Who would you pitch this weekend ?

[SwampSooner]

Assuming Bahl is out for the regional, how would you adjust the rotation?

Personally, I would start May against Prairie View. Our offense should make short work of this team. I would put McAdoo in after the 3rd inning and let her finish the game.

We need to keep in the winners bracket, so Trautwein would get the Saturday bracket game. I am assuming the opponent will be A$M and they supposedly have a very good pitcher that could give our batters trouble.

Assuming we win and stay in the winners bracket, Sunday would see May start but with a short leash. I would make every effort to keep this regional from going to an "if needed" game on Sunday.

Disclaimer: I am not a softball strategist by any means. I just like watching the excitement the Sooners bring to the game.

[The Far Journey]

Sounds like a reasonable plan without Bahl. As the saying goes, hope for the best; plan for the worst.

[TropicalSooner]

Ditto.
That looks like a reasonable approach. And yes--bullpen activity early this time--please!

[OUBeliever56A]

Let me offer this.

Prairie View in not a good team and they have only a few batters that can hurt you probably consistently. With their pitching, if we do not put up 12+ runs we have a problem anyway.

I would start McAdoo on Friday night and see what happens. I would call a simple fast ball right down the middle at least two out of every three pitches. Hopefully she is throwing strikes with it. Nothing fancy, no different speeds, just fast balls. If they score 4 or 5 runs, we should still be way ahead. Every inning she can pitch Friday allows Trautwein and May to not pitch. If McAdoo goes all the way to a CG she has earned most of her scholarship money for 2022.

Then I start Trautwein on Sat in the first game in an effort to get to stay on the winners side. If she needs help from May, I would use her also.

I then start May on Sunday in the next game and see what happens. Then if a 4th game is needed, I start Trautwein again.

An ideal situation would be that T & M go 4 and 3 innings each game taking turns starts. That should be about 60 pitches then about 45 pitches each game. They should be able to stay fresh doing that. And if you get a chance to use McAdoo an inning, do so. She has to contribute.

[TropicalSooner]

Let me offer this.

Prairie View in not a good team and they have only a few batters that can hurt you probably consistently. With their pitching, if we do not put up 12+ runs we have a problem anyway.

I would start on Friday night and see what happens. I would call a simple fast ball right down the middle at least two out of every three pitches. Hopefully she is throwing strikes with it. Nothing fancy, no different speeds, just fast balls. If they score 4 or 5 runs, we should still be way ahead. Every inning she can pitch Friday allows Trautwein and May to not pitch. If McAdoo goes all the way to a CG she has earned most of her scholarship money for 2022.

Then I start Trautwein on Sat in the first game in an effort to get to stay on the winners side. If she need help from May, it would use her also. If we win.

I then start May on Sunday in the next game and see what happens. Then if a 4th game is needed, I start Trautwein again.

An ideal situation would be that T & M go 4 and 3 innings each game taking turns starts. that should be about 60 pitches then about 45 pitches each game. They should be able to stay fresh doing that. And if you get a chance to use McAdoo and inning, do so. She has to contribute.

The first time I read this I had to blink a few times. Sometimes, when something that to me seems a little bit out of the box, I kinda have to let it sit with me for awhile. And, actually, this is not really out of the box that much. If there ever was a time to do this it will be with Prairie View. And then I realized we actually have precedent for this. If you go back to last year regionals, the last game with Wichita State, Patty threw everyone a curve and started Olivia Rains that game. Then she followed her with Alana Theide. They both only lasted two outs of the first inning and gave up 4 runs, but I wonder if either of them would have had better pitching if they would have stayed in longer. They were followed up with May and she finished the last 6 innings of the game. We won 24-7. The point is that if Bahl is out of service for the rest of the season, or even if just the regionals and the Super, then '56 is right, McAdoo needs to contribute. Prairie View might be seen as a gift.

[SwampSooner]

If I am understanding what I am reading, Bahl has a hairline fracture in her pitching arm but could pitch if needed.

I say we go with the pitching plans discussed in this string and only use Bahl if we get into serious trouble.

[AustinTXSooner]

In her press conference, Patty said that ideally all of the pitchers would pitch on Friday. That way, they all get a feel for the environment. Even though the game is at home, it is an NCAA tournament game. The crowd will be amped up. Home Run Village will be full. It's a different feeling. Let them all get acclimated to that.

With that in mind, I would start May for an inning or two. We should have a healthy lead by that point. Bring Macy in and see how long she can last. She's a good pitcher, she just needs to get her mental focus in the right place during games.

[Brisket]

The bats are going to have to carry the team this weekend.

For game 1 I'd start May & have her pitch the 1st inning, then have Trautwein pitch the 2nd; I'd hope & pray that the bats wake up from their multi-week slumber and really pound PVAM in the couple of innings to provide a 5-8 run cushion. Then bring in McAdoo with the instructions 56 laid out earlier - fastball after fastball. Just throw strikes & get outs. Don't care how many runs she gives up as long as the offense keeps scoring. Just win that 1st game.

I'd also go with some kind of tandem format w/ May & Trautwein for the other games this weekend. That way they minimize the situation from the championship game last weekend where Trautwein was gassed from throwing 115+ pitches the previous day.

If, on the off chance the bats actually do come alive this weekend & OU finds itself way up in the mid- to late-innings in any of the subsequent games, I'd pitch McAdoo again. Every out she gives you is 1 less that May & Trautwein don't have to. Keep Jordy in treatment for another week & see how her status improves for Supers. Survive & advance.

[AustinTXSooner]

You want McAdoo to be the second pitcher. That way, both May and Trautwein are still available if needed.

[TropicalSooner]

You want McAdoo to be the second pitcher. That way, both May and Trautwein are still available if needed.

Yeah, I agree here. Start May and hopefully we put up a crooked # of runs in the 1st inning and then bring in Macy after that. Let her see how far she can go--and don't pull her after she walks a couple of batters, she needs to get a feel for the game. Just throw strikes down the middle. I think she's got a pretty hot fastball--just let it rip. If they hit it, fine, we've got the best defense on the field behind her, they can handle it. She needs to get several innings under her belt--not only to get her confidence up, but also to get a feel for the whole environment. Then depending how the game goes, have Hope close it out