Softball Notebook

Cal & Arizona State Collide for Pac-12 Title

By Daniel Urban
TSC Analyst/Contributor

There are currently two teams atop the standings for the Pac-12: The University of California, Berkeley (California or Cal) and Arizona State. These two teams are set to play each other in an epic conference showdown at Berkeley this weekend, May 10th-12th.

Cal is currently sitting on top of the standings with a 19-2 conference record, but Arizona State is right behind at 17-2. As this is the final conference series for both ball clubs, the Pac-12 title is squarely on the line.

Cal will use every ounce of its home-field advantage, but Arizona State has history on its side. Last year ASU captured the conference title in convincing fashion, winning 13 of its final 14 games en route to the national championship. That came on the heels of its winning the national title only three years earlier. Cal has also won an NCAA championship, but it was ten years ago.

This year, though, Cal may have the upper hand. Last week marked the sixth consecutive week Cal ranked #1 in both polls and the 11th time this season that the Golden Bears have been the top choice in at least one poll. Cal received all 20 first-place votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and 29 of 30 first-place votes in the USA Today/NFCA poll.

The remaining first-place vote went Arizona State, which moved up to second after taking all three games from then 11th-ranked Washington.

Down the stretch, the Sun Devils have received a huge shot in the arm from shortstop Katelyn Boyd. The senior went 6-for-11 (.545) against the Huskies, including a grand slam that made her ASU’s all-time leader in career RBI’s (232). For her efforts, Boyd was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the fourth time this season.

But Cal has been building its own momentum. Last weekend the Bears swept #23 Oregon State three games to none, capped by a 4-1 win yesterday afternoon. It was Cal’s fifth Pac-12 series sweep and its seventh overall conference series victory.

ASU also swept its series this past weekend, but against much less intense competition in conference newcomer Utah (1-20 in Pac-12 play). The series finale saw the Sun Devils smashing the Utes 13-5 in six innings. Boyd again took center stage offensively, becoming ASU’s all-time leader in career doubles (55).

Cal and Arizona State are the clear front-runners in the Pac-12 this year. Their .905 and .895 conference winning percentages, respectively, are light years ahead of the 3rd place team’s (Oregon) with .579. The three-game set between these two teams for the Pac-12 title is going to be insane!

Florida, Alabama & Tennessee Vie for Supremacy in Southeast

By Daniel Urban
TSC Analyst/Contributor

There are three standout teams emerging in softball’s #2 power conference behind the Pac-12, the Southeastern Conference. Florida is currently sitting on top of the SEC East with a combined record of 43-8 overall and 20-5 in conference. Alabama is currently #1 in the SEC West with a 45-5 overall record and 21-4 on conference. Tennessee is not far behind Florida in the SEC East with 44-9 overall record and 22-6 in conference.

In head-to-head play, Florida won two games in a three-game series against Tennessee in early March, but two of the games were decided by a 1-0 score. Alabama and Tennessee split a two-game series on March 26th.

The Tennessee Lady Vols have an offensive machine in leadoff hitter Raven Chavanne. The junior All-American from Thousand Oaks, California currently leads the SEC with a .439 batting average, and has reached base safely in 33 straight games dating back to March 11th. Yesterday Chavanne was named SEC Player of the Week following a 10-for-12 (.833) hitting performance with six runs scored and five stolen bases.

Florida will play Alabama on May 4th, 5th, and 6th, and those games are going to be intense! The conference is still up for grabs.

This Could Be Louisiana-Lafayette’s Big Year

By Kevin Kage
TSC Contributor

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is suffering from something of an identity crisis.  Despite having one of the most successful softball programs in the nation—one legitimately referred to by some as a dynasty—it does not have the immediate name recognition of an Arizona or a UCLA among the general public.

Part of the problem is its somewhat lengthy name. To be proper, you can call it Louisiana, or you can call it the Louisiana-Lafayette, but please don’t ever call it Lafayette. That is the name of a small liberal arts college in Pennsylvania.

The truth is that UL Lafayette is a major university of 16,673 students with an amazing softball history. The Ragin’ Cajuns have appeared five times in the Women’s College World Series (1993, 1995, 1996, 2003 and 2008) and have won ten Regular Season Sun Belt Championships. Since 1990, they have missed the NCAA post-season “Field of 64” only once (1998).

Last season the Cajuns finished the regular season with a 49-9 record (.845). Their performance earned  a #16 ranking in the final National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) poll, marking the 18th time since 1990 they have finished in the Top 25.

Last year also marked the 11th time in 12 years that Louisiana has won the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The Cajuns swept through the tournament, run-ruling Florida Atlantic 8-0 in five innings. Louisiana holds the all-time tournament best record of 39-3 (.929).

Much of the team’s success can be attributed to its head coaches—yes, there are two of them. And if that weren’t unique enough, they are married to each other: Stefni Lotief was named head coach in 2001 and husband Michael was named co-head coach two years later.

Known for his tireless work ethic, Michael Lotief is usually the first to arrive at the ball park and the last to leave. He is widely regarded as one of the best offensive minds in the game of college softball. His passion for teaching and analyzing batting mechanics through video and has helped catapult the Cajuns into one of the best hitting teams in the country.
 
Lotief expects the same dedication from his players that he does from himself. Most are from the area, like the Lotiefs themselves—and the two head coaches prefer it that way. Their preference for homegrown talent means many of the players were overlooked by the “big schools” in the recruiting process. That underdog mentality has fueled an intense competitive drive, best summed up by Lotief in his blog article “Champions are Developed by Desire and Discipline”:

Our kids remind me of Samurai warriors. Although we are many miles from perfection and we have plenty of work ahead of us to get our skills to a higher level (physical and mental), there can be no question that they are devoted and they do have incredible discipline.

The Cajuns have a first-class home in Ragin’ Cajuns Softball Park with its seating capacity of 2,790. By comparison, the seating capacity of the Arizona Wildcats Hillenbrand Stadium—one of America’s most revered collegiate softball facilities—is 2,956.

The Cajuns are virtually unbeatable at home, winning all 21 games so far this season. Last year they lost only a single game out of 31 (.968).

Spearheading this year’s offensive charge are Katie Smith, Natalie Fernandez and Christi Orgeron. Smith leads the Cajuns with a .422 batting average, and Fernandez isn’t far behind at .418. Orgeron—a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Finalist and member of Team USA—was last year’s most valuable offensive player and leads this year’s squad in home runs with 15.

In the circle, Louisiana has a dream duo in freshman Jordan Wallace and senior Ashley Brignac. Wallace is undefeated in 20 games so far this season and leads the team with 118 strikeouts. Brignac—last year’s Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year—has her sights set squarely on a national title in this, her final season. Yesterday she was named Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week for tossing four complete games, including two shutouts, improving her record to 15-2 on the year.

The Cajuns are currently ranked #7 and #8 in the national polls and are setting a blistering pace with an overall record of 35-4 (.950).

So will this finally be the year the Cajuns win the Women’s College World Series?  Although their name might not be a household one (yet), I wouldn’t bet against them.

Once Upon a Time the Golden State had a Professional Fastpitch Team

By Kevin Kage
TSC Contributor

As the National Pro Fastpitch league struggles to capture the imagination of the softball fans across the country, the question often arises: “Why doesn’t a fastpitch powerhouse state like California have a team?” Well it did…for a year.

The California Sunbirds (also called the Sacramento Sunbirds) played their first home game on June 1, 2004 against the Arizona Heat in Stockton, California, a town of about 292,000 in California’s Central Valley.

Stockton is located 83 miles east, and slightly north, of San Francisco, and 49 miles south of Sacramento. The name may sound familiar to fans of classic western television, as it was the setting of “The Big Valley” TV series starring Richard Long, Barbara Stanwyck and Lee Majors (1965-1969).

The Sunbirds appeared to have everything going for them prior to the start of their first season.

They had procured a 1,200-seat stadium, the United Sports Complexes, and had signed one of the most prolific coaches in Northern California community college history to manage the team, Tim Kiernan.

Kiernan had compiled an amazing 804-114 record during his 16 years as head coach at Sacramento City College, winning three state championships and one national championship in 1992. His win percentage remains as one of the highest in community college softball history.

Kiernan had also coached at every level of ASA travel, amassing over 2600 wins, 17 national tournament appearances and a national championship in 1994. He had also coached for six summers in the Women’s Professional Softball League (WPSL), the precursor of the NPF.

According to Sunbirds General Manager Glenn Wolff, “Leadership and respect come with experience and few in this league have the years of coaching experience and the home field advantage of Coach Kiernan. Because a great deal of these women are local products and have played for him in the past, there is already an established bond. For many of the teams, getting adjusted to a new coach as well as style of play is the biggest hurdle. With Kiernan, they know how much they have to work in order to stay in the lineup and what is expected of them.”

The Sunbirds also had signed two premier pitchers in Cindy Ball and Amy Kyler.

Cindy Ball was a two-time All-American and Big West Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2001 and 2002 at Pacific. She concluded her college years as the career leader in innings (883.1), wins (91), saves (10), strikeouts (761), shutouts (46) and RBI (111).

Amy Kyler had played two seasons each with the Akron Racers and the Carolina Diamonds of the Women’s Pro Fastpitch league (WPF), which later became the WPSL. She was a 1998 WPF All-Star selection and member of the Diamonds team that captured the “first half” WPF title that year.

“We have a diverse group of pitchers this year, some throw hard, some have a lot of movement on their balls, while others have great change-ups,” said GM Wolff. “When it comes down to it, there is no doubt in my mind and in the players’ that we can be a real threat on the mound and at the plate.”

Although the Sunbirds were not listed as an official member of the NPF in 2005, they continued to play games against other teams in the league that year. However, the handwriting was on the wall.

Amy Kyler had been traded to the Akron Racers in the offseason, and the team was not competitive. On June 19th the New England Riptide swept the squad four games to none; in July the team was replaced by the Mexican National Team in a four-game series against the Arizona Heat; and on August 7th the Texas Thunder completed its own four-game sweep of the beleaugered franchise.

It is still something of a mystery why the team folded after only one official season, leaving California without a professional softball team to this day.

Top Picks of This Year’s NPF Draft Dominated by Hitters

By Daniel Urban
TSC Analyst/Contributor

Here are this year’s 1st round NPF draft picks:

(1) USSSA Florida Pride - Brittany Mack
(2) Chicago Bandits - Kimi Pohlman
(3) Akron Racers - Lexy Bennett
(4) USSSA Florida Pride - Andrea Harrison

Until the draft I had never heard of any of these ladies. So who the heck are they?

Brittany Mack
Mack is the ace pitcher for the LSU Tigers. In 2011 she threw for a 20-7 record, 1.74 ERA, 184 innings and 209 strikeouts. In 2012 Mack’s numbers are down with a 6-4 record, 2.91 ERA, 55 innings and 69 strikeouts. Mack is not an overwhelming strikeout pitcher like the best fastpitch pitchers, but she does have proven ability and success in one of the toughest softball conferences (the SEC) in the country. I am a little confused by why Mack would be the #1 overall pick when there are other more qualified options out there. Mack must have expressed serious interest in going pro. But the Pride can take a risk at pitcher because they already have a top staff anchored by Cat Osterman and filled out by Danielle Lawrie, Sarah Pauly and recent acquisition Jamee Juarez.

Kimi Pohlman
Pohlman is a outfielder for the Washington Huskies. In 2011 she hit .432 with 79 hits, 3 home runs, 28 RBI, 57 runs, and 25 stolen bases. Pohlman was a very consistent hitter against top tier pitching in the #1 softball conference in the NCAA. Her numbers prove she has great speed and some power potential. Pohlman will be a great table setter for some of the Bandits’ heavy hitters like Alissa Goler and Dorian Shaw.

Lexy Bennett
Bennett is a slugger that plays for the Texas Longhorns. In 2011 she hit .438 with 57 hits, 9 home runs, 41 RBI, 51 runs, .792 slugging percentage and .510 on base percentage. Bennett led her team in batting average, hits, slugging percentage and on base percentage. Bennett is a very consistent hitter with good power and will make a great addition to the other quality bats in Akron’s lineup.

Andrea Harrison
Harrison is the top hitter on the current version of the nation’s most storied softball team: UCLA. In 2011 Harrison hit .409 with 67 hits, 15 home runs, 52 RBI, 39 runs, a .768 slugging percentage and a .512 on base percentage. In 2011 Harrison won the triple crown on her own team by leading in average, home runs, and RBI. And just for good measure she also led her team in hits, total bases, slugging percentage and on base percentage. Harrison is a machine and could easily wind up as the best hitter to come out of the 2012 draft.

So there you have it! It is interesting that only one pitcher was selected in the 1st round while prior drafts have been very pitcher-heavy early on. It will be fun to see who the next big names will be in the NPF. I’m very excited for the season!

The NPF Extends from Atlantic to Pacific

By Kayla Knight
TSC Contributor

The National Pro Fastpitch league may have dwindled down to a mere four teams during the current economic downturn, but that hasn’t stopped it from expanding its fan base geographically. The NPF’s newest team, the Diamonds, is relocating from Kissimmee, Florida, to South Carolina. And last month the league’s remaining Florida team, the USSSA Pride, travelled to California to play in the Palm Springs Classic tournament against four college teams.

The Diamonds move to North Carolina was a welcome one for the NPF as it strengthens its weakest link. Most importantly the team will assume private ownership, taking a huge financial burden off the league which was subsidizing it. Consequently the name of the team will change from the NPF Diamonds to the Carolina Diamonds.

New owner Amelia Nemeth will be joining Joey Arrietta, co-owner of the Akron Racers, as the only females in what has largely been an “Old Boys’ Club” of team ownership. Nemeth and husband Alan Demaske will also be involved in the day-to-day operation of the franchise. The Diamonds will be based out of Charlotte, North Carolina but will play in various venues throughout North and South Carolina.

The NPF’s journey to the West Coast is long overdue. California and Arizona have long dominated collegiate fastpitch softball, but they haven’t been able to sustain professional teams: the California Sunbirds folded after their inaugural season in 2004 and the Arizona Heat lasted three seasons before folding in 2006.

Various theories have been proposed for the failure of pro softball out West, including the hot summer weather and plethora of other outdoor activities to lure fans away from the ball field, but the fact is it just hasn’t caught on. The NPF is hoping to change all that by showcasing its Olympic-caliber talent in the Golden State.

Spreading the word about professional women’s softball has been a passionate pursuit for the NPF the last few years, as it has held games in as many different locales outside of its home venues (Chicago, Akron and Orlando/Kissimmee) including Texas and Canada. And for two years it has organized a fall “Back to School Tour” across the USA, playing against college teams from San Diego to Daytona Beach.

The beginning of the 2012 season is only about three months away, so get ready for an exciting season. The NPF Championship Series will be held this year in Rosemont, Illinois, home of the Chicago Bandits.

Legendary Pitcher’s Recurrent Arm Pain Fuels Retirement Rumors

By Kayla Knight
TSC Contributor

Experts agree that underhand windmill softball pitching is easier on the arm than overhand baseball pitching, but every human machine has its limits—and superstar pitcher Cat Osterman has been pushing those limits for quite some time.

Hopefully, time is not running out.

Osterman puts an incredible amount of spin on her pitches, arguably more than any hurler on the planet (softball or baseball). The result is the ball moves up, down and/or sideways—almost as if by magic—making it almost impossible to hit. But that also puts an enormous strain on the muscles in her throwing arm, especially those involved in pronating (twisting) the forearm.

Her current injury woes date back to the final game of last year’s World Championships against Japan. Cat started the game but exited in the 4th inning when she felt a pull or twang in her throwing arm. The initial diagnosis was a torn biceps biceps tendon, but that was discounted after further testing.

Cat dropped out of competition for most of the remaining 2010 summer season but was able to come back just long enough to win the 2010 National Pro Fastpitch title for the USSSA Pride.

Cat’s crisis culminated in this year’s National Pro Fastpitch playoffs, when she had to leave the final series against the Chicago Bandits because of pain in her left forearm. Savvy fans knew that her team, the USSSA Pride, was finished, even though it had compiled the league’s best regular-season record—and they were right.

Further medical workup has proved disappointing negative, including an MRI designed to detect soft tissue damage. The latest theory, primarily one of exclusion, is a nerve impingement condition called Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. But because no specific damage to muscles, ligaments or tendons was discovered, a permanent cure may remain elusive.

In the meantime Cat has thrown herself back into coaching, this time with buddy Lindsay Gardner at St. Edwards University in her home state of Texas. Read more.

As for her competitive career, right now all Cat can do is rest…and hope she has a few more magnificent pitches left in her magnificent arm. Read more.

Collegiate Sluggers Keep Smashing More Homers

By Daniel Urban
TSC Analyst/Contributor

NCAA.com has a really excellent archive of all Division I statistics divided by year and extending from the current year back to 2001. The site allows me to look up a single stat and display the top 50 ladies in all of Division I softball in that stat category for a particular year.

I have often used NCAA.com to pull stats for the current year (like to find the total number of strikeouts for the best pitchers leading up to the WCWS), but I have never used it to track stats over a multiple-year span to analyze any patterns or trends.

Today that all changed.

I have a hypothesis that the total number of home runs in the NCAA has increased over the past decade.

To test this I looked at the number of home runs hit by the top ten home run hitters and the number of home runs hit by the home run champ in the NCAA for each year dating back to 2001.

The data I uncovered really surprised me. Here it is by year split between the total number of home runs hit by the top ten home run hitters in Division I softball and the total number of home runs hit by the year’s Division I home run champ.

2001: 212, 24
2002: 244, 30
2003: 209, 31
2004: 215, 27
2005: 214, 24
2006: 213, 25
2007: 222, 30
2008: 191, 26
2009: 187, 24
2010: 199, 25
2011: 177, 21

From 2001-2011 the number of home runs hit by the top home run hitters in Division I softball has increased 17%. The increase from 2001 to 2010, when the NCAA had a home run explosion of 244, is 27%.

I really wish the data went back before 2001 because I think the power numbers would have fallen off even more and made the numbers more dramatic.

There are a few other interesting elements of this data. In 2001 the top home run hitter barely cracked 20 home runs in the season. Since then three home run champs have hit over 30, and two of them have performed that feat in the past three years.

There was also a huge aberration in the data with the home run explosion in 2010. There were 22 more home runs hit in 2010 than in its next closest year (2005). And in 2010 all of the top ten home run hitters hit at least 20 home runs.

I have a few theories on the steady increase of home runs from 2001-2011:

(1) Better coaching for hitters. Fastpitch pitchers have been receiving small class or one-on-one specialized training for many years, maybe more hitters are starting to participate in the same type of training.

(2) Better bat technology. The technology of bats has certainly increased over the past decade and maybe bats are responsible for adding the extra distance to turn a few extra hits into home runs each year.

(3) Better training. Perhaps more female athletes are embracing weight training and the added bulk is helping to send more balls over the fence.

(4) Deteriorating caliber of pitchers. We are several years removed from any super-elite pitchers like Jennie Finch, Cat Osterman, and Monica Abbott. Perhaps the lack of any uber-dominant pitchers like the aforementioned Big Three has had an affect on home run totals.

For whatever reason, the number of homers continues to climb. At some point, of course, rule changes might spoil things—but for now, enjoy!

Successful Managers in the NPF

By John Thorson
Father of Akron Racer pitcher Kristina Thorson

I’ve pondered this topic for some time. What does it take to successfully manage a team in the NPF? I guess it depends upon what is considered “success.” Some possibilities are:

[1] Win the regular season title.
[2] Win the Cowles Cup.
[3] Win more games than the team would without he/her there.
[4] Not lose games because of field management mistakes.
[5] Win the support of the team and owners.

On the surface, one could make an argument for winning the regular season or the Cowles Cup. However, unless you’re Bill Sokolis (Chicago) or Don DeDonatis (Florida), I don’t think those are the major goals. I say that because I believe a manager could be very successful without winning either.

Number 3 would be a perfect answer except there is no explicit way to measure this; it would be based solely on supposition. And success or failure would be based upon the individual making the assessment. I think it’s hard to give a win to a manager, but it is definitely possible to award him/her the loss.

Basing success on not losing games due to managing errors is a possibility. In fact, this begs another thread on managing errors. This season (2011) I witnessed several key managing errors, each of which potentially cost the manager’s team a game. Twice, in two separate games, I saw Chicago make critical substitution errors which led to outs that stopped potentially big innings.

In the second playoff game between Akron and Chicago, one could make the argument that pulling Kristina (Thorson) in a 1-1 tie with her season-long success against the Bandits was an error but, in truth, was just a judgement call that didn’t work out.

A strong argument for bad management could be made when the Racer’s two biggest hitters, Sam Maurder with her .400+ batting average and big slugging percentage (and she had just hit a solo HR off Abbott her previous at-bat) and Nicole Pauly with her team leading 18 RBI’s, were taken out at the same time as the pitching change. The difference between the two scenarios is that the Chicago mistakes were during the regular season and they went on to win the Cowles Cup (success???). Akron got eliminated from the playoffs and the manager (Jake Schumann) went on to his new head coach position at FIU.

Not to get on my soapbox too much but another major management error by Akron was announcing to the team the pitching rotation for the season BEFORE the first game was ever played! Further, Schumann stated it didn’t matter how anyone pitched!!! Yes, it does make putting together a lineup a lot easier when you don’t have to make that decision prior to a series, BUT….

These are examples of bad management and give a possible way to cull the list of successful managers. However, it still doesn’t answer the question of what IS a successful manager. I’m voting for #5 as the best measure of successful management. Ultimately, it’s the owners that decide the fate of a manager and, if they’re happy, the manager will be back.

An argument can also be made (I’m not sure how true it is) that a team that likes and supports the manager will play better ball. However, the players are competitors and it is their nature to play hard to win regardless of their feelings for the manager.

Muscle Massage Moves into the Mainstream

By Josh Allen
TSC Contributor

We all know that getting a massage can be relaxing, invigorating or (usually) both. And it just feels plain good. But what was once considered a luxury is now gaining popularity among the athletic community as a legitimate way to boost performance and prevent sports-related injuries.

Massage can also be used to treat specific injuries such as shin splints, plantar fasciitis, ankle sprains and strained (pulled) hamstring and groin muscles. In fact, before you rush off to have surgery on any injury, you should consider consulting with your massage therapist about possible alternatives.

But make sure you find a good one. The best in the business possess a thorough knowledge of human anatomy and physiology and have years of experience working in the fields of sports therapy and rehabilitation.

Of course, these benefits come at a price, usually $50 to $100 or more at a crack. But in the right hands, massage therapy can add years to the life of your sporting career—and make you feel better after you hang it up, too.

So how does it work?

Strenuous physical exertion makes muscles, tendons and ligaments hard and inelastic, squeezing the fluid out of the tissues like a wrung sponge; this deprives the tissues of vital nutrients and energy to repair itself.

Massage helps reverse this process stretching the tissues—including in ways that do not occur naturally; for example, bundles of muscle fibers are stretched sideways as well as lengthwise. Blood and lymph fluid is also sucked back into the area by the pumping action of the massage, which increases the pressure in front of the stroke and creates a vacuum behind.

Massage also stretches the sheath or fascia surrounding the muscle, relieving tension. Flexibility is also improved by loosening and/or breaking down any scar tissue that has formed from previous injuries or trauma.

“Deep tissue” massage—which uses slower strokes and is targeted at the muscles located below the top layer of muscles—also causes the pores in tissue membranes to open, enabling fluids and nutrients to pass through.

Finally, when a fatigued muscle is relaxed it slows down its consumption of energy and production of waste products, allowing it to recover more quickly.

One thing massage doesn’t do is remove lactic acid, once labeled an unwanted waste product and blamed for the burning feeling in fatigued muscles. For years, massage therapists were taught that lactic acid should be flushed from the muscles of athletes after a vigorous workout. Recent research shows, however, that levels return to normal within 30-60 minutes post-exercise without any assistance, and that massage is no more effective than passive rest in speeding up this process.

Apart from its failure to expel lactic acid—which it turns out may not be such a bad thing after all—there is no doubt that muscle massage helps the body recover faster from exercise and is an effective treatment for certain types of athletic injuries. That’s all the excuse I need to sign up and get one!