[d4cohn]

Outside of Howell and Noll who is fast?  Remember when Gerhart who wasn't overly fast had 20 or so steals?    Yes should be running

The trouble with sacrificing is of course you give up an out but also with our present pitching we need more than 2-3 runs.  Plus softball fields are t like baseball.  Scoring from second on a hit is not a given

ןɐɔ games were our opportunity.  I fear the worst

Teagan and Alyssa (before she got hurt) are fast players who have already recorded 3 and 4 steals, respectively. Lauren also apparently set records in track in high school and was her high school's all-time stolen base leader, so we have at least 4 starters that can run.

Regarding sacrificing, a team can score 7 runs in a game by averaging a run an inning (which is pretty much what Cal did against us in the series finale). As such, a team can score 3-4 runs a game only by averaging a run every other inning. I think an offensive strategy that views run production in this way, rather than desperately pursuing big innings via the long ball/extra base hits, would be more successful, given how our team is performing. In a vacuum, I agree that sacrificing gives up an out; however, if executed correctly, it can be a productive out by allowing runners to advance. We have had way too many unproductive outs (strikeouts, double play etc.) with runners on base in the last 2-3 weeks where runners have not advanced, thereby stalling our offense and preventing us from putting runs on the board. As such, sacrificing may limit our run total in a particular inning, but it could reduce the number of hits needed to score a run in that inning (thus making scoring at least one run in that inning more likely). In contrast, never sacrificing increases the number of runs we can score in an inning. However, the number of hits needed to score will be greater, so it is a "high-risk, high-reward" strategy.

This "high-risk, high-reward" strategy resulted in us averaging 2 runs a game against Cal, and we have only put up more than 2 runs three times in our last eight games. Regardless of the pitching performance, that level of offensive production will not lead to wins.

I also think the pitching staff can reduce the number of runs it allows simply through better staff management on Coach Hanson's part. In particular, during Saturday's game, I think Coach Hanson prematurely pulled Nikki Bauer for Kiana after she gave up a leadoff home-run in the third inning, cutting the Stanford lead to 4-2. At that point, Nikki had only given up only 4 baserunners (4 hits, no walks) in the game. Unfortunately, Kiana did not have her normal "stuff" on Saturday, though this was exacerbated by some unfavorable illegal pitch calls from the umpire. Nevertheless, it was clear from the beginning that Kiana, and later Haley, were not controlling their pitches as well as they normally do. However, since Coach Hanson had pulled Nikki so early in the game, it limited her options once they started allowing walks. As a result, we ended up allowing 7 walks, a HBP, a HR and 5 runs over the next two innings, as Kiana and Haley were necessarily left in too long, with only one pitcher (Kayler) left in our bullpen.

We also lost Saturday's opener 1-0 on the back of Carolyn's great performance, so there is no reason we couldn't have manufactured a run or two to at least take that first game.

[d4cohn]

Outside of Howell and Noll who is fast?  Remember when Gerhart who wasn't overly fast had 20 or so steals?    Yes should be running

The trouble with sacrificing is of course you give up an out but also with our present pitching we need more than 2-3 runs.  Plus softball fields are t like baseball.  Scoring from second on a hit is not a given

ןɐɔ games were our opportunity.  I fear the worst

Teagan and Alyssa (before she got hurt) are fast players who have already recorded 3 and 4 steals, respectively. Lauren also apparently set records in track in high school and was her high school's all-time stolen base leader, so we have at least 4 starters that can run.

Regarding sacrificing, a team can score 7 runs in a game by averaging a run an inning (which is pretty much what Cal did against us in the series finale). As such, a team can score 3-4 runs a game only by averaging a run every other inning. I think an offensive strategy that views run production in this way, rather than desperately pursuing big innings via the long ball/extra base hits, would be more successful, given how our team is performing. In a vacuum, I agree that sacrificing gives up an out; however, if executed correctly, it can be a productive out by allowing runners to advance. We have had way too many unproductive outs (strikeouts, double play etc.) with runners on base in the last 2-3 weeks where runners have not advanced, thereby stalling our offense and preventing us from putting runs on the board. As such, sacrificing may limit our run total in a particular inning, but it could reduce the number of hits needed to score a run in that inning (thus making scoring at least one run in that inning more likely). In contrast, never sacrificing increases the number of runs we can score in an inning. However, the number of hits needed to score will be greater, so it is a "high-risk, high-reward" strategy.

This "high-risk, high-reward" strategy resulted in us averaging 2 runs a game against Cal, and we have only put up more than 2 runs three times in our last eight games. Regardless of the pitching performance, that level of offensive production will not lead to wins.

I also think the pitching staff can reduce the number of runs it allows simply through better staff management on Coach Hanson's part. In particular, during Saturday's game, I think Coach Hanson prematurely pulled Nikki Bauer for Kiana after she gave up a leadoff home-run in the third inning, cutting the Stanford lead to 4-2. At that point, Nikki had only given up only 4 baserunners (4 hits, no walks) in the game. Unfortunately, Kiana did not have her normal "stuff" on Saturday, though this was exacerbated by some unfavorable illegal pitch calls from the umpire. Nevertheless, it was clear from the beginning that Kiana, and later Haley, were not controlling their pitches as well as they normally do. However, since Coach Hanson had pulled Nikki so early in the game, it limited her options once they started allowing walks. As a result, we ended up allowing 7 walks, a HBP, a HR and 5 runs over the next two innings, as Kiana and Haley were necessarily left in too long, with only one pitcher (Kayler) left in our bullpen.

We also lost Saturday's opener 1-0 on the back of Carolyn's great performance, so there is no reason we couldn't have manufactured a run or two to at least take that first game.