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Post by sballalumni2 on Feb 11, 2017 16:20:48 GMT -6
Our pitchers are giving up lots of hits and walks. I am hoping they are just young and will grow as they get innings. Otherwise, this is going to be a long season. It is very early, but I did mention in the off season how bad we needed a transfer pitcher.
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Post by sballalumni2 on Feb 10, 2017 15:25:00 GMT -6
Troy went 1-1 on opening day. Came back from behind to beat Bethune-Cookman, but could not pull out a win against 2016 #145 RPI North Florida. Troy finished last season with a #72 RPI and we just can't afford to have losses against Atlantic Sun teams ranked #145. Unless we can beat ULL in the conference tournament, then we will need an at-large bid and these kind of losses work against you. Purely from stats, it looks like an inning of a bunch of walks given up did us in. I would love to hear feedback from anyone that actually attended the games.
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Post by sballalumni2 on Feb 10, 2017 8:54:44 GMT -6
The season is finally underway! We are already down 3 to 1 to Bethune Cookman bright and early this morning, but hopefully we can make a comeback. All I can follow is the stats, but in the 2nd inning we had runners on 1st and 3rd with our best hitter up (3 hole, returning senior) and the girl on third was thrown out trying to steal home for the third out. Hartley (3 hole, returning senior) leads off the 3rd inning with a homerun! It would have been a 3 run homerun! Know the situation! Early lesson for the base runners.
Anyway, I am excited that it has started and I hope we can find our way to an NCAA appearance this year.
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Post by sballalumni2 on Dec 16, 2016 12:26:56 GMT -6
Can a girl win?
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Post by sballalumni2 on Oct 17, 2016 8:49:44 GMT -6
I watched Troy play Gulf Coast and AUM on Friday night. They won both games, but not by much. Pitching is going to be a big question this year for Troy. I think they were counting on the ace to be Rachel Rigney a redshirt senior that has been plagued with injuries her entire career. Well, she had surgery on her wrist on Thursday and was in a cast. So, that leaves sophomores Glover and Graves. Word on the street is that they both had good summers playing travel ball, so I am hoping they will step up. Stephanie Snyder was by far the most impressive at the plate. Hartley hit the ball hard and the GCSC transfer Taylor Corbett had several hits. The only freshman that played both games was Katie Webb.
I did find out that Amber Jones transferred to Jacksonville State.
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Post by sballalumni2 on Aug 31, 2016 16:30:31 GMT -6
Does anyone know what happend to Allison Moore or Amber Jones? They are not listed on the 2017 fall roster. Did they transfer? I am glad to see our pitchers returned even though all four combined for only 15 wins last year. I was worried that they were going to transfer.
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Post by sballalumni2 on Jul 5, 2016 13:46:41 GMT -6
This is great news! If Coastal Carolina can win the CWS, then Troy can too. No more excuses! They have a nice stadium, so get in the players and win!
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Post by sballalumni2 on Jun 22, 2016 11:58:43 GMT -6
Troyjan95 - the ladies that love the weight room and the game can come play as walk-ons. We need some dang hitters and a pitcher - ASAP! They have recruited some local kids to play, but they have performed under expectations. The two that I am thinking about didn't play on big travel ball organizations, and neither of them ever hit over .300 in college and I think they were counting on them to be all-conference players. Both of them were recruited by the previous staff. I agree that the Troy coaching staff is going to have to put in some hard work to find these kids, and I hope they are out there this summer beating down the bushes. LSU had a couple of really good players transfer and someone said that one of them is going to Nichols State. Those are the kind of transfers that can make a season. Please let us find a transfer pitcher before school starts!
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Post by sballalumni2 on Jun 7, 2016 6:26:15 GMT -6
I can't speak for Troyset, but in softball the Power 5 schools almost recruit exclusively from the ASA Gold and PGF Tournaments that take place during the summer. They almost never attend high school games or even local softball tournaments. The other recruiting takes place at summer camps. There is just some parents that can't afford to travel to CA and CO or even pay to send their daughter to multiple camps. Also, there are only a certain number of teams that get to play in those elite tournaments, so you basically have to find a team with a spot open and sometimes travel 5-6 hours just to go to practice. The JUCO coaches spend more time at the local tournaments and know they have to find the under the radar kids. Most of the football JUCO kids are well known and recruited by Power 5, but they usually have grade problems. I think in softball it is more undiscovered talent versus football that is known talent but comes with issues. Not every case is like that, there are always exceptions.
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Post by sballalumni2 on Jun 6, 2016 15:22:07 GMT -6
On the west coast recruiting, I think it would be a waste of time and money unless she can get a strong contact out there to recommend players. If she has to travel out there and compete with the west coast mid-majors for players, I think it would be too costly (time and money wise). My focus would be on the under the radar kids that don't play on big travel ball teams, but are still really good. It takes a lot of work to find those kids, but she can rely on the area JUCO coaches to some extent. The level of JUCO in Florida is excellent. Jessica Elliott played at Chipola and transfered to South Carolina and was their #2 pitcher. She was either under the radar and played local travel ball or had grade problems, but look where she is now. For some reason, her first few recruiting classes shyed away from JUCO players, but maybe she is starting to realize her best players have been JUCO and she needs to fill some holes ASAP. If the recruited high school freshmen she brought in were better, then why didn't they get to play? The three hitters had a combined 87 at-bats, with Snyder getting 57 of them, and a combined total of 17 hits. The recruiting is so early now though, so I am not sure these were her recruits or the old staff. It is hard to tell because most of the class of 2019 is already verbally committed.
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Post by sballalumni2 on Jun 6, 2016 14:54:57 GMT -6
Chloe Rathburn played at South Alabama last year, asked for a transfer to be closer to home, and then ended up playing and starting for Missouri this year. I am pretty sure that the USA coach listed Auburn on the no transfer list for Fagan, so that is why she had to sit. I have heard that coaches will list any school in state or any school in this or that conference. I have even heard of some coaches in CA saying that you couldn't play at any school on their schedule for the next few years. I think it just depends on the coach and the athletic department on how nice/generous they want to be.
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Post by sballalumni2 on Jun 6, 2016 10:16:47 GMT -6
I think the AL pitcher transfers that I am thinking of graduated from Alabama and then came to Troy for their senior year, so they didn't have to sit a year. If Alabama released her and didn't put Troy on the no transfer list, then I believe that she could play immediately. The girl that transferred from South Alabama played at Missouri this year. She didn't have to sit. I know that SEC has an in-conference rule that requires a sit year if they transfer to another SEC team.
I have heard from multiple sources that Beth has her on agenda on the recruiting trail. There is a girl at Northwest Florida State (old Okaloosa-Walton CC) that had grade problems and transferred from Georgia to NWFS that everyone in the country wants and they said that Troy had no interest in her. She is a pitcher and homerun hitter that was interested in Troy. Granted, she will be a Jan transfer in because she has to get her grades under control, but for them to not even be interested is crazy. I saw her play and she hit two homeruns and one almost hit the gym that is really far behind the fence. Hannah Day came from NWFS, and she is the best player that Troy has had in quite some time.
Per my conversation with Hartwell, Beth's philosophy was to get in fast, quick, athletic players to create havoc on the bases. I am waiting and wishing!
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Post by sballalumni2 on Jun 6, 2016 7:53:54 GMT -6
I have heard that several players are leaving the program. I hope it is only the reserve players. I was kind of shocked because I am pretty sure these are Beth's recruits. While I was watching the WCWS this weekend, I had a thought. Alabama's third string pitcher came in and it occurred to me that over the years we have had several Alabama pitchers transfer to Troy because they weren't getting much playing time. I think she could come in and be our #1 and be a hero! Has anyone else heard that some of the kids are transferring?
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Post by sballalumni2 on May 13, 2016 16:12:34 GMT -6
I was trying to wait a few days because I don't want my post to sound mad, but I just can't help it. Softball took a step back this year, plain and simple. All of the top hitters (recruited by the prior staff) are seniors and unless we get in some major transfers we are going to be even worse next year. As I watched the games via the Sunbelt website, the two coaches coaching the bases just finished playing in the last two years. Where are the paid coaches and why are they not on the field coaching???
Things I want the softball program to do this summer/fall/before next season: 1. Hire an experienced male pitching coach 2. Find some SEC transfers that didn't get to play much as freshmen, but are still good players and want to get playing time at a mid-major 3. Find the best JUCO players in the nation - especially a pitcher 4. Create a schedule that includes some top 50 RPI teams so we have a chance to get some quality wins 5. Put in a pinch runner when your part time catcher is running, which means you may need to carry some really fast in-state kids just to take on the role of pinch runner 6. If you have players that have been on the team for 2 years and they have less than 10 at bats, you should move them into a managers role to free up their playing scholarship 7. If the coaches ever want to use Troy as a stepping stone to move up to bigger programs, they better get out and recruit and find some dang pitching or they are going to end up being a 20 year Troy coaching veteran
I know that no one cares about the softball program as long as they are good kids and stay out of trouble, but I want to watch them play on TV and wear my Troy softball stuff with pride!
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Post by sballalumni2 on Apr 14, 2016 14:42:02 GMT -6
I watch all of the home games online and listen/follow stats on the rest of the games, and I can not figure this team out. Batting averages and power have improved, but it seems like our pitching and defense are worse. We lost a very good pitcher to graduation, but I thought Rainey would return to freshmen year promise. I am guessing her arm is just worn out since she is pitching the majority of innings and they are trying to save her for conference games. I watched the Troy vs South Carolina game on SEC Network+ with commentary, and they dropped three fly balls in one inning (embarrassing). The JUCO transfers are about the only people that can hit consistently and both are gone next year (Benton & Day). I wonder if the coach is content with scheduling the easy teams and looking decent on paper or if she is mad and telling the girls to step it up. I don't have any inside information, and I was hoping some fans up in Troy had been at the park or been around the team to see if she is trying to get more out of this team or are they content with their 25 wins against nobody.
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Post by sballalumni2 on Apr 14, 2016 11:32:52 GMT -6
How do we lose a game to Samford? We just can't drop a game like that when they are someone that we would compete against to get recruits. Our record looks much better this year compared to last year, but our quality wins are zero. Our best win is against UAB with an RPI of 62. Does anyone know what is going on?
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Post by sballalumni2 on Mar 22, 2016 14:10:34 GMT -6
I am sorry, but I must agree with Troystet on this one boys. I am glad we swept, and I am proud of our homeruns, but my goodness I hope the wind was blowing out! We gave up so many runs that our pitchers ERA's will never recover! We need to win at least 2 this weekend because our schedule is weak this year and we don't get many chances against Top 25 teams (if we want to try to get an at-large bid). Our pitchers gave up 26 runs over the weekend! I bet that is a record - ha!
I hope everyone that can make it will go out this weekend and cheer. The ULL fans travel well. I will be working, but at least I will have audio since ULL broadcasts every softball game.
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Post by sballalumni2 on Mar 15, 2016 7:22:32 GMT -6
I don't know Fagan personally, but I kind of figured he wasn't really interested in coaching at the Div I level. I thought he was kind of doing it just for fun. On his team this year is a USA transfer that played and pitched very well in Div I last year, so he better win a JUCO national championship with her - ha! It is interesting that the new coaching staff is trending toward no JUCO players or recruits, yet all of her leading hitters are JUCO transfers. I just think it would be a shame if she didn't try to pickup a couple of the better JUCO players from the area/state because of the way recruiting is now. The Power 5 conferences are carrying 25-30 players, so the people that were going mid-major are now sitting the bench for Ole Miss, Auburn, etc.
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Post by sballalumni2 on Mar 14, 2016 19:12:24 GMT -6
I asked the AD if Fagan applied for the job, and he didn't apply, so he wasn't really an option. It is still too early to judge the coach because for the most part the players that are leading the team in hitting, pitching, and pretty much every starter was recruited by the prior coaching staff. I am most disappointed in the freshman pitchers. We really needed one of them to be a stud and so far they are just about average. Rainey is having to come in to finish off games for them against easy non-conference competition. She isn't going to be able to keep throwing all of these innings because she has had prior injuries. I mean I hope she can, but it is asking a lot. I do like the more aggressive hitting of the new coach, but I am thinking we need to find a male pitching coach that was an old fastpitch player to develop the pitchers.
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Post by sballalumni2 on Mar 14, 2016 10:08:13 GMT -6
Well, the series started out so well! If we are ever going to get over the hump and make an NCAA appearance, we can not lose a series to GA State. Both teams were on the bubble last year and if it comes down to it again, they beat us head to head. I watched most of the games via the internet (with no audio), and it looked like we played poor defense. Did anyone go to the game? I would love to get their opinon.
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Post by sballalumni2 on Feb 8, 2016 18:27:34 GMT -6
I was listening on my computer while I worked and I couldn't believe the victory! When that guy fouled the other team with 2.8 seconds, I was like oh my gosh we are going to lose again. I hope that guy got chewed out after the celebration. If anyone was at the game, I would love to hear if he really fouled the guy or not. Thank goodness they missed the last free throw!
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Post by sballalumni2 on Dec 3, 2015 7:58:33 GMT -6
I think the baseball team might have a few spare hats..LOL. I thought I saw some incentives for the olympic sports, but it specifically says that the softball has no incentives.
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Post by sballalumni2 on Dec 2, 2015 16:40:27 GMT -6
Wow - this seems to violate some sort of Title 9 law! Geez, this is a horrible contract and highly in favor of male sports.
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Post by sballalumni2 on Nov 30, 2015 11:00:42 GMT -6
Hey something positive - at least we won't lose NB to a Power 5 school after this year. If he ever wants to make it out of the Sunbelt, then he knows he better get this program turned around and fairly quick.
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Post by sballalumni2 on Nov 25, 2015 13:39:07 GMT -6
USA has taken another huge hit this year. The best hitter transferred to Missouri in the SEC and the best pitcher McGill transferred to a JUCO in Ocala. It is almost like USA is right on the cusp of making it, and then every year the best players transfer out to a Power 5. I think they are using USA as a tryout for the Power 5. USA is doing a great job recruiting, and they would be sitting pretty if they still had all of those good players. ULL has always been good in softball. A lot of softball experts say that Lotief is the best coach in the nation at taking below average talent and turning them into great hitters. ULL has to fill in some gaps at pitching this year though, so we will see if the offense is enough. I am hoping Troy will be able to make a regional this year.
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