Truth be told, I wouldn't know cause I don't watch enough, but it seemed the corners on the plate were pretty generous and they took near all of those pitches. Just didn't seem aggressive enough with the bat once they had the lead. I'm biased and I really hate softball. For a dude, trying to crush a softball is equally as frustrating as getting a woman to agree on colors. There is a reason this sport belongs to the gals.
its a female sport. theres no way they can compete athletically like men so they have a fast paced game to keep interest. the only way to get a bigger audience is have the few hot ones go topless.
Lol. Dudes....it's women's softball, NOT baseball. tirk is right....accept it for what it is, don't try and turn it into women playing baseball. Slapping is no less a solid hit than a bunt or single to the outfield. In fact, slapping has become more about bat skill than anything else. A really good slapper will show, draw the infield in, then place the ball just over their heads, and in some cases if the outfield moves in, she can place it in the gap. There are not "so many slappers" in softball. There are 1 or 2 in the first part of the line-up and they are ALL lefties. They also have to be someone with speed. Slappers get thrown out too but it's all about OBP, right? If a girl can hit lefty and is fast, then why not have her slap? Slappers are usually the lead-off and that takes someone mentally tough. Larger viewing audience? Lol. In 2013, "ESPN’s exclusive coverage of the Women’s College World Series (WCWS) ended with a national championship title for Oklahoma over Tennessee and record-breaking metered market ratings in both home towns. Knoxville delivered the highest metered market rating for any WCWS telecast on ESPN2 since 2007*, averaging an 11.9 rating for Game 1 of the Finals. The current 2007 record, a 15.3 metered market rating, is also held by Knoxville when Tennessee faced Arizona in the Finals. In addition, Game 1 and Game 2 set local Oklahoma City records for ESPN2 and ESPN, respectively. The telecasts averaged a 6.6 metered market rating for Game 1 and a 6.7 for Game 2 in Oklahoma City - the highest ratings for WCWS games in Oklahoma ever on either network. Game 2 in Knoxville averaged a 7.8. Approximately 1.2 million viewers around the nation tuned in for the 12-inning Oklahoma victory in Game 1 on ESPN2 and 1,315,000 for Game 2 on ESPN" So from 2013 on to 2014, "ESPN’s complete coverage of the NCAA Division I Softball Championship Super Regionals (May 22 – 25) generated significant increases over last season’s telecasts. ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNEWS’ combined telecasts -- every game from the eight sites -- reached 26,347,000 viewers, a 30 percent increase over 2013 (vs. 20,229,000 viewers). The networks’ Super Regional coverage averaged 413,000 viewers, a 17 percent increase over last season (vs. 352,000 viewers)." I'm not a TV executive, but that seems to be moving in a positive direction. Back to the slapping..... it's more than that. There are drag bunts, soft and power slaps, and fake bunt/hit away. There are players who do all 3 and that takes skill. Mostly, it takes the kind of skill that can't be taught....foot speed and bat control. This young lady here, has great bat control. It's legit hitting.
