Dam good link here. I posted it in the CWS thread but GDF must not like my thread and started his own so I'm in. Duck *cough* Dude is taking over here. http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/softball/d1/2017
"The Pac ruled the first 20 years of softball." It's another one of those narratives you see/hear mentioned that really doesn't mean a damn thing considering they'd been playing for a couple of decades before the SEC started their programs. I caught one Thursday night that made me scoff a bit. The play-by-play guy mentioned that around 80% of the time the team that wins the first game of the Supers advances to the WCWS. But, it wasn't mentioned that that team is usually a higher seed and therefore a better team. Seriously. Am I supposed to think, "Wow!." No shit, Sherlock, the better and favored team wins more often! On a different note: A H/T to ESPN for removing that super-imposed strike zone from the screen this season. I can't tell you badly that got on my nerves especially considering the strike zone changes within the game with a lot of umps in softball. Now, if they'll remove that damn pitch count from the box score on screen ... means nothing the majority of the time.
So that's why the sec has finally rebounded. They recruit the West Coast like mfs now. That's good to know.
Yeah I caught that one too. Another important factor in that is the higher seed hosts. Yes...and no. It certainly has to have a cumulative effect by the third game, if it goes 3. Having worked a lot with pitchers I can tell you that even a week off can make a difference with velocity. Now this was with HS and younger but I definitely saw differences. As a father, that wear and tear on the arm always concerned me.
I don't watch softball but I like seeing the pitch count and speed of each pitch when I watch baseball. Apparently the pitch count means nothing in softball. The girl who pitched last week for LSU pitched a double header and threw 235 pitches IN ONE DAY!
Look, IT MEANS something. If you TYPE too much it's not good for you. Two biggest contributors to pitching injuries are improper mechanics and over use. Even in baseball, when Dixie allowed pitchers so many innings, I remember saying innings mean nothing. A pitcher can pitch to MANY batters in one inning- or just 3. They've gone to pitch counts now.
As I mentioned in your softball thread,.. the UCLA pitcher threw over 230 pitches in her 11 inning complete game, then the next day pitched a seven inning shutout. Throwing underarm is much less stressful, but still I think somebodies gonna get hurt, because coaches are pushing the girls too far.
