WEBVTT - No Dumb Questions: College Softball with Rhiannon Potkey 0:00:00.560 --> 0:00:02.880 Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're celebrating 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:05.480 National Girls and Women in Sports Day by walking into 0:00:05.519 --> 0:00:09.000 our neighborhood sports bar and asking every bro we encounter 0:00:09.080 --> 0:00:11.399 a women's sports question we know they can answer. 0:00:11.960 --> 0:00:14.360 Feels good to flip the script every once in a while. 0:00:14.760 --> 0:00:17.239 It's Wednesday, February fifth, and on today's show, we'll be 0:00:17.320 --> 0:00:20.000 nixing the Need to Know and bringing you No Dumb 0:00:20.079 --> 0:00:24.640 Questions Softball Edition with journalist, reporter, and editor Rhiannon Potke 0:00:24.960 --> 0:00:27.840 ahead of the twenty twenty five college softball season, which 0:00:27.880 --> 0:00:30.840 begins tomorrow. We talked about what makes the sports so unique, 0:00:30.840 --> 0:00:35.240 perennial powerhouse programs, and of course the stars, stakes, stats 0:00:35.240 --> 0:00:36.519 and stories that you need to know. 0:00:37.000 --> 0:00:54.360 That chat's coming up right after this joining us now. 0:00:54.400 --> 0:00:57.040 She's a journalist for multiple outlets, including d one sooftball 0:00:57.080 --> 0:01:00.000 dot com, the leading source for college softball coverage and scores. 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:02.840 She's the founder of Goods for Greatness, and nonprofit that 0:01:02.880 --> 0:01:05.800 provides sports equipment to low income children across the country, 0:01:05.840 --> 0:01:07.120 and she's one of those. 0:01:06.959 --> 0:01:11.520 Mourning people you hear about. It's Rhiannon pot Key. What's up, Rhannon, Hey, Sarah? 0:01:11.520 --> 0:01:13.000 How are you doing. Thanks for having me on. 0:01:13.319 --> 0:01:14.720 I mean, I'd like to think I'm doing better than 0:01:14.760 --> 0:01:16.320 you because I didn't wake up at four point thirty 0:01:16.360 --> 0:01:18.000 in the morning, But that's your thing. 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:20.679 So I am a morning person. It's you know, to 0:01:20.680 --> 0:01:22.520 be in this profession as a sports writer and be 0:01:22.560 --> 0:01:25.280 a morning person is probably the worst possible thing in life. 0:01:25.400 --> 0:01:28.440 But I just can't. I mean, if I'm sleeping until six, 0:01:28.520 --> 0:01:30.480 then that's a long long sleep. 0:01:30.240 --> 0:01:31.400 In for me, which is crazy. 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:32.480 But it's no thank you. 0:01:33.200 --> 0:01:35.919 My genetics is blame my parents. I'm blaming my parents 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:36.160 for that. 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:39.320 Well, thanks for taking the time to join us and 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:42.679 tackling the very worthy task of answering all of our 0:01:42.800 --> 0:01:46.120 very not dumb questions about college softball in the upcoming season. 0:01:46.800 --> 0:01:48.640 We probably have some listeners that watch a lot of 0:01:48.640 --> 0:01:51.640 college softball, even more likely some that just catch up 0:01:51.680 --> 0:01:54.360 on the World Series, and maybe some that are new 0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:56.680 to it. So let's make sure everyone who's curious about 0:01:56.680 --> 0:01:58.760 softball earns what they need to know to dive in, 0:01:59.120 --> 0:02:00.400 even if it's for the first time. 0:02:00.760 --> 0:02:03.800 So this is college softball, no dumb questions. 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:08.680 Addition, historically, what are some of the top programs in 0:02:08.720 --> 0:02:11.360 the women's softball world maybe of all time and then 0:02:11.360 --> 0:02:12.720 maybe just for the last couple of years. 0:02:12.960 --> 0:02:14.720 Yeah, of all time. You got to go back to 0:02:14.800 --> 0:02:17.600 UCLA and Arizona. They used to you know, go back 0:02:17.639 --> 0:02:20.280 and forth. Huge rivals. Still I don't know if they 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:22.960 will still be rivals given the changes in conference re alignment, 0:02:23.200 --> 0:02:26.160 but those two historically were, you know, always winning the titles. 0:02:26.400 --> 0:02:29.799 More recently we've seen a little variety. But last four 0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:32.240 years and six of the last eight, Oklahoma has become 0:02:32.280 --> 0:02:34.960 the dominant program. But there is a lot more variety 0:02:34.960 --> 0:02:36.799 than there used to be. We had Florida State win titles. 0:02:36.800 --> 0:02:40.080 We've had the SEC build up programs like Alabama and Tennessee, 0:02:40.280 --> 0:02:43.080 and so there's a lot of legacy programs. But I 0:02:43.120 --> 0:02:46.440 think everyone knows that Oklahoma is kind of the big 0:02:46.480 --> 0:02:48.720 program now, but in the heyday it was Ucla. 0:02:48.400 --> 0:02:50.520 Arizona that we're kind of winning most of the titles. 0:02:50.760 --> 0:02:52.560 Why do you love college softball so much? 0:02:53.080 --> 0:02:55.520 I love it because there's just it's softball, such a 0:02:55.560 --> 0:02:58.440 faster paced game, and then baseball. For me, the innings 0:02:58.440 --> 0:03:00.800 are quicker, there's more variety. I mean, you get some slapping, 0:03:00.800 --> 0:03:02.200 you get some home runs, you get a lot of 0:03:02.280 --> 0:03:05.400 variety with that. The teams are very they have fun stories. 0:03:05.400 --> 0:03:07.000 There's a lot of cheering in the dugout, which you 0:03:07.000 --> 0:03:09.240 don't get much of baseball. I mean I can be 0:03:09.520 --> 0:03:12.160 honestly like in my maybe run an air and go 0:03:12.160 --> 0:03:13.640 to the kitchen and have a game on and know 0:03:13.680 --> 0:03:15.639 who's playing just because of the cheers I hear from 0:03:15.639 --> 0:03:17.880 the dugout, because every school is kind of distinctive and 0:03:17.919 --> 0:03:20.800 they all have their own separate cheers. It's just, you know, 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:23.000 and like a lot of women's sports, the players and 0:03:23.040 --> 0:03:25.160 the coaches that are a lot more approachable and they 0:03:25.160 --> 0:03:26.680 seem more down to earth a little bit, and they're 0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:29.080 willing to kind of like want media attention and share 0:03:29.120 --> 0:03:31.760 their stories. And it's just fun. I mean, I think 0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:33.560 the main word. Whenever I go to a game, I 0:03:33.560 --> 0:03:35.040 feel like it's a lot of fun and a lot 0:03:35.040 --> 0:03:35.440 of action. 0:03:36.480 --> 0:03:38.120 How were you first introduced to softball? 0:03:38.480 --> 0:03:39.640 I grew up playing softball. 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:41.360 I mean I started in Little league baseball and then 0:03:41.360 --> 0:03:43.960 I eventually like, everyone's like, you're a girl, go to softball, 0:03:44.080 --> 0:03:46.320 So I did. I grew up playing it for about 0:03:46.400 --> 0:03:49.680 twelve thirteen years. So I grew up in southern California 0:03:49.720 --> 0:03:52.560 playing it pretty high level travel, so that kind of. 0:03:52.480 --> 0:03:53.120 Got me addicted. 0:03:53.120 --> 0:03:54.760 And then I you know, I was always watching softball 0:03:54.760 --> 0:03:56.760 whenever I could, although back in the day that wasn't 0:03:56.800 --> 0:03:59.360 you know, as accessible, but go into games and stuff, 0:03:59.400 --> 0:04:00.880 so it's always been in my blood. 0:04:00.920 --> 0:04:04.600 I guess, Yeah, what important thing should fans know about 0:04:04.640 --> 0:04:06.840 what went down last season in college softball? 0:04:07.080 --> 0:04:08.960 Yeah, well as we kind of, I said, Oklahoma when 0:04:09.000 --> 0:04:11.600 it's fourth straight national title with one of the best 0:04:11.600 --> 0:04:13.480 senior classes in the history of the sport. They won 0:04:13.560 --> 0:04:15.840 a title every year, you really can't do better than that. 0:04:16.080 --> 0:04:19.680 It's pretty pretty amazing, you know. Last year OU Texas, 0:04:19.680 --> 0:04:23.400 Oklahoma State, UCLA, Stanford, Florida, Alabama, and Duke all made 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:24.799 the women's College World Series. 0:04:25.000 --> 0:04:26.600 Duke was kind of a cool story. Is the first 0:04:26.640 --> 0:04:27.800 time in the history of the program. 0:04:28.040 --> 0:04:30.520 The program started in twenty eighteen, and it's a fast 0:04:30.600 --> 0:04:33.000 rise underhead coach Mercy Young, And it was a littally 0:04:33.000 --> 0:04:35.600 even more compelling because her husband the previous year had 0:04:35.600 --> 0:04:37.640 suffered a major heart attack that caused a lot of 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:40.719 serious health issues and he wasn't there to see it 0:04:40.760 --> 0:04:43.080 that year, and like so they almost made it the 0:04:43.120 --> 0:04:44.880 year before, but if they had, he would have been 0:04:44.880 --> 0:04:46.440 having that heart attack at that time. So it was 0:04:46.440 --> 0:04:48.840 almost kind of like this, you know, but they made 0:04:48.880 --> 0:04:50.320 it back this into last year and that was a 0:04:50.360 --> 0:04:52.279 really cool, cool breakthrough for that program. 0:04:52.360 --> 0:04:53.360 So that was fun to watch. 0:04:53.839 --> 0:04:56.680 Let's get into things that might be unexpected. Are there 0:04:56.680 --> 0:04:59.960 any major rule differences, conference re alignments changes that we 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:01.200 should be aware of heading. 0:05:00.920 --> 0:05:03.680 In We talk about Oklahoma, Well, the SEC is adding 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:07.320 Oklahoma and Texas, and the SEC already gets in pretty 0:05:07.360 --> 0:05:10.000 much every single team to the tournament every year, maybe 0:05:10.040 --> 0:05:13.120 just one misses. So you add those two juggernaut programs 0:05:13.120 --> 0:05:15.279 and that conference is going to be crazy good. 0:05:16.279 --> 0:05:17.560 And then you got the other moves. 0:05:17.640 --> 0:05:21.160 Sadly, the PAC twelve was a softball juggernaut, and you know, 0:05:21.160 --> 0:05:23.240 we're still mourning the loss of the PAC twelve. I 0:05:23.279 --> 0:05:25.520 know it's kind of going to be back in name only, 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:28.440 so Big ten adding UCLA and some of those road 0:05:28.440 --> 0:05:31.279 trips in Washington and Oregon, and the Big twelve with 0:05:31.400 --> 0:05:34.000 Arizona Arizona State, and then you get calan Stan from 0:05:34.000 --> 0:05:35.760 the ACC. So it's going to be interesting to see 0:05:35.760 --> 0:05:37.560 some of those different matchups you don't see although in 0:05:37.640 --> 0:05:40.480 softball you get a lot more teams playing each other 0:05:40.520 --> 0:05:43.120 because the amount of games you got, like sixty seventy 0:05:43.120 --> 0:05:46.159 games some teams play, so you do see more interconference 0:05:46.240 --> 0:05:48.960 map I mean, like you know, cross conference matchups more often. 0:05:49.040 --> 0:05:51.080 But it'll be cool to see three game series like that. 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:54.320 Yeah, Okay, let's get into my patented four s's the 0:05:54.400 --> 0:05:57.680 stars stake stats and stories. Who are a couple players 0:05:57.760 --> 0:06:00.440 our listeners can follow on social maybe expect see in 0:06:00.480 --> 0:06:01.880 a lot of highlight clips and at the top of 0:06:01.920 --> 0:06:02.400 the stats. 0:06:02.640 --> 0:06:05.000 Yeah, let's start with probably the best pitcher in the game, 0:06:05.200 --> 0:06:08.480 Najerie Kennedy Naja Candy for some people that know her well. 0:06:09.120 --> 0:06:11.480 She transferred to Texas Tech from Stanford, which was a 0:06:11.560 --> 0:06:14.480 huge story because she signed an nil deal that was 0:06:14.800 --> 0:06:16.799 reportedly to be about a million for softball. 0:06:16.839 --> 0:06:17.359 That's huge. 0:06:17.640 --> 0:06:19.560 So that was a huge move in the offseason. So 0:06:19.600 --> 0:06:21.560 she's what you got to start with. You have a 0:06:21.600 --> 0:06:24.159 picture at Tennessee named Carlin Pickens, who. 0:06:23.960 --> 0:06:25.160 Was a really, really good pitcher. 0:06:25.640 --> 0:06:29.039 She's wanted to watch Jordi ball from Nebraska. I'm sure 0:06:29.120 --> 0:06:31.719 some people if they tuned into Oklahoma a few years ago, 0:06:31.760 --> 0:06:34.279 she was helping lead them to the title. She transferred 0:06:34.279 --> 0:06:36.800 to Nebraska and then tore her ACL about three or 0:06:36.800 --> 0:06:39.120 four games into the season. So she's going to be 0:06:39.160 --> 0:06:41.159 back for Nebraska this season, but kind of the first 0:06:41.200 --> 0:06:44.600 time we've seen her there. Catcher Reese Atwood for Florida 0:06:44.600 --> 0:06:46.599 had a breakout season last year and she's back. And 0:06:46.640 --> 0:06:49.800 then one at Florida catcher Jocelyn Ericson, she had a 0:06:49.800 --> 0:06:51.919 great season SEC Player of the Year last year and 0:06:51.920 --> 0:06:52.920 she's one to watch too. 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:56.120 And who are some dark horse teams? 0:06:56.160 --> 0:06:58.560 Are there any that maybe could be, you know, making 0:06:58.560 --> 0:07:00.000 a run in trying to steal a top spot. 0:07:01.640 --> 0:07:03.640 It's interesting because there's a lot of quality mid major 0:07:03.680 --> 0:07:05.760 programs in softball. I think if I was to say 0:07:05.760 --> 0:07:07.760 a dark horse, which is not really I mean with 0:07:07.839 --> 0:07:09.520 Jordi Ball and the team, but I think Nebraska is 0:07:09.560 --> 0:07:11.760 going to be one to watch just because they've got 0:07:11.760 --> 0:07:13.800 a lot of transfers in and they have Jordi Ball back, 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:15.520 so that could be one that can make a World 0:07:15.520 --> 0:07:16.040 Series run. 0:07:16.040 --> 0:07:17.560 That's kind of a dark horse sleeper to get to 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:18.320 the World Series. 0:07:18.760 --> 0:07:20.520 Cool. Okay, let's talk stakes. 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:23.680 How important is every game in a college softball season, 0:07:23.760 --> 0:07:25.520 Like when it comes to making the tournament or being 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:27.640 a good team. Is it a big deal if you 0:07:27.720 --> 0:07:29.960 lose a game or how many are there? 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:32.280 Yeah, not every game is as important as it would 0:07:32.280 --> 0:07:35.360 be for like college football or college basketball, because there 0:07:35.400 --> 0:07:37.240 are more, Like I said, there's more than fifty games 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:39.600 in a season, So you have some midway call mid 0:07:39.640 --> 0:07:41.800 weeks where you'll throw out some pitchers who maybe aren't 0:07:41.960 --> 0:07:44.600 on weekend starters, and some teams can trip up there 0:07:44.600 --> 0:07:46.000 and lose some of those games. 0:07:46.400 --> 0:07:48.120 So there's not as much worry about that. 0:07:48.160 --> 0:07:50.040 It's really conference play where you know you have the 0:07:50.080 --> 0:07:52.960 three game series each weekend, So most coaches would be 0:07:53.000 --> 0:07:54.800 satisfied to win two of those games and win the 0:07:54.840 --> 0:07:55.680 series each weekend. 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:57.400 Obviously they love to sweep. 0:07:57.440 --> 0:07:59.400 But it's really kind of just about who you beat 0:07:59.440 --> 0:08:01.360 and when you beat them, and usually most of these 0:08:01.400 --> 0:08:03.840 major conferences you get plenty of chances. I think for 0:08:03.920 --> 0:08:06.200 the mid majors it's really important they take advantage of 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:08.720 the opportunities against the bigger opponents for the RPI's sake. 0:08:09.080 --> 0:08:11.520 So maybe some games matter more to them than some 0:08:11.560 --> 0:08:14.720 of the conference games. But yeah, it's not quite as 0:08:14.760 --> 0:08:16.760 important as it would be in like football, where you 0:08:16.800 --> 0:08:19.080 only get you know, fourteen chances. This is you know, 0:08:19.120 --> 0:08:21.840 one chance each week. So college has a college offer's 0:08:21.880 --> 0:08:22.600 got a lot of games. 0:08:23.200 --> 0:08:26.080 Explain to us the RPI, Well. 0:08:25.960 --> 0:08:29.640 It's ratings percentage index, which is very controversial in softball. 0:08:29.680 --> 0:08:31.760 Most people don't like it because it's you know, depending 0:08:31.840 --> 0:08:33.800 on who you play, where you play them. You know, 0:08:33.800 --> 0:08:35.440 if you play a team that has an IRPI, you 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:37.400 keep it. Even if you lose, you can jump in 0:08:37.440 --> 0:08:40.360 the RPI. So there's no perfect formula. As we said, 0:08:40.480 --> 0:08:42.640 almost all sports we see that, but that's the one 0:08:42.679 --> 0:08:44.640 that the tournament committee uses the most. 0:08:45.280 --> 0:08:47.679 So at the end of the season, it's about both 0:08:47.760 --> 0:08:51.360 your record and also the eye test or how a 0:08:51.440 --> 0:08:53.640 committee views you as a team, which is why you 0:08:53.679 --> 0:08:56.880 say it doesn't quite matter as much necessarily all the losses. 0:08:56.920 --> 0:08:58.760 It's more that you're beating the good teams and the 0:08:58.800 --> 0:09:01.040 teams that have a high RPI exactly. 0:09:01.160 --> 0:09:03.400 I mean, there's and it's kind of built in obviously 0:09:03.400 --> 0:09:05.360 with some of the strong conferences like the SEC. That's 0:09:05.440 --> 0:09:07.680 why a lot of their teams get in because they're 0:09:07.720 --> 0:09:09.880 playing every weekend teams that are very good. 0:09:09.760 --> 0:09:10.640 And high in the RPI. 0:09:11.160 --> 0:09:12.920 So it kind of you know that's kind of baked 0:09:12.960 --> 0:09:15.120 in and there is some eye test, but I think 0:09:15.160 --> 0:09:18.040 the committee as they usually just go straight RPI a 0:09:18.080 --> 0:09:20.000 lot more, and I think a lot of people don't 0:09:20.040 --> 0:09:22.040 really like that as much sometimes, but that's just kind 0:09:22.040 --> 0:09:23.520 of the way it is when you have this many 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:25.480 teams contending for spots in the tournament. 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:28.160 We got to take a quick break when we come back. 0:09:28.240 --> 0:09:42.839 More college softball with Briann and pot Key. Okay, let's 0:09:42.840 --> 0:09:45.560 talk stats. What's a great stat line for a hitter 0:09:45.640 --> 0:09:46.440 in the college game. 0:09:46.880 --> 0:09:48.400 I would say if you get two or more hits 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:49.760 in a game and a few runs or maybe a 0:09:49.800 --> 0:09:53.120 few RBIs you know. The hitting is in softballs, which 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:56.440 really gotten better these past few years. The offense has 0:09:56.440 --> 0:09:58.680 increased way more than it used to be when you 0:09:58.720 --> 0:10:00.640 pretty much every game was one zero, two to one, 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:02.720 one zero, two to one. So I think if you 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:04.559 get two or more hits driving a few runs, you know, 0:10:04.640 --> 0:10:06.000 that's a pretty solid stat line. 0:10:06.600 --> 0:10:07.360 What about a picture. 0:10:08.360 --> 0:10:10.319 I think now for a picture, limiting teams to two 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:12.800 runs or less, you know, maybe eight strikeouts or more 0:10:12.840 --> 0:10:16.040 and zero to one walks would be good. Like I said, 0:10:16.080 --> 0:10:18.480 the offense is really increased, so it's you can't The 0:10:18.520 --> 0:10:20.640 pitchers aren't going to be like shutouts every game like 0:10:20.679 --> 0:10:23.880 it used to be. And softball's kind of developed the 0:10:23.880 --> 0:10:27.079 baseball approach of by committee. That's been a really really 0:10:27.120 --> 0:10:29.440 new thing these last five years. There's no you'll still 0:10:29.480 --> 0:10:31.440 have your ass that go the distance, but they're doing 0:10:31.440 --> 0:10:33.160 a lot more mixing and matching than they've ever done 0:10:33.200 --> 0:10:35.480 in the sport. So that's a really really kind of 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:36.839 a new thing this sport, and I think it's made 0:10:36.840 --> 0:10:38.840 it fun. You even have some closers in softball which 0:10:38.840 --> 0:10:39.800 you never used to see. 0:10:40.280 --> 0:10:41.400 Why do you think that's happening? 0:10:42.320 --> 0:10:43.800 I think because the hitting is in it. 0:10:43.840 --> 0:10:45.760 The video has improved so much, and people have so 0:10:45.840 --> 0:10:49.200 much more stats and information on pitchers that you know 0:10:49.240 --> 0:10:50.640 you can be and you have you know, if you 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:52.520 have a bigger staff, you can throw a change of pace. 0:10:52.720 --> 0:10:54.600 And an interesting thing about softball is if you take 0:10:54.600 --> 0:10:56.640 a picture out, you can put them back in, so 0:10:56.920 --> 0:10:58.760 you don't like when you pull them, they don't have 0:10:58.800 --> 0:10:59.480 to sit the whole game. 0:10:59.520 --> 0:11:01.840 You can rein hurt them again. So sometimes you just 0:11:01.840 --> 0:11:03.920 do it for a particular hitter or like a part 0:11:03.920 --> 0:11:05.040 in the lineup or something. 0:11:05.120 --> 0:11:07.440 And I think it's just the more variety that the 0:11:07.440 --> 0:11:10.120 more pitches that people see from different arms, different angles, 0:11:10.120 --> 0:11:13.560 different spins, it really impacts the hitter. So coaches know 0:11:13.600 --> 0:11:14.600 that and now they're going with it. 0:11:15.120 --> 0:11:17.360 Are there any rules to how long a pitcher has 0:11:17.400 --> 0:11:19.080 to be in once they're inserted? Can they come in 0:11:19.120 --> 0:11:20.720 for just one batter and come back out? 0:11:21.120 --> 0:11:23.120 Yes they can't. Yeah, just one batter, come back out. 0:11:23.200 --> 0:11:24.679 Yeah, it's that's wild. 0:11:25.040 --> 0:11:27.479 So like if you just get torched by a particular 0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:30.200 hitter as a pitcher, you can just sub out and 0:11:30.240 --> 0:11:32.199 be like, I'm good, I don't really want to get 0:11:32.240 --> 0:11:34.400 rocked by that gal again. We'll send someone else into 0:11:34.440 --> 0:11:36.600 facer and I'll come back in possibly. 0:11:36.679 --> 0:11:38.880 Yeah, you can only come back in out limited times. 0:11:38.880 --> 0:11:41.200 Like you can't keep doing that every time that picture 0:11:41.280 --> 0:11:42.480 that the hitter comes up. 0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:45.000 But yeah, you conceivably do that. It's fun. It's kind 0:11:45.000 --> 0:11:46.480 of makes it a little bit more of a chess match, 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:47.840 you know. Yeah. 0:11:47.920 --> 0:11:51.000 It's interesting because we had Kat Osterman on the show 0:11:51.360 --> 0:11:55.480 to preview the ausl Athletes Unlimited Softball League, and she 0:11:55.559 --> 0:11:58.440 still holds a billion d records. Now obviously that's because 0:11:58.440 --> 0:12:01.840 she's unbelievable, but to your point, we're just also not 0:12:01.920 --> 0:12:05.320 seeing pictures go the distance as often and throw as 0:12:05.320 --> 0:12:05.800 many innings. 0:12:05.880 --> 0:12:07.240 Huh, yeah, exactly. 0:12:07.320 --> 0:12:09.640 There's there's you know, you used to have it pretty much. 0:12:09.640 --> 0:12:11.200 You threw you to start a picture and she would 0:12:11.200 --> 0:12:13.480 go the full seven if she was succeeding, or but 0:12:13.520 --> 0:12:15.559 nowadays only even pull play. They'll think, you know, hey, 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:17.640 let's rest her a little bit for the stretch run, 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:19.640 or we don't want to. So it is there's I 0:12:19.640 --> 0:12:21.560 think you're going to see a lot of different stats 0:12:21.600 --> 0:12:24.480 that maybe you know, and Monica Abbott and kat Austraman 0:12:24.600 --> 0:12:27.120 have tremendous like I don't think if you put people 0:12:27.200 --> 0:12:29.640 seven innings they would do this, But now I think 0:12:29.640 --> 0:12:31.120 it's not going to be quite as easy to do that. 0:12:31.200 --> 0:12:32.840 Or you're going to see different types of stats. So 0:12:33.280 --> 0:12:35.160 judging things for like awards and things have to be 0:12:35.240 --> 0:12:36.920 kind of, you know, a little different than they. 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:37.240 Used to be. 0:12:37.760 --> 0:12:40.360 Yeah, and a lot more strategy, feels like for coaches 0:12:40.400 --> 0:12:43.560 than as opposed to just like ride the ace. You've 0:12:43.600 --> 0:12:46.160 got a little bit more thinking about who faces who. 0:12:46.880 --> 0:12:48.560 I let's talk to stories. 0:12:48.200 --> 0:12:52.040 Any players, coaches, teams that have a particularly compelling story 0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:54.640 heading into the season, could be come back from ury, 0:12:54.800 --> 0:12:56.760 could be uh that they're close to break in a 0:12:56.800 --> 0:12:58.320 record or switch schools. 0:12:59.160 --> 0:13:01.080 Yeah, I think we just gus a few of them earlier. 0:13:01.080 --> 0:13:03.880 With Naja Kennedy going from Stanford to Texas Tech. That 0:13:04.000 --> 0:13:06.920 was the biggest story in the offseason. And they've got 0:13:06.920 --> 0:13:09.800 a new coach, Jerry Glasgow, who's he was at Louisiana 0:13:09.840 --> 0:13:12.200 and now he's there and he's all in. He's one 0:13:12.200 --> 0:13:13.880 that likes to get transfers in there and kind of 0:13:13.920 --> 0:13:16.719 quickly transform programs. So we'll see if they can, We'll 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:19.320 see how high they can go. And then, like I said, 0:13:19.360 --> 0:13:21.000 Jordy Ball coming back from injury is going to be 0:13:21.040 --> 0:13:22.959 one to watch. She's a great story, you know, giving 0:13:23.000 --> 0:13:26.240 her immense success, and she hits and pitches, so she's 0:13:26.280 --> 0:13:28.160 a huge dynamic add to that lineup. So I think 0:13:28.160 --> 0:13:30.000 those are the two ones that everyone's going to be 0:13:30.040 --> 0:13:32.800 looking at. I think, oh, you they're still top five program, 0:13:32.880 --> 0:13:35.240 but just see who can take that, you know, who 0:13:35.240 --> 0:13:37.920 can replace those stars and become the stars of the 0:13:37.960 --> 0:13:39.199 Sooners for the next generation. 0:13:40.080 --> 0:13:42.439 How rare is it in softball to pitch and hit? 0:13:44.400 --> 0:13:47.800 It's it's it's not as rare as it as it 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:49.240 used to be. I mean, you still I think a 0:13:49.240 --> 0:13:50.760 lot of kids they do it in high school, but 0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:52.280 for some reason, once they get to college, a lot 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:53.880 of coaches don't want to give them the pressure of 0:13:53.920 --> 0:13:54.400 doing both. 0:13:54.720 --> 0:13:56.360 But then there's some that love to do both. 0:13:56.600 --> 0:13:59.480 I've noticed the past few years and more are allowing 0:13:59.640 --> 0:14:01.679 them to, like some of the top aces two hit, 0:14:01.720 --> 0:14:04.480 which I think is great. Some love to so I 0:14:04.480 --> 0:14:07.240 think that's kind of an attraction for them. But I 0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:09.920 would say it's you know, it's like fifty to fifty. 0:14:09.920 --> 0:14:11.720 You get some that love love it, and it really 0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:13.560 depends on what kind of you know, what coach you 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:15.480 go to, and how they utilize pictures. 0:14:15.160 --> 0:14:16.760 And tough to do it at the highest level on 0:14:16.800 --> 0:14:18.040 both sides, I presume. 0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:20.200 Yes, exactly, it is hard. I mean you you know, 0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:22.040 if you can find one that can hit against the 0:14:22.080 --> 0:14:23.800 great stuff like well as they can throw it, you're 0:14:23.840 --> 0:14:25.920 definitely gonna do it. And it saves you a spot 0:14:25.920 --> 0:14:27.520 in the lineup too. You don't have to use the DP, 0:14:27.720 --> 0:14:29.880 so there's some strategy in it too to keep that, 0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:31.720 you know, the picture in the lineup without having. 0:14:31.520 --> 0:14:32.440 To put in another player. 0:14:32.960 --> 0:14:35.200 Tell us about the DP designated player. 0:14:35.320 --> 0:14:36.040 Yeah, well you can. 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:38.320 That's a spot where you can insert someone in the lineup. 0:14:38.360 --> 0:14:39.880 If you have like a week hitter who's a good 0:14:39.880 --> 0:14:42.080 defender or something, you can put a DP in there. 0:14:42.080 --> 0:14:44.200 And like I said, most times that could be for 0:14:44.280 --> 0:14:46.480 the picture because the pictures. But if you have a 0:14:46.480 --> 0:14:48.600 great picture who can hit, then you can. That's a 0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:51.000 strategy where you can utilize someone else who's a weaker 0:14:51.040 --> 0:14:52.640 hitter and put them in the field somewhere it's a 0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:55.320 great defender and then have someone come in and you know, 0:14:55.400 --> 0:14:56.360 hit the crap out of the ball. 0:14:56.600 --> 0:14:59.120 So let's start with the stars, starting with the favorite 0:14:59.160 --> 0:15:01.320 teams to win it all. It sounds like Oklahoma's going 0:15:01.360 --> 0:15:03.240 to be the favorite again right running four straight. 0:15:03.680 --> 0:15:05.800 Actually, Oklahoma will be up there, but I think the 0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:08.080 favorites to win it all are probably mostly Florida and 0:15:08.120 --> 0:15:09.800 Texas are the two that you're seeing a lot of 0:15:10.680 --> 0:15:13.120 because Oklahoma lost so many players from last year. I 0:15:13.120 --> 0:15:15.320 think people still realize they're going to be up there 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:17.680 and contending. But I think Florida and Texas will be 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:19.160 ones that maybe you have at the top of the 0:15:19.240 --> 0:15:22.000 rankings to start the season. Whether that you know continues 0:15:22.000 --> 0:15:23.480 at the end, we'll see and I think UCLA and 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:25.160 Oklahoma State or two that also are going to be 0:15:25.160 --> 0:15:26.080 in the running there as well. 0:15:26.680 --> 0:15:28.280 Is it the first time it's felt a little bit 0:15:28.320 --> 0:15:30.880 more open with all those players graduating from Oklahoma? 0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:33.080 I think the first time in the like the last 0:15:33.120 --> 0:15:33.640 four years. 0:15:33.680 --> 0:15:36.480 Yes, I definitely believe that, because they just said that 0:15:36.600 --> 0:15:38.520 class was so sensational, and then plus you had the 0:15:38.560 --> 0:15:40.520 COVID year, so you had some coming back that were 0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:44.040 fifth years, so they Oklahoma was stacked and they still are. 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:46.240