College Softball

ALABAMA’S FENTON COLLEGE SOFTBALL STOLEN BASE RECORD-HOLDER

admin — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 05:20:42 +0000

On Friday night on her home field in Tuscaloosa, Alabama’s Jennifer Fenton set the NCAA record for consecutive successful stolen bases. Fenton stole her 73rd and 74th bases in a row without being caught, in the third inning to eclipse the six-year record. We wrote earlier in this blog how impressed we are with Fenton and she and her team have not disappointed. The Crimson Tide are currently ranked number two in the nation at 36-1 and sit atop the Southeastern Conference with a 13-1 record. Alabama trails only number one California (33-1) in the polls. Florida, Texas and Arizona State round out the top five.

MLB OPENING DAY

admin — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 04:38:43 +0000

My passion is softball but there is nothing better than major league baseball opening day. One thing I have learned over the years of coaching softball and watching baseball is that no matter how many games you are involved with, there is always the chance of something happening that you have never seen before. Today was no exception. My Cleveland Indians led Toronto 4-1 going to the top of the ninth inning when tribe closer Chris Perez allowed three runs and in the process blew the save for starter Justin Masterson who pitched a “masterful” eight innings allowing only two hits and striking out ten. Consequently, a game that appeared over in regulation turned into a 16-inning marathon that set the record for the longest opening day game in baseball history. These are the things that make softball and baseball so intriguing. A relief pitcher who sat for eight innings watching his offense, defense & starting pitching play an almost perfect game and then single-handedly wipe out all the good that his team had done prior to his entry into the game. Sports is unforgiving, but as an athlete you have to have a short memory and just look forward to the next game.

It was a bad day for closers in general. American League Cy Young winner Justin Verlander threw eight shutout innings for Detroit and left the game leading the Red Sox 2-0. Tigers closer Juan Valverde proceeded to allow two runs in the ninth. Although Detroit won it in the bottom of the ninth, it deprived Verlander of the win he very much deserved.

Cubs starter Ryan Dempster was four outs away from a win vs. Washington when veteran Kerry Wood relieved him in the eighth with a runner on and two outs and immediately walked three batters in a row, forcing in the tying run. Chicago closer Carlos Marmol then allowed the winning run in the ninth and the Nats won the opener 2-1.

Pitching, pitching, pitching. You can never have enough of it. In softball, having more than one ace on your team is a luxury that can take you a long way. Without two, it makes it very difficult to go all the way. I speak from experience. More on that in the future.

COLLEGE SOFTBALL RECRUITING NEWS, SCORES & ANALYSIS

admin — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 05:19:01 +0000

Collegesoftball.com, the leader in everything softball related offers a regular blog (Coach Sal’s Blog) on it’s website www.collegesoftball.com. The blog offers insightful high school and college recruiting information and coaching perspectives from an insider’s point of view. It also includes scores and analysis from Division One, Division Two and NAIA college softball games. Coach Sal also delivers his opinions and observations on several other college and professional sports. This is a must-read for all softball and sports fans in general.

Alabama-Mississippi College Softball

admin — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 07:34:15 +0000

Just finished watching number two ranked Alabama host Mississippi. After building a 9-2 lead early and on the verge of a 5-inning mercy rule win, the Crimson Tide saw Ole Miss rally for five runs before holding on to win 10-7. Alabama is now 24-0 and trails only number one California in the polls. My first impression of coach Patrick Murphy’s team is that they have an excellent balance of power and speed offensively and a number one stud in the circle in Jackie Traina. Traina is only a sophomore. Jackie did not appear in today’s game but is 14-0 with 1.06 ERA. She has struck out 114 batters in 79 innings and quickly heading towards being included in the national player of the year watch. Alabama has ten players batting over .350. The player I was most impressed with is outfielder Jennifer Fenton. She is a small framed lefty who looks like a slapper and definitely possesses that type of speed, but is a natural left handed hitter who also has plenty of power as her opposite field home run today exemplified. Fenton is also 14 for 14 in stolen base attempts. Despite this all being said, Alabama will be challenged by several Southeastern Conference foes including Florida, Tennessee and Georgia. The SEC and Pac-10 appear to be the strongest conferences in Division One College Softball again this season. It will be interesting to watch how long Alabama can remain undefeated and challenge Cal for that number one ranking. My guess is that the strength of the conference will catch up with the Tide shortly. But that doesn’t mean that they will not be a National Championship contender come May.

Playing number one and wondering if Kobe still is

admin — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 18:42:01 +0000

Our Glendale College softball team opens the conference season today against College of the Canyons who are currently the number one ranked team in California. Glendale is ranked tenth in the South region of the state and feel we match up pretty well. At yesterday’s practice I communicated to our players something I call E. F. T. It stands for “energy,” “focus,” and “toughness.” Being number one and 15-0, I expect Canyons to come in highly-motivated. We must match their “energy” early in the game and sustain it throughout. ”Focus” is always extremely important, but especially in a game where one error or mental miscue could be the deciding factor in the game. “Toughness in this case speaks to mental toughness. No matter how well you play against a good team, you can always expect to face some adversity that you will need to overcome. Whether it be falling behind early or being frustrated by some great defensive plays that your opponent makes. It’s at those times in the game when you have to be mentally tough and believe that whatever your opponent throws at you, you can overcome it. Should be a very exciting college softball game.

As a longtime, die-hard Los Angeles Lakers fan, I find it very frustrating how this current season continues to play out. Especially after watching them give away games in embarrassing fashion the last two nights to teams with far less talent. I believe that Kobe Bryant is one if not the greatest player of all times and I have consistently been a Kobe defender and apologist up until now. But what I have seen recently is not only troubling, but defies logic. The one huge advantage the Lakers have over most opponents is their size advantage inside with Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. When they utilize this advantage, the Lakers have been very successful in building leads in games as they did the last two nights. In both cases, their opponents made a little run as always seems to be the case in the NBA. But inexplicably, instead of continuing what is working and achieved the lead to begin with, Kobe takes it upon himself to jack up ill–advised, unbelievable degree of difficulty shots, that ultimately lead to defeat. Bryant took 31 shots last night, making only nine, while Bynum and Gasol had just 19 shots between them that still produced 38 points. I am having a hard time believing that Kobe is unable to see the correlation between his overly-aggressive offensive approach (to put it mildly) and when things go bad for his team. It is even more frustrating to read today that some believe Coach Mike Brown’s system is the problem when clearly Kobe is not only not following any system but appears to be defying the one out-lined by his coach. I believe the time has come for Coach Brown to speak out and pull the reigns in and stop enabling Kobe with the star treatment he is accustomed to. It’s the only hope to salvage this season. If winning championships is truly the most important thing to you, as you preach, wake up Kobe!

admin — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 06:44:51 +0000

Welcome to Collegesoftball.com. We are very excited to be launching our recruiting service and new site. Although our number one goal is to assist softball players through the recruiting process and ultimately help them achieve a scholarship, we also promise to be the premiere source for anything and everything softball related. I have coached softball at all levels for many years and currently coach and recruit at the college level and also lead a top flight travel ball organization. Our experience and contacts across the country position us to guide players through the process and to the school that is the best fit.

My intentions for this blog going forward are to inform, share educated opinions and entertain. Because softball is our expertise, it will be heavily geared in that direction. But being a huge fan of all sports we will also comment and offer food for thought in other areas of the sporting world as well. We hope you will come along for the ride and I also welcome your comments and input.

Profile Sheet

admin — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 02:46:29 +0000

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Softball Parents

admin — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 02:41:32 +0000

Parents

The term “softball mom (or dad)” is one that most everyone that has been involved in the sport for any length of time has heard. This moniker can both be used in an endearing or negative connotation. The supportive parent who always has their child where they need to be, to play their games or practices regardless of work or inconvenient times, can accept this description proudly. Unfortunately, there is another definition that isn’t so positive or productive. It’s the parent who meddles in everything. The one who is always in the coach’s ear, complaining about playing time, what position their child should be playing and just how great a player in general their kid is.

At a Showcase, the very last thing a coach wants to endure is a parent talking up their offspring as if she is the clone of Jennie Finch or Crystal Bustos. Parents, for your daughter’s sake, please refrain from this! As a parent you can certainly ask any questions regarding that coach’s particular school. Limit any conversation to that and expressing appreciation for their time. I am aware of several situations where a player that had great interest from a particular school was immediately taken off their recruit list after conversations with parents. So much of what coaches judge their evaluations on are first impressions. Make yours as uneventful as possible.