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2023 Texas Softball - Back to WCWS


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Professional response by Mike White - the way coaches at The University of Texas are supposed to respond.

The fact that he trusted Citlaly to get to game 3 bodes well for the future.  

 

FROM HEAD COACH MIKE WHITE

"First off, congratulations to the University of Tennessee for making it to the Women's College World Series for the first time in a little bit. It was a classy act out here all weekend. The fans were really good and conducted themselves in a good manner, which is something I believe needs to happen more around our sport because some places are getting a little rough to play especially for the student-athletes. The field was good; the umpires did a good job; everyone who helped run this weekend's action, it was very well ran. 

To my team, it's always tough to finish the year out, especially when we let ourselves down a little bit there with five errors and nine runs allowed. That's just a tough way to finish it, especially after how well Citlaly (Gutierrez) threw for us. You just aren't going to win too many games with only two hits. We have a lot of work to do, but I feel confident and proud of our team. We have a really good group of young women and we have a lot to build on and this season was just a start for us."

FROM FRESHMAN CITLALY GUTIERREZ

"We have to use this weekend as motivation for next season and just keep on building on what we have. We have a lot of young talent, so I think over the coming years, we are going to have something special."

https://texassports.com/news/2023/5/27/no-8-8-softball-sees-season-end-in-super-regional.aspx

“(Gottshall) spins it well, there’s not too much thrown across the plate,” White said. “I’m disappointed in our hitters. We’re better than that. It was just not our day.”

The major miscue happened with the bases loaded. Guilia Koutsoyanopulos singled to right. The ball rolled past right fielder Ashton Maloney all the way to the wall. And an error on the relay throw allowed Koutsoyanopulos to score.

“I’m not sure what went right in that inning,” White said. “We couldn’t make a play. There were players hanging their heads. You can never give up. We have a lot to talk about (in season-ending meetings). I never ever want to see the happen again.”

Everything White will evaluate will come within the context of a young team earning its stripes.

“We can use what just happened as motivation for the offseason,” White said. “We were right there at the end of last year. We had a big turnover in leadership. I believe that everything happens for a reason. This will turn out to be a great learning experience for us. There are positives to take away from this.”

https://www.statesman.com/story/sports/college/longhorns/softball/2023/05/27/texas-softball-loses-to-tennessee-as-its-season-ends-in-knoxville/70263961007/

 

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I'm disappointed we missed the WCWS, but all in all it was a pretty good season.  We have some young talent and should get better.

As far as new talent, hopefully Kavan can be the "ace" that MW describes her as.  SS was supposed to be that I suppose, but she really has not developed the way we hoped she would.  The lack of an ace and power bats are big holes in this roster that have to be addressed if we want to be a top 5 program.

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17 hours ago, FloridaHorn said:

Not real sure what happened to this team in Knoxville. They looked like the group that showed up in Clearwater last year. Most of th appeared uninterested.

I don't know about this team bring uninterested. They smoked the regional in Austin. This team is really young, they just didn't seem ready for the moment on the road in Knoxville more than anything. 
 

Quote

of course…the baseball team can only dream about getting to a Super.

Right...because the baseball team hasn't been to Omaha recently...

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8 hours ago, TexasIsBetter said:

I don't know about this team bring uninterested. They smoked the regional in Austin. This team is really young, they just didn't seem ready for the moment on the road in Knoxville more than anything. 
 

Right...because the baseball team hasn't been to Omaha recently...

After I posted this, Coach White basically said the same thing, that girls quit fighting. This was not even remotely close to the same fire and intensity they played with in Austin.

 

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They were the #4 team with an All American pitcher. We can't expect to have an amazing Cinderella run every year. We went 11-7 in conference play...we are who we thought we were.

A stable of good pitchers but none at Cat/Luna level. No .400 hitters. Young talent to build on at least.

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And, if i remember correctly, Haley Dolcini really came on strong during the last half of the season, and especially during the playoffs.   She was as dominant as any pitcher in the playoffs last year.   We didn't have that this year.   

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12 minutes ago, orangeut said:

And, if i remember correctly, Haley Dolcini really came on strong during the last half of the season, and especially during the playoffs.   She was as dominant as any pitcher in the playoffs last year.   We didn't have that this year.   

True but I wouldn't say that's all that surprising. 

The top 3 pitchers on the roster were FR, So, So. It was a talented but very young roster that needed a good draw in the Supers. 

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AAS article.   MW comments on the future.

Excertpts:

Texas loses just one player — reserve outfielder Lou Gilbert — to graduation and will welcome back nine underclassmen

Two freshmen should make a push for immediate playing time, based on their skill set and position. Kayden Henry is a consensus top 10 national player who can play in the outfield or infield. She batted .616 and had 32 stolen bases this past season for Dickinson, a Class 6A school south of Houston. She also stars in track and field for her high school, and White says her athleticism reminds him of Jefferson or Scott.

"Kayden is an electric player,” he said. “She is truly dynamic on the field and will thrill Texas fans with her plays both offensively and defensively."

Pitcher Teagan Kavan also could find an immediate niche on the pitching staff. All four Texas pitchers this season — Morgan, Gutierrez, Sophia Simpson and Estelle Czech — recorded an ERA of under 3.00, but the staff averaged only .79 strikeouts per inning. White would like a true strikeout pitcher to add some options to his staff, and Kavan fits that description.

A 6-foot right-hander from Iowa, Kavan did not play high school ball but thrived at the elite club level, where she averaged almost two strikeouts an inning in her career.

"Teagan is a future ace for this program with her excellent movement, speed and change of pace from the circle,” White said. “She has that rare combination of possessing all the necessary pitches in her arsenal to combat hitters at this level."

Texas softball coach Mike White: Future looks bright for Longhorns (statesman.com)

 

Edited by torre
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12 minutes ago, torre said:

Texas loses just one player — reserve outfielder Lou Gilbert — to graduation and will welcome back nine underclassmen

I mean, technically, but I think Alyssa Popelka is done with ball.  She posted prior to regionals "one last time at McCombs"

She graduated.  May be ready to proceed with real life. 

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Did MW recruit Destiny Rodriquez, from Tenn., who is from the San Antonio area?

  • Rated by Extra Inning Softball as the No. 12 catcher and No. 28 overall prospect for the class of 2022
  • Hit .682 with 13 home runs her junior season in 2021, collecting Second Team All-State and First Team All-District honors
  • Helped lead the Judson HS Rockets to the Texas 6A State Finals, earning first team All-Tournament honors
  • Had 11 home runs in 16 games before her sophomore season was cut short due to COVID-19
  • Earned Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-District honors as a freshman in 2019
  • Played travel ball for Texas Bombers Gold and earned a runner-up finish with the club at the 2021 Tier 1 Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series 
  • Helped Texas Bombers to a Texas Fastpitch League title in the fall of 2021.
Edited by Cairn Horn88
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We really need Kavan to be that swing and miss pitcher that we lack.  Hopefully she pans out.  Not shocking she opted out of HS softball in Iowa.  Lulz.  

Now we just need a great big fat woman to hit bombs.  Skinny chicks are fine too.  But we need some slugging.  

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57 minutes ago, bschoolprof said:

We really need Kavan to be that swing and miss pitcher that we lack.  Hopefully she pans out.  Not shocking she opted out of HS softball in Iowa.  Lulz.  

Now we just need a great big fat woman to hit bombs.  Skinny chicks are fine too.  But we need some slugging.  

That job was supposed to be filled by Jordyn Whitaker, but it doesn’t seem like she’ll pan out despite having great potential. If she doesn’t transfer, hopefully she’ll spend a lot of time in the offseason working on her plate approach 

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8 minutes ago, perfectchaos007 said:

That job was supposed to be filled by Jordyn Whitaker, but it doesn’t seem like she’ll pan out despite having great potential. If she doesn’t transfer, hopefully she’ll spend a lot of time in the offseason working on her plate approach 

And her mental health 

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1 hour ago, perfectchaos007 said:

That job was supposed to be filled by Jordyn Whitaker, but it doesn’t seem like she’ll pan out despite having great potential. If she doesn’t transfer, hopefully she’ll spend a lot of time in the offseason working on her plate approach 

Yeah - I feel bad for her, but I don't think she can handle high level D1 pitching.  Not many can.  

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2 hours ago, Cairn Horn88 said:

Well, I have seen the Stanford pitcher throwing pitches of 73 and 75 mph.  Never seen a college softball pitcher throw that fast.  Lots of strikes.  Unbelievable.

Tree only held OU to 2 runs. Of course they scored zero, so they’re a loss aaay from going home 

OU-Tenn is interesting 

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9 hours ago, Cairn Horn88 said:

FSU over Okie 8-0 in 6 innings....ending at 11:25p

Utah vs Wash pushed back to Fri at 1;00

What a shame for the Pokes 😜 

OU-Tenn and FSU-Utah/UW winner tomorrow. Loser of the PAC12 showdown has to play twice today 

Bama and Tree at 6

Ok State and PAC12 loser at 8:30

Two teams go home today 

 

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Good Luck today to Tennessee players Zaida Puni and Mackenzie Donihoo (OU transfers) vs their former teammates and the coach that recruited over them.

May they keep their emotions in check for an outstanding performance and Tennessee victory.

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21 minutes ago, Cairn Horn88 said:

Tenn starting freshman pitcher against OU….throwing 75-76 mph….gzzzzz.  We need some of these flamethrowers.

Control could be an issue…..a little wild.

She had great control of that 2-2 pitch the ump blindly missed. Would love to see that overly demonstrative OU diva who then was gifted a walk have a title-losing error. 

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I saw the ESPN stat stating OU's BA is .214 vs pitchers throwing 70+.    But just can't understand Weekly's reason in starting a freshman in this critical game.   In her last outing vs Indiana  gave up 3 runs on 3 hits in 2 inn.

FML ! and OU !

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3 minutes ago, torre said:

I saw the ESPN stat stating OU's BA is .214 vs pitchers throwing 70+.    But just can't understand Weekly's reason in starting a freshman in this critical game.   In her last outing vs Indiana  gave up 3 runs on 3 hits in 2 inn.

FML ! and OU !

Yep…agree…don’t get starting her….not sure if Tenn can score enough to overcome.

 

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