6-3 double play to take it to extra innings.

The girls came back up to bat as my 7.1lb poodle dragged me up the driveway to get his dinner. I watched as I got him set up, then eyeballed some mini cinnamon rolls. By the time i took a couple bites and rinsed my fingers they had scored a run to take it to 8-7. Next batter walked, and you-know-who steps up. I looked at her, looked at the pitch count, and yelled at my phone...no one else is home...just me, the poodle and the pastries.

"End this isht! Shes 132 pitches in!"

Cheerleader proceeds to send the first pitch over the CF fence.

10-7

Got our outs and the host got their shot. 3 up, 3 down. Game over. Yet another nail biter.

The record stands at 9-9.

Tomorrow evening we face the team that blanked us 10-0 in the first game of the season. Surely tomorrow we can improve on our 0 hits, right?


EDITING, because I just found out the middle school team won. I think that puts them at 3-3.

 

[PJR202]

IF it makes any sense, Saturday was rained out. Then our home game for yesterday was canceled by our opponent for an unknown reason. The team we were rained out for on Saturday was rained out yesterday for their game at another school, so that team that was rained out with us on Saturday came here yesterday.

The team beat us 10-0 in 5 innings several weeks back. It was our first game of the season. The only thing that spoiled their pitcher's perfect game was 1 walk near the end of the game. The team itself wasn't anything great. Without that pitcher, they're pretty average. I would even put them at our level because we've beaten a team they lost to when they didn't have her. But she's a hell of a pitcher and they've won games considerably above their skill level because of what she can do.

So last night I got to the game late, and when I got there they were up 11-2. Our #2 pitcher got the start and had gotten beat up a bit, combined with a few errors on the defense. Pitcher #1 came in and I think she held them scoreless from the 4th inning on, although I think I missed her first inning so she may have given up a run or two. So the game ended there at 11-2.

I've followed their pitcher's stats throughout the season, because she only throws maybe 50-52mph and doesn't appear to be throwing with much movement or a rise ball, etc. So last night I watched a few at-bats from behind the backstop to get a better idea of how she's so hard to hit, and it was pretty simple.

Location and pitch selection.

She can put that ball exactly where she wants it. If she wasn't skimming the edge of the plate she was just outside it, and both were effective. Some of the kids would bite on the outside ball and whiff, and some would watch that fringe strike go by thinking it was a ball. One bit hard on a ball that came in a little above waist height and just sunk like a rock at the last second.

DD2 actually got a varsity at-bat late in the game. She's fairly good at ball/strike identification despite not being a great hitter yet. She was thrown the first two balls inside and she let them go as balls. A third ball comes inside and she let it go and it was a called strike. Knowing her, I expected her to swing at the next pitch, which was faster and slightly outside at letter height. Way late on the swing. Then the girl sends one more waist height on the inside for a called strike. I'm guessing my kid crowded the plate a bit after the outside pitch she missed.

The girl just manipulated DD2 and the others I watched. She moved them around in the box, pitch by pitch, forcing them into different positions and taking advantage of it. It was really impressive to see them getting worked over like that. Most of these girls we face are just flinging movement pitches at high speed. This kid just finessed them around at her will. It's got me thinking more about what I want to work with DD2 on in the offseason for sure.

On a positive note, getting a home varsity at-bat meant I would finally get to hear her walkup song. "Still of the Night" by Whitesnake. 10 seconds of the main riff, and probably my favorite song of all time so I was pumped when she picked it.

Games Thursday and Friday. One our county rival who we havent beaten in probably 10-ish years (since a currently elite level D1 pitcher started throwing for them in 6th or 7th grade), and the other team gave us our worst whipping so far earlier in the season. That one still perplexes me. It's basically the same team we went toe to toe with twice last season.

Current record, 9-10.

 

[_MIA_]

I've followed their pitcher's stats throughout the season, because she only throws maybe 50-52mph and doesn't appear to be throwing with much movement or a rise ball, etc. So last night I watched a few at-bats from behind the backstop to get a better idea of how she's so hard to hit, and it was pretty simple.

Based upon your comment, I assume she has been doing well all season. So with that in mind (and not knowing what State you are in or what class) how many of kids that she has faced over the year would you estimate are actually going to play in college (at any level)?

I am just trying to get a feel for the level of play because I don't care how good a kid locates, 50-52 at the HS level is pretty damn slow...A good HS hitter will just look away because they won't have to worry about getting busted inside with that velocity.

 

[PJR202]

Based upon your comment, I assume she has been doing well all season. So with that in mind (and not knowing what State you are in or what class) how many of kids that she has faced over the year would you estimate are actually going to play in college (at any level)?

I am just trying to get a feel for the level of play because I don't care how good a kid locates, 50-52 at the HS level is pretty damn slow...A good HS hitter will just look away because they won't have to worry about getting busted inside with that velocity.

Fair questions. The sample size is certainly regional and I probably should have prefaced with that. I don't know anything about her affiliation with travel ball. I'm simply assessing what she's doing with us and what I've seen in her stats. We don't have classes in softball, but in football theirs is a 3A (out of 6. we're a 2A) school, and they're an independent school district that always seems to be flush with cash. Their side of our district has a lot better teams overall, and they generally hold their own or are near the top. I've seen a lot of impressive players on that side of the district (and ours to some degree) and as I understand it those teams are loaded with travel kids (or are the travel team), but I don't have knowledge of what their prospects are for college.

My big thing is seeing how this seemingly innocuous pitcher carves us and others up so badly when the ones throwing 60 with movement are having mixed results. 50-52 is my eye radar, but I know out #1 throws 55-57 and is a little faster. I just think she's using only what she can command and is being smart about it. I've often thought our own kids could use more of that. Be disciplined. Throw out the pitch ego and recognize what you do best and make the most of it. Throw the 80%+ pitch and locate with intent vs just flinging the 50-60% pitch and feeling good about yourself when it's a strike.