2006 STATE PLAYOFF DISCUSSION FORUM

paid off

looks like it paid off.

 

Leonard from CD was hurt

North Pitt was very lucky that Leonard was not 100% She was about 8 mph off on her fast ball and her breaking balls was not working that well due to her having a finger injury. And only a freshman ! she was hurting and i thought she handed it really well. but when your fastball is only 60 to 61 mph and the other stuff is not there its easy to get hits..............

 

Softball Polls

High School polls in NC will never be 100% accurate. It’s a big state with lots of teams. Rankings can only be made based on what’s reported to the coaches association. Many programs never report anything, and that’s the head coach’s fault. Coaches who want to stay “under the radar” are not doing the sport justice. The more excitement that surrounds the sport the better it will be.

Just how good were this season’s polls? All 40 ranked teams made the first round of the playoffs. Only 4 of the 40 were upset by non-ranked or honorable mention teams in the first round. Of the 16 final four teams, only 3 were never ranked or honorable mention during the season (2A North Pitt, 3A Aycock, 3A Harnett Central). That’s not bad!

Polls are only an indicator, not the final word. Lots of things can happen as a season progresses. Teams get hot, teams get cold, players get injured. If polls were the final word we wouldn’t need playoffs!

 

Another thing to remember is that ranked or unranked the best teams do not always make it to the final four. Our team was the best 3A team coming out of our bracket but we picked the wrong night not to be at our very best. It happens.

 

Calibrate that gun!

So you're claiming your Freshman pitcher throws 68/69 mph when healthy? Lets think about this. A. Hollowell (6'2" 190 #) 67 mph, M Abbott 6'3" 170# 68 mph, Kat Osterman (6'3" 170#) 65 mph, A Selden 65 mph. S Ervin (NC State) won the ACC Championship game throwing 57 - 59 mph. These kind of claims always make me chuckle. Of course the pitchers finger was not the reason CD couldn't score of N Pitt was it. CD is a fine team but to suggest that NP was "very lucky" to win is absurd. The people there just out foxed their opponents winning with a pitcher and catcher bunch of other girls who had never played travel ball. I have no relationship with that program but did enjoy watching them pull this off.

 

Freshman pitcher

Wow! Will this kid be pitching at the Cardinal tourney this weekend? If so, what team? I will have the Jugs with me. Thanks.

 

Leonard's fastball averages 64-65. Has hit 67 in games more than once. Has been clocked on different guns.

 

fastball

WOW!!! Are you saying she throws a 68-69 mph fastball??? Thats is amazing. Does she hit that consistantly?

 

Pitching Speeds

Does Leonard really throw 69 mph as claimed in the original post (61 + 8 = 69, right?)? Is phenomenal if true. NO PITCHER IN WOMEN"S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES this year registered a speed that high. In fact, I've been watching FP for a number of years and have only seen two or three pitchers ever clocked faster than this. Certainly the fastest ever in NC. I've attended a number of pitching camps around the state, most notably @ UNC. They typically clock girls at the end of the sessions. Attendees at these clinics have included virtually every "big name" pitcher in NC and others from SC, GA, and Fl. It's always interesting to see the disgust on most of these girls faces at the speeds timed there. Few ever break 60 MPH. Beleive me with Donna Papa and Bev Smith looking on these girls are trying to bring it! This seems a bit like 40 yd dash times for college football players. When they get to the NFL combine their times suddenly get significantly slower!

 

Pitching speeds

I totally agree Duke. I've clocked D1 college pitchers, showcase pitchers, etc. and the fastest has been one of Auburn's pitchers at 69 MPH. Will this freshman pitcher be playing in the Cardinal? I would like to see her pitch.