Crimson Red Sports

The top-ranked Alabama softball team (11-0) will be opening its home schedule by hosting the Easton Bama Bash Present by Drash, Feb. 22-24. The Crimson Tide will welcome Western Illinois (2-0), Iowa (7-3) and Winthrop (2-4) to Rhoads Stadium. Alabama will open its weekend schedule against Western Illinois on Friday, Feb. 22, with first pitch slated at 4 p.m. The tournament will start at 11 a.m., with Western Illinois facing off against Winthrop. A total of 10 games will be played in the Bama Bash this weekend.

http://www.rolltide.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/022113aad.html

Alabama is off to a good start at the Bama Bash. Bama scored 9 runs in the 1st and 4 more in the 2nd to take a 13-0 lead over Western Illinois after two innings.

Leslie Jury is pitching for the Tide.

Bama has scored 8 runs and still batting in the 5th. Bama leads 21-0.

Wow. Too many HR's and highlights to mention.

Hmmm.... maybe we get our 98-0 in softball.  :lol:

WI finally got Bama out of the 5th. We are the visitors so WI bats in the bottom of the 5th. WI better get busy to avoid the 8 run mercy rule.

Bama beats Western Illinois 21-0.

Jury pitches a good game. She gave up 2 hits, struck out 6, walked 1 and 1 hit by pitch.

We play Iowa at approximately 6:30.

Be nice SC. We emptied our bench. The problem is our bench is future all-americans.

There is a rain delay and it's not looking to promissing to get the Iowa game in. We finally left and came home because of the lightning.

The first game with Western Illinois was no more than a good round of batting practice for Bama and the score could have been worse. Jury did pitch a good game as she continues to have command of her pitches. She still has a ways to go before she reaches her potential but she is improving each game. I admired the WI team because they didn't quit trying even though they were behind so many runs.
 We had a great chance to visit with some of the WI and Iowa fans and it was exciting to hear them express their respect and admiration for the Bama program. The Iowa fans were all geared up to see JTrain pitch against them but the rain had to spoil it. I hope they will call the game tonight and play it early in the morning.

The tarp is off the field, they are going to try and get the game in.

No score after one inning.

Traina is pitching for Bama.

Bama goes up 1-0 after 2 innings.

Traina isn't as sharp with her pitches so far in the game.

Bama picks up 2 in the 2nd to take a 3-0 lead

 two Hawkeye errors   #+ #+ #+

Bama gets two more runs in the third, Traina had an RBI single and Hayes had an RBI triple. Bama 3-0

Far be it for me to question Coach Murphy, but why do we have a .158 hitter with only 3 hits batting clean up?

if a girl got the pole at Daytona , so , if , if they could play baseball
errrr ... never mind  :dunno: :facepalm: :lol2:

She's a better hitter than what her average is, I'm guessing he's hoping she snaps out of her slump. He had Jadyn Spencer batting cleanup in the first game and she hasn't been hitting the ball that well but she did get a hit in the game.

RBI is the key stat for cleanup, but you need 1,2, and 3 on base. Maybe this helps.

Bama gets another run on a sac fly by McCleney, Bama up 4-0 after 4 innings.

Well, she does have 3 RBI's for the season.

CPM likes batters that usually makes contact with the ball in key positions and this could be why he had the two in cleanup tonight. Both of them usually puts the ball in play.

After 5 innings Bama leads 4-0

Bama gets one more in the 6th, thanks to an RBI single by Braud. Bama 5-0

Thanks for the updates, Mr Jamos #+

Traina sets them down 1-2-3 and Bama wins 5-0.

You are more than welcome, when are you coming down?

A-day weekend for sure. Already got my reservations made.

Going to Knoxville for that series.

Going to Lexington for SEC tournament

OK. If we are now agreed that RBIs are key, then what you are IDEALLY looking for, aside from HRs, is long balls that may score runners already in scoring position.

All of your points are well taken, however the player used in that position tonight met none of your criteria, hence, my original question.

That or ground balls. With the speed Bama has, a lot can happen on a ground ball. Last year Bama left a lot of base runners on base due to strikeouts and there were some long ball hitters leaving those runners on base. When you look at the lineup carefully you can see CPM has stratigically put batters in certain places to support the battters behind them. Keima Davis is another batter that CPM uses as a rally maker. She bats in the 9th position and has blazing speed but look at those that bat behind her. Her batting avewrage isn't that good but what she offers for the top of the lineup is a chance to have a big inning. The same goes for the cleanup spot, he wants somethere that can keep a rally going by hitting the ball somewhere and not striking out. How many times did Amanda Locke strike out last year and kill a rally even though she did hit some big homeruns.

I agree with everything you said.  That's why I would have had Jackie Traina or even Denae Hays in the clean up slot tonight.

could just ask Coach and see what he says too ...  :dunno:

As I said earlier, she is a good proven hitter but has been in a slump. Before she came to Bama, she hit a home run off of Kelsi Dunne and Jackie Traina in a tournament here in Tuscaloosa. You never know when someone will snap out of a hitting slump but they have to be in the game to do it.

Thanks for the information

As a rule, when you talk of cleanup hitting, you are asking the clean-up batter to get the HR or the long out, allowing your best shot at scoring runs off situations with runners in scoring position. Defensively, the pitchers are trying to get your hitters to put the ball on the ground. LOL--"seeing eye" singles are always welcome but you want your #4 hitter (best chance statistically to have runners on base) getting the ball up and out of the infield.

We could argue this forever more but CPM is a proven coach and I trust his decisions. These tournament games are only preparing Bama for the upcoming conference play. He is mixing and matching players in different roles for each game played to give them the experience that will be needed for the future games.  

Here is the article on yesterday's games, check out the names of some of the players with big hits.  ;)

http://www.rolltide.com/sports/w-softbl/recaps/022313aaa.html

I'll bet we're talking about the same thing. I doubt you're saying CPM sent anyone to the plate to hit a grounder. He sent them to drive the ball, and has the luxury of moving them up in the order/line-up because their speed allows them to beat a few out if they don't make good contact. BTW, with a runner already on, that forces the fielders choice, which becomes a tougher decision for the defense when our base runners are smoking the basepaths.

Anyway, I saw on your link that another freshman, Lafaele, got two hits in game 2. Has she hit anything else to mention? Nice when the bottom of your order getting hits, sometimes leaving runners on base when the top of the order comes around. RTR 

Lafaele reminds me some of Amanda Locke so far. She has tremendous power and not much for average. I think this will change though as she plays more at this level, she just needs more at bats. You hit the nail on the head when you said "leaving runners on base for the first of the batting order". That is why you see some good bats in the 6-7-8 slots in the batting order with Keima Davis, a good bunter and slap hitter, in the 9 slot. It just sets the table for Braud, McCleney, and Hunt. McCleney is something very special, she's the best player that I have ever seen at Bama. She has set the bar at a much higher level for the other players to improve themselves.

I would love to see them play. My cable is goofy as pmull knows, but I will cheer our Tidettes on as long as i can. RTR!

Winthrop and Bama are tied 1-1 with Bama coming to bat in the bottom of the 3rd.

Lauren Sewell is pitching for Bama.

Still tied 1-1 with Winthrop batting in the 5th.

Going to the 6th still tied 1-1.

BLOOM!!! Bama breaks the game open with 5 runs in the 6th. Danielle Richard hits a 3 run HR.

Bama leads 6-1. Winthrop down to their final 3 outs.

You want your best guy/gal at on base percentage at lead-off (also speed) and of course, your power hitter at cleanup. But other than that you set your lineup with the better hitters on top and the lesser averages on the bottom. You'll drive yourself crazy worry about it any more than that. You just hope your team bats around more times than your opponent.

RollTideRoll.

Bama win 6-1. Bama goes to 16-0 on the season

Sewell gives up 2 hits and one unearned run. She struck out 5 and walked 4.

We actually won only one inning but it was a big one.

Bats were slow to come alive.

Any win is better than a loss.

Roll Tide.

My analysis of this team after 3 weeks of the season:

Pitching:  Again this year this will be out strength.  Although Traina has not looked like she is in mid-season form at times, she is still probably the Best all round pitcher in College softball.  Jury appears to have matured nicely and has gained control of her pitches.  Sewell's return will give us the depth we need for tournament play.

Outfield:  Having lost 2 outstanding outfielders off the National Championship Team one might expect some drop off in outfield play.  The recruitment of McCleney and the development of Davis will minimize any potential drop off in defense and/or  hitting at this position for this team.  Hawkins also looks ready to play and could backup in any of the outfields. This position will definitely be a strength for this team.

Middle Infielders:  The position switch of Hunt and Hays will strengthen the defensive ability up the middle.  Hays has a much quicker release on her throw and can make the sidearm throw quicker than Hunt.  Her range also better fits the shortstop position.  Hunt is an adequate fielder who will be a team leader in hitting for average as well as with power.  With this combination we will be solid up the middle.

ON the Corners:  Although Coach Murphy has tried numerous combinations at 1st and 3rd, nobody has risen above the pack to claim a clear advantage over the others.  Conley is a really good defensive 3rd baseman who is capable of hitting with power, maybe she will find her grove soon.  Richards has proven a capable
sub at 3rd, but I don't see her replacing a 3 year starter unless Conley completely tanks.  First base is a different story, we lost an outstanding defensive and offensive player in Ri-Bo, and as far as I can tell, there is still no clear leader in the competition for that position.  Spenser has the potential but has not shown much yet.  Lafaele may also develope, but may not be ready yet to face SEC type pitching.  This position appears to be one of 2 weakness this team has at this point.

Catcher:  Kendell Dawson was an outstanding defensive catcher who we are going to miss.  She didn't have a big bat but had an outstanding arm.  As with 1st base, no one has risen to the top as a clear leader for this position.  Fichtner  certainly has potential but has not found her groove yet.  I saw Bell catch a couple of innings in last years SEC tournament and was impressed with
with the way she handled the position, but again she has not risen to the top in that competition.  

Summary:  Pitching - Outstanding
               Outfield - Great
               Middle Infield - Good
               Corners - satisfactory
               Catcher - Unknown

We have one more week of pre conference play, before we take on Florida and Tennessee.  We need to find who the "winners" are at 1st and at catching.  Our offense production from the outfield and middle infield had been good (maybe bordering on great), but the offensive production from 1st base, 3rd base, and catcher has been inadequate for a championship team.

I have confidence that Coach Murphy is every bit as smart as I am, and already has a plan of how to address these issues 8)

Excellent job Leewillie. I understand your analyzes. RTR!

Good post Leewillie.  I put it on the front page.

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