Pitt Softball Sweeps DH at VT

[mike412]

Pitt won the first game 4-1, with McKayla Taylor scoring all 4 runs and Sarah Dawson pitching a complete game 7 hitter.

Pitt won the second game 4-0. Kayla Harris didn’t have a strikeout (I’m not sure there even was a single swing and miss) but VT isn’t a good hitting team. They hit a lot of soft liners and easy grounders. The VT pitcher in the second game, Jordan Dail, was overpowering, with 13 strikeouts. But, Pitt used a dink hit, 3 walks and a HBP to score 2 in the first. Then, in the 7th, they got two insurance runs when Dail threw her first changeup of the game with 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd. It went to the base of the centerfield wall, and VT failed to throw the ball home in time to have a chance at the baserunner who had been on 1B, allowing her to score. Taylor scored 2 runs in this game also.

I was disappointed that the Pitt hitters didn’t appear to make any adjustments to Dail. A lefty, she basically had two pitches, both thrown very hard: Her riser she always threw inside to righties and outside to lefties. Her drop, she threw outside to righties and didn’t throw to lefties. (Most lefties love the ball down and in and would salivate at that drop ball.) Most of the time, her riser finished well above strike height, but Pitt kept swinging at it. She almost always only threw her drop with 2 strikes on the hitter, but Pitt didn’t seem to adjust and look for it. But, she threw very, very hard. As hard as I have seen a college pitcher throw in the last two years.

The announcers said they played a doubleheader today because the weather forecast for tomorrow is bad. They might reschedule the final game for Sunday. Whichever day it is, I will be shocked if Dail doesn’t pitch it for VT. And, I will be more shocked if she throws another changeup.

Meanwhile, Pitt now is 6-2 in the ACC, all on the road.

 

[Pitt MD]

Pitt won the first game 4-1, with McKayla Taylor scoring all 4 runs and Sarah Dawson pitching a complete game 7 hitter.

Pitt won the second game 4-0. Kayla Harris didn’t have a strikeout (I’m not sure there even was a single swing and miss) but VT isn’t a good hitting team. They hit a lot of soft liners and easy grounders. The VT pitcher in the second game, Jordan Dail, was overpowering, with 13 strikeouts. But, Pitt used a dink hit, 3 walks and a HBP to score 2 in the first. Then, in the 7th, they got two insurance runs when Dail threw her first changeup of the game with 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd. It went to the base of the centerfield wall, and VT failed to throw the ball home in time to have a chance at the baserunner who had been on 1B, allowing her to score. Taylor scored 2 runs in this game also.

I was disappointed that the Pitt hitters didn’t appear to make any adjustments to Dail. A lefty, she basically had two pitches, both thrown very hard: Her riser she always threw inside to righties and outside to lefties. Her drop, she threw outside to righties and didn’t throw to lefties. (Most lefties love the ball down and in and would salivate at that drop ball.) Most of the time, her riser finished well above strike height, but Pitt kept swinging at it. She almost always only threw her drop with 2 strikes on the hitter, but Pitt didn’t seem to adjust and look for it. But, she threw very, very hard. As hard as I have seen a college pitcher throw in the last two years.

The announcers said they played a doubleheader today because the weather forecast for tomorrow is bad. They might reschedule the final game for Sunday. Whichever day it is, I will be shocked if Dail doesn’t pitch it for VT. And, I will be more shocked if she throws another changeup.

Meanwhile, Pitt now is 6-2 in the ACC, all on the road.

Final game was cancelled due to expected snow fall.

 

[Bethlehemjohn]

Pitt won the first game 4-1, with McKayla Taylor scoring all 4 runs and Sarah Dawson pitching a complete game 7 hitter.

Pitt won the second game 4-0. Kayla Harris didn’t have a strikeout (I’m not sure there even was a single swing and miss) but VT isn’t a good hitting team. They hit a lot of soft liners and easy grounders. The VT pitcher in the second game, Jordan Dail, was overpowering, with 13 strikeouts. But, Pitt used a dink hit, 3 walks and a HBP to score 2 in the first. Then, in the 7th, they got two insurance runs when Dail threw her first changeup of the game with 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd. It went to the base of the centerfield wall, and VT failed to throw the ball home in time to have a chance at the baserunner who had been on 1B, allowing her to score. Taylor scored 2 runs in this game also.

I was disappointed that the Pitt hitters didn’t appear to make any adjustments to Dail. A lefty, she basically had two pitches, both thrown very hard: Her riser she always threw inside to righties and outside to lefties. Her drop, she threw outside to righties and didn’t throw to lefties. (Most lefties love the ball down and in and would salivate at that drop ball.) Most of the time, her riser finished well above strike height, but Pitt kept swinging at it. She almost always only threw her drop with 2 strikes on the hitter, but Pitt didn’t seem to adjust and look for it. But, she threw very, very hard. As hard as I have seen a college pitcher throw in the last two years.

The announcers said they played a doubleheader today because the weather forecast for tomorrow is bad. They might reschedule the final game for Sunday. Whichever day it is, I will be shocked if Dail doesn’t pitch it for VT. And, I will be more shocked if she throws another changeup.

Meanwhile, Pitt now is 6-2 in the ACC, all on the road.

Pitt's hitters seem to take a game to adjust to a pitcher. In games where they have faced a pitcher a 2nd time, they have generally done pretty well. They hit both NC St and UNC's top pitchers in the 3rd game of each series after losing to them in the first game of the series.

 

[mike412]

It shouldn’t take a full game to adjust. I played competitive fast pitch softball when I was younger (was on the Army Pacific Command championship team) and after two innings I could see the way Dail pitched. Layoff the inside pitch if it starts thigh high or above and if you are a righty look for the drop with two strikes. She never deviated from that pattern until she threw that changeup. That was an absolutely terrible pitch: no movement and she slowed down her delivery to throw it. I was screaming “changeup” at my iPad before she let it go. From across the room, my wife looked at me like I was nuts.

Of course, maybe she would have mixed it up if Pitt had adjusted. The announcers said she was a freshman. If true, as hard as she throws, if she develops a third pitch, she is going to be really tough. The first thing they need to teach her is how to change the way she holds the ball on her changeup instead of slowing down her delivery. That ball got hit so hard, if it had any elevation it still might be going. It hit the base of the wall so hard I thought it might go through the wall.

 

[Bethlehemjohn]

You are correct, it should take one at bat. I'm just giving my observation with what happens. I played 16 years of very competitive fast pitch and have now coached it for 12 years. Girls are just different in every way from boys. Not nearly as confident or aggressive. They don't have that really competitive spirit or the drive to just massacre someone. They do not do well with tough love. If you get a girl who is a real gamer, she is almost always the best player because most aren't like that.

My daughter is now a Freshman in high school and she should play in college, it's just a question of what level she is playing at. We've been to Pitt's camp twice and Holly runs a great camp. It's the best one we've been to and we've been to a few now and will likely continue to go to many more.