[d4cohn]

I watched the first inning of the ASU match.  It looked like we were pitching batting practice to the ASU players.  What little I know about the sport is that 90% of the outcome depends on pitching.  Stanford needs to recruit two elite (top 10) pitchers and the team will be in almost every game.

That was our ace starting against ASU, who earlier in the year held Cal to 1-run on 2 hits in 6 complete innings (of a 7 inning game). She pitched great in non-conference play, with close to a 3.00 ERA.

Obviously, the competition is a lot stronger in Pac-12 play, though based on what I saw, I have to say that I unfortunately thought of the same thing that Cred commented on with respect to mindset at this point in the season.

With regards to pitching talent, we already have a Top 100 pitcher on the staff (with a Top 50 pitcher in Maddy Dwyer, who is part of next year's recruiting class). The pitchers that we have may not be elite, but we should not be giving up 9+ runs in this many games in a row, particularly to a team like ASU, who is nearly last in the Pac-12 in multiple offensive categories. The strength of this ASU team is their pitching, not their hitting.

Based on this, I would simply add one point to your thoughts paloalto. At this point it is all about recruiting and development.

[d4cohn]

I watched the first inning of the ASU match.  It looked like we were pitching batting practice to the ASU players.  What little I know about the sport is that 90% of the outcome depends on pitching.  Stanford needs to recruit two elite (top 10) pitchers and the team will be in almost every game.

That was our ace starting against ASU, who earlier in the year held Cal to 1-run on 2 hits in 6 complete innings (of a 7 inning game). She pitched great in non-conference play, with close to a 3.00 ERA.

Obviously, the competition is a lot stronger in Pac-12 play, though based on what I saw, I have to say that I unfortunately thought of the same thing that Cred commented on with respect to mindset at this point in the season.

With regards to pitching talent, we already have a Top 100 pitcher on the staff (with a Top 50 pitcher in Maddy Dwyer, who is part of next year's recruiting class). The pitchers that we have may not be elite, but we should not be giving up 9+ runs in this many games in a row, particularly to a team like ASU, who is nearly last in the Pac-12 in multiple offensive categories. The strength of this ASU team is their pitching, not their hitting.

Based on this, I would simply add one point to your thoughts paloalto. At this point it is all about recruiting and development.