Kentucky Wins It's First Two Sec Games VS Bama...!

[TideATL70]

Just a disasterous top of the 6th as Krymson described. The eternal optimist in me is getting
less and less

 

[Krymsonman]

BAMA goes 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 5th, 2 K's and a ground out. We need to find something fast.

 

[Krymsonman]

Just a disasterous top of the 6th as Krymson described. The eternal optimist in me is getting
less and less

Yeah, I'm never say die too, but this is getting a bit hard for me. It's not what I'm used to seeing from BAMA softball. If we lose tonight, which looks very likely, we will be under .500, (7-8), in the SEC. BAMA has never finished below .500 in the SEC, but with Arkansas, Tennessee, and Auburn coming up, it's a very real possibility.

The announcers just said it: if we could take away all of the free passes and errors, this entire series would be going different.

 

[Krymsonman]

BAMA goes 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 5th, 2 K's and a ground out. We need to find something fast.

Sorry, my bad. This was bottom of the 6th, not the 5th. BAMA has 3 outs to score at least 5 runs.

 

[Krymsonman]

Bottom of 7, BAMA gets hosed on a call. Runner going from 1st to 2nd, collides with the second baseman who was trying to tag her out. Our runner was in the baseline but they called in malicious contact and gave A&M a double play. Weak pop up and game is over. A&M wins 9-4, and BAMA is 7-8 in the SEC. This is just so ugly compared to what I'm used to seeing from BAMA softball. Hope we can bounce back.

 

[TideATL70]

I did something I never do regarding UA Athletics last night- turned the game off and went to bed early. Decided to sleep on it before I posted anything. I'm over here in ATL and don't get over to T-Town as much as I'd like and certainly don't have the inside scoop some posters have regarding Murph and the Program. I do feel like Coach has tried to adapt in some ways (hiring a young alum coach, trying to build a staff instead of wearing out one pitcher over the course of a season) but in other ways has not adapted- hitting coach, recruiting maybe??)
I'm just grasping at straws to try and figure out the root cause of our decline. Without Fouts singlehandedly willing the team to OKC last season, the program seemingly hasn't been a true top 10 championship contender since that amazing no hitter in 2021 in OKC vs. UCLA. we went on to lose two to FSU who was clearly the best team there.
I wonder if the mass exodus a few years ago affects recruiting? I'm sure negative recruiting is used in SB just like in FB.
I really feel like Kayla Braud's hiring was meant to build a better team chemistry, but maybe the overall talent has slipped from 2010-2019 levels??
Again, just trying to figure it out because as stated above, I think we are heading for a losing SEC record which is unheard of- even in a VERY tough SEC.
FRUSTRATED!!

 

[JDCrimson]

I dont know any specifics but we are devoid of any offensive strategy, we cant hit well enough to put pressure on the opponent's pitching and defense. There was a time 15-20 years where you trot an ace pitcher and just shut everyone down, alot of low scoring games. All you had to do was recruit a couple of elite pitchers and then fill out the team. Imo, a lazy way of building a team.

Then OU went all in on moneyball and emphasized hitting and getting on base and its changed softball to a more offensive game.

We have not modernized our approach and it has cost us on the recruiting trail. Now we are getting rung up and can't score to boot.

I did something I never do regarding UA Athletics last night- turned the game off and went to bed early. Decided to sleep on it before I posted anything. I'm over here in ATL and don't get over to T-Town as much as I'd like and certainly don't have the inside scoop some posters have regarding Murph and the Program. I do feel like Coach has tried to adapt in some ways (hiring a young alum coach, trying to build a staff instead of wearing out one pitcher over the course of a season) but in other ways has not adapted- hitting coach, recruiting maybe??)
I'm just grasping at straws to try and figure out the root cause of our decline. Without Fouts singlehandedly willing the team to OKC last season, the program seemingly hasn't been a true top 10 championship contender since that amazing no hitter in 2021 in OKC vs. UCLA. we went on to lose two to FSU who was clearly the best team there.
I wonder if the mass exodus a few years ago affects recruiting? I'm sure negative recruiting is used in SB just like in FB.
I really feel like Kayla Braud's hiring was meant to build a better team chemistry, but maybe the overall talent has slipped from 2010-2019 levels??
Again, just trying to figure it out because as stated above, I think we are heading for a losing SEC record which is unheard of- even in a VERY tough SEC.
FRUSTRATED!!

 

[Krymsonman]

I dont know any specifics but we are devoid of any offensive strategy, we cant hit well enough to put pressure on the opponent's pitching and defense. There was a time 15-20 years where you trot an ace pitcher and just shut everyone down, alot of low scoring games. All you had to do was recruit a couple of elite pitchers and then fill out the team. Imo, a lazy way of building a team.

Then OU went all in on moneyball and emphasized hitting and getting on base and its changed softball to a more offensive game.

We have not modernized our approach and it has cost us on the recruiting trail. Now we are getting rung up and can't score to boot.

Yes, it would be nice to have some kind of offensive strategy. Right now it's see if someone can get a hit and we'll go from there. A&M swings the bat, but they also threw in some bunts to throw us off. They did one bunt with a runner on first. The batter was safe at first but no one covered 3rd so the runner that was on first took 3rd. Then, no one was paying attention to the runner on first, and she took second. A&M followed that up with a single to score two runs. So we have mental errors, physical errors, too many free passes, and weak hitting. Not a good combo in a highly competitive league. They say we have an RPI of 8, but my eye-test says how can that be?

Right now we are 7-8 in the league, and have won 1 series all year. That was over Ole Miss, the last place team. We still have Tennessee at home, and Arkansas and Auburn on the road, so we could very easily end up with a losing SEC record for the first time ever.

I've watched several games and the ladies are giving it everything they have. They just don't seem to be prepared to play the modern softball game. I do hope they can pull it all together.

 

[JDCrimson]

Sounds like we are playing with lower division talent on our roster. It also sounds like softball has no answer for the portal other than recruit players who cant go anywhere better...

Yes, it would be nice to have some kind of offensive strategy. Right now it's see if someone can get a hit and we'll go from there. A&M swings the bat, but they also threw in some bunts to throw us off. They did one bunt with a runner on first. The batter was safe at first but no one covered 3rd so the runner that was on first took 3rd. Then, no one was paying attention to the runner on first, and she took second. A&M followed that up with a single to score two runs. So we have mental errors, physical errors, too many free passes, and weak hitting. Not a good combo in a highly competitive league. They say we have an RPI of 8, but my eye-test says how can that be?

Right now we are 7-8 in the league, and have won 1 series all year. That was over Ole Miss, the last place team. We still have Tennessee at home, and Arkansas and Auburn on the road, so we could very easily end up with a losing SEC record for the first time ever.

I've watched several games and the ladies are giving it everything they have. They just don't seem to be prepared to play the modern softball game. I do hope they can pull it all together.

 

[TideATL70]

I agree with points made by both JD and Krymson- the players are giving 100%. I see no quit in them and I think chemistry is really good. But, it just feels like our talent level is a step below Tenn/ARK/maybe even UGA? And certainly below the OU's and UCLA's of the world. When I really started getting into UA Softball around 2003 (Stephanie Van Brakle was the ace back then) I felt like we were ALWAYS in the mix for a Natty and of course FINALLY broke through with the J Train.
Great point about OU changing the game as well. It seemed for years, with a Van Brakle, Kelsi Dunne, J Train, Osorio, we could ride them and win 50 games easily. Offense has definitely become the winning formula nowadays. When we score more that 4 runs I'm astounded.
I really think AD Byrne will closely examine these final 3 series and anything less than 5-4 record might spell trouble for Murph.

 

[Krymsonman]

I agree with points made by both JD and Krymson- the players are giving 100%. I see no quit in them and I think chemistry is really good. But, it just feels like our talent level is a step below Tenn/ARK/maybe even UGA? And certainly below the OU's and UCLA's of the world. When I really started getting into UA Softball around 2003 (Stephanie Van Brakle was the ace back then) I felt like we were ALWAYS in the mix for a Natty and of course FINALLY broke through with the J Train.
Great point about OU changing the game as well. It seemed for years, with a Van Brakle, Kelsi Dunne, J Train, Osorio, we could ride them and win 50 games easily. Offense has definitely become the winning formula nowadays. When we score more that 4 runs I'm astounded.
I really think AD Byrne will closely examine these final 3 series and anything less than 5-4 record might spell trouble for Murph.

I calculated it out and right now, thru 15 SEC games, we are scoring an average of 3.73 runs per game in SEC games. We're giving up 4.93 runs per game. If you take Ole Miss, (really down this year), out of the equation, we are averaging 3.5 runs per game, and giving up an average of 6.0 runs per game. Beaver is our best arm, and sometimes she's dead on and we win 2-0 or 2-1. There's plenty of games where, if Beaver had gotten some offensive help, she would have wins vs losses. We just don't have a pitcher right now that you know will hold the other team under 3 runs or so. We have to be able to score runs right now, but don't have near enough consistent hitting. Murphy should have invested in a true hitting coach. I think our ladies could hit much better with some proper coaching.