Side.Show.Joe

I've been watching this team all season and we have a lot of young players. So, I only think of the freshmen, when I think of the young players. But, a few do stand out. Sparks has some skill at the plate, but is still adjusting to the college game. I don't trust Sparks glove at 3rd base, as much as I trust Donahoe's. Epperson is as good as they get in the outfield. She has the speed and reads the trajectory of the ball exceptionally well. The girl might have one error all season, and I don't recall her not getting to a ball hit her way. Even as a freshman, I think she is among the best defensive outfielder on the roster. Epperson also has impressive bat speed, but she is also adjusting to college pitching. She needs to be more patient and not swing at the high ones out of the zone. That's my take.

UNT 6 UTEP 3 Final There were some positives in this game. UNT played well on defense and as a team did a better job at the plate. The game really wasn't as close as the score. UTEP got a few late runs. Game 2 will be tomorrow at 4pm on C-USAtv. I just want to add that I got down to Denton this past Tuesday. While there I went by Voertman's and picked up a UNT Softball t-shirt. Since wearing this new shirt on gamedays we are now 2-0. Coincidence? I think not. Go Mean Green!!!

^ This. I was very happy to get the win, but somewhat concerned that our entire offense for the game came from 1 inning.

I think we all heard the story of Perry growing up wanting to play at UNT, just like his cousin Jeffrey Simpson. He got his wish, but I guess it wasn't enough. I guess I'm just old school when it comes to things like loyalty. I am grateful for the time Perry played for UNT, and for the success we had while he wore our uniform. But, he doesn't bleed green. The guys that stay and wear our uniform until they earn their degrees or leave for a professional league, they bleed green.

He recruited Gamble. He obviously knows how to recruit and develop players. Whatever is currently hindering our team, it isn't a lack of talent.

I think the girls need time at their positions to gel together. I have no clue why so many of the regular starters were benched today. I have to believe we'd have had a better chance of winning if Rainey, Donahoe, Smith, & Epperson were at their usual places on the field and in the batting order. I have to wonder if DeLong is just guessing and hoping random changes will lead to better results.

The Mean Green got out of the inning. End of the 4th the score is still 4-1.

Down 4-1 in the 4th now, and the bases are juiced.

This is true. The commercials of our opponents are better. Very Sad.

Don't understand why Rainey, Donahoe, Smith, & Epperson are out of the line-up today. Wagoner is a good pitcher, but is she the best DP we have? Right now we are down 3-1 in the top of the 4th in Game 2.

The girls don't look comfortable out there. This season's whole "Built to Win Trophies" campaign was obviously a bad approach that added unnecessary pressure. The players are overthinking out on the field and it's leading to bad defense and errors. They need to relax and just make the routine plays. They need to have fun again. If they do that, good things will happen, and maybe it will all come together by the time we get to the conference tournament. This is a very talented team. Once they all find and settle into their roles on this team, they will make their run at the C-USA title. And yes..... that stupid commercial needs to be scrapped. And I'll take it a step further. Whoever approved that POS should be fired. That crap makes UNT look like an f***ing joke.

Hey, do you know the situation with Abou?

Great Win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So proud of the way this team stepped up tonight, especially with all the McCasland talk. On a related note. Mac's wife was giving him a long talk on the baseline after the win. Hopefully she was telling him she doesn't want to leave.

Very disappointing news. Especially in the wake of learning that FAU will be keeping Dusty May. https://twitter.com/MattNorlander/status/1641576569452806145 If we are going to rise in the college athletics landscape, we have to be able to keep our prized coaches. Sure Hodge is great, but we have to kick the perception of being a stepping stone. If FAU can do it, we should be able to also.

This team is regressing. UT-Arlington is a 12-17 WAC program that we run-ruled a few weeks ago. There is no reason for our team to be playing this bad.

Our pitching might be as bad as our hitting now. I think the most life we saw out of the team today was coach getting tossed. I don't know who the leaders are, but it's time they stepped up and lit a fire under the rest of the team before this season slips away.

There is left field but, Donohoe and Sparks also switch out on playing 3rd base. Also, DeLong has been rotating players in the DP spot too.

They are underachieving. Hitting has been a problem, but now pitching and fielding are becoming issues. I think some of the problems come from lack of consistency in our line-up.

We are young, but not green. Those Juniors and Sophomores played in the title game at the Stillwater Regional last season.

Personally, I think we have elite pitching. And, elite pitching is the largest part of winning at the highest level. But it's not everything. Hitting is important too. Our bats are far from where we need them to be. Our pitching was good enough for us to beat both #9 Texas (4-2 Loss) and #2 OK State (2-0 Loss). We just couldn't generate enough runs. That's just the facts.

2-0 isn't a bad loss at #2 OK State. But, the fact that we keep losing these types of games because we just can't generate enough offense is discouraging. Our team seems to be a few bats away from being a real contender on the national level. We need more offense. It's that simple. Sure we can run-rule the UTSA's of the world, but facing elite pitching has puzzled our girls all season. Do we need to sign higher caliber hitters, or do we need a new batting coach? I don't know. But, this team is very close to being a monster. DeLong just has to bring our offense up to the same level as our pitching.

I work with quite a few Oklahoma State alums. It's going to be a fun workday for me tomorrow. Very happy for the team. Stillwater is a very tough place to win, and OSU was the overall #1 in the NIT.

I love these uniforms...

I love softball. It's among my favorite sports. Right there with football and basketball. I doubt softball will get it's own forum, but I'll keep commenting. I want our girls to know that their sport is important, and hopefully others will join us in the fun. When DeLong is selling our program to recruits, I want them to know that UNT has fans that will support them. El Paso Eagle does a great job of posting thread about our series. I enjoy commenting on our games and share his enthusiasm. I don't live in the Denton area anymore, so I can't get to the games as often as I once did. But, the wife and I will be heading down on April 15th to watch the girls play Charlotte. That should be a good series. I'd be willing to adopt a player or two, post their stats, and give them praise as the season goes on. But, at least 5 or 6 others would need to be involved to make it work.