(02-13-2019 08:57 AM)Wear Purple Wrote:  A look ahead to the Softball Dukes' 5 opponents this upcoming opening weekend in St. Pete...

Fri, 12:30pm, no streaming - California (3-2) opened their season this past weekend at Louisiana-Lafayette winning their first 3 over Fordham, Incarnate Word, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi before losing both games of a doubleheader against the host Rajun Cajuns (5-0 and ranked #13 in this week's NFCA poll). Cal will face Texas on Thursday the day before we open with the Bears. The Bears are receiving votes in this week's NFCA poll and would be 29th.

Fri, 5:30pm, ESPN-3 - Oregon (5-0) is ranked #19 in this week's NFCA poll. The Ducks played in a weekend event in Tempe, Arizona, winning all 5 games over Kansas, Cal State Northridge, Missouri, Bradley and Seattle. None of these teams were ranked or receiving votes in the NFCA poll. The Ducks will face #8 LSU earlier in the day on Friday.

Sat, 1:00pm, no streaming - Florida Atlantic (3-2) hosted their own event this past weekend losing to #10 Georgia and #24 Indiana (who defeated Georgia) while winning games over St. John's, Virginia and Bethune-Cookman.

Sat, 4:00pm, ESPN-3 - Tennessee (5-0) enters this weekend's event ranked #6 in the NFCA poll after winning all their games at an event hosted by Coastal Carolina this past weekend. They defeated the hosts as well as Illinois-Chicago twice, Boston U. and Rider. They gave up 4 runs across those 5 games and won collectively over the weekend 49-4. The Dukes lost our only matchup against the Vols in the Knoxville NCAAT Regional last year, run-ruled 13-3 in 6 innings. UT only faces 1 team this upcoming weekend who is not at least receiving votes in this week's NFCA poll. That is a later game Saturday against Utah after playing us. I imagine we will see their ace. My guess is we'll counter with The (Megan) Good/Great One.

Sun, 1:00pm, ESPN-3 - Kentucky (2-3) had a rough opening weekend at an event hosted by the University of Houston this past weekend. Yet, even at 2-3 they are still ranked #18 in this week's NFCA poll. They lost their first 2 games to Illinois and then to host Houston before defeating Soft Doucheston State and Houston. They finished up the weekend on Sunday with a loss to Oklahoma State, who is #20 in this week's NFCA poll.

While it will be snowing at JMU over the weekend, the weather in St. Pete looks great...clear days throughout the weekend and temps in the mid 70's...hopefully the Good Gals come back home with at least 3 wins.

Go Dukes!!

Good luck ladies!!!!

Looks like it should provide an excellent early test and where they stand.

It is unfortunate that it looks like everyone we play already have 5 games under their belt and maybe have shook off rust/first game jitters while we are playing our opening games.

(02-13-2019 09:09 AM)ShadyP Wrote:  

(02-13-2019 08:57 AM)Wear Purple Wrote:  A look ahead to the Softball Dukes' 5 opponents this upcoming opening weekend in St. Pete...

Fri, 12:30pm, no streaming - California (3-2) opened their season this past weekend at Louisiana-Lafayette winning their first 3 over Fordham, Incarnate Word, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi before losing both games of a doubleheader against the host Rajun Cajuns (5-0 and ranked #13 in this week's NFCA poll). Cal will face Texas on Thursday the day before we open with the Bears. The Bears are receiving votes in this week's NFCA poll and would be 29th.

Fri, 5:30pm, ESPN-3 - Oregon (5-0) is ranked #19 in this week's NFCA poll. The Ducks played in a weekend event in Tempe, Arizona, winning all 5 games over Kansas, Cal State Northridge, Missouri, Bradley and Seattle. None of these teams were ranked or receiving votes in the NFCA poll. The Ducks will face #8 LSU earlier in the day on Friday.

Sat, 1:00pm, no streaming - Florida Atlantic (3-2) hosted their own event this past weekend losing to #10 Georgia and #24 Indiana (who defeated Georgia) while winning games over St. John's, Virginia and Bethune-Cookman.

Sat, 4:00pm, ESPN-3 - Tennessee (5-0) enters this weekend's event ranked #6 in the NFCA poll after winning all their games at an event hosted by Coastal Carolina this past weekend. They defeated the hosts as well as Illinois-Chicago twice, Boston U. and Rider. They gave up 4 runs across those 5 games and won collectively over the weekend 49-4. The Dukes lost our only matchup against the Vols in the Knoxville NCAAT Regional last year, run-ruled 13-3 in 6 innings. UT only faces 1 team this upcoming weekend who is not at least receiving votes in this week's NFCA poll. That is a later game Saturday against Utah after playing us. I imagine we will see their ace. My guess is we'll counter with The (Megan) Good/Great One.

Sun, 1:00pm, ESPN-3 - Kentucky (2-3) had a rough opening weekend at an event hosted by the University of Houston this past weekend. Yet, even at 2-3 they are still ranked #18 in this week's NFCA poll. They lost their first 2 games to Illinois and then to host Houston before defeating Soft Doucheston State and Houston. They finished up the weekend on Sunday with a loss to Oklahoma State, who is #20 in this week's NFCA poll.

While it will be snowing at JMU over the weekend, the weather in St. Pete looks great...clear days throughout the weekend and temps in the mid 70's...hopefully the Good Gals come back home with at least 3 wins.

Go Dukes!!

Good luck ladies!!!!

Looks like it should provide an excellent early test and where they stand.

It is unfortunate that it looks like everyone we play already have 5 games under their belt and maybe have shook off rust/first game jitters while we are playing our opening games.

Game or two to get over the jitters, but also fresh and excited hopefully. Can't wait to watch this team!

(02-05-2019 10:04 AM)JMUSteeler Wrote:  This team is every bit as loaded as the Super Regional team, probably even a little better with the option of a legit 3rd pitcher. Good & Buresch are elite pitchers, and Alexander is VERY good. We should hit for power & average, this team would not be out of their league in any P5 conference right now. Not sure how strong our D will be, that might be the issue (and it has been in the past). The other problem is we're set up to be a power hitting team, but the dimensions at our field favor that while the larger stadiums turn those 2 out, 2 run HRs into deep fly ball outs. That's why it's important for us to win enough to host, the more home playoff games we play the more I like our chances. Too bad we lost a probable All-American in Raine Wilson to Duke, with her in that lineup we'd add .400 hitter with power AND a top tier defensive player.

JMUSteeler,

There is no one on this board with the softball knowledge that you have so I bow to your opinion.

But from my inferior knowledge why I would think the super regional team had the upper hand is simply because had two all american pitchers in Ford and Good. A great pitcher in softball can carry a college team. I believe Megan took over 2/3s of the innings two years ago and pretty much carried the team. You could argue without Good we are a fringe top 25 team at best. When you have two top 5 pitchers/players like we had in 2016 they carried the team. Plus they were studs at the plate and in the field as well.

Hard for me not to take 2016 over 2019. You could argue we are stronger from 3 down perhaps this year, but I don't think we have a potential 2nd top 5 player on the 2018 team. Buresch is fantastic, but I would not put her in the caliber as Ford and Good at this point. Pretty amazing to have either Ford or Good on the mound for every significant pitch in 2016.

I don't completely disagree, I think the real key to Buresch will be how does she develop without Mickey there. Ford was a beast when she got to JMU, but Good came to us as a volleyball player that Mickey built into an All-American (with a lot of hard work from Good). She was the #3 on her own travel team, but Mickey saw something in her that had not been previously developed by her other coaches. We were also VERY strong behind the plate, not that we aren't now but you can't underestimate the importance of 2 pitchers and a catcher that are all-american caliber. It's why I was so disappointed with Wilson going to Duke, she's a potential all-american and would have caught for us.

That being said, I think we're deeper in our lineup. Good and Alexander are as good as they come swinging the bat, and I would expect Alexander's stats to actually bump up with Good back in the lineup. The 2 of them plus Kate Gordon, Natalie Cutright, Sara Jubas and Kierstin Roadcap are all .300+ hitters that could push .400. Who else develops? Hopefully our increased offensive output will offset the potential slight drop in the battery. Matchups will also be key for us, come playoffs we don't have to have even 2 all-american pitchers to advance. Megan as a senior can pitch all those innings, if necessary. If we're playing at home in 2017, we eliminate Baylor. This team is better than that one I think, but this tough early season schedule will tell us a lot either way.

(02-13-2019 07:11 PM)JMUSteeler Wrote:  I don't completely disagree, I think the real key to Buresch will be how does she develop without Mickey there. Ford was a beast when she got to JMU, but Good came to us as a volleyball player that Mickey built into an All-American (with a lot of hard work from Good). She was the #3 on her own travel team, but Mickey saw something in her that had not been previously developed by her other coaches. We were also VERY strong behind the plate, not that we aren't now but you can't underestimate the importance of 2 pitchers and a catcher that are all-american caliber. It's why I was so disappointed with Wilson going to Duke, she's a potential all-american and would have caught for us.

That being said, I think we're deeper in our lineup. Good and Alexander are as good as they come swinging the bat, and I would expect Alexander's stats to actually bump up with Good back in the lineup. The 2 of them plus Kate Gordon, Natalie Cutright, Sara Jubas and Kierstin Roadcap are all .300+ hitters that could push .400. Who else develops? Hopefully our increased offensive output will offset the potential slight drop in the battery. Matchups will also be key for us, come playoffs we don't have to have even 2 all-american pitchers to advance. Megan as a senior can pitch all those innings, if necessary. If we're playing at home in 2017, we eliminate Baylor. This team is better than that one I think, but this tough early season schedule will tell us a lot either way.

It sure will, and I'm hoping this year's Good is as dominant as she was in 2017. I don't know if anyone can know for sure until she pitches a few times in February against top competition.

FWIW, Texas is about to run-rule California. Up 10-0 going to the btm of the 5th (Cal's last bat perhaps).

Looking at the Cal Softball Notes for this weekend's event down in Florida, they mention the Good Gals are 3-0 over Cal all-time with most recent win in Honolulu, 5-1, last season. Here's hoping the Dukes get the season off to a good start Friday afternoon and make it 4-0 all-time over the Bears.

Also...

-1-3 all-time vs Oregon
-0-2 all-time vs Florida Atlantic
-1-2 all-time vs Tennessee (lone win was 9-0 over #14 Vols in same early season event in Clearwater FL in 2016)
-0-1 all-time vs Kentucky

I think Oregon was #1 in the country when we beat them, 2015 maybe.

IT'S GAME DAY, BABYYYYYYYY!!

12:30pm vs California (Live Stats)

5:30pm vs Oregon (ESPN-3)

Let the journey to Oklahoma City begin...

Gonna be good to see this gal back on the field again...



...enjoy it while we can my fellow Dukes fans!!

(02-15-2019 09:35 AM)Wear Purple Wrote:  IT'S GAME DAY, BABYYYYYYYY!!

12:30pm vs California (Live Stats)

5:30pm vs Oregon (ESPN-3)

Let the journey to Oklahoma City begin...

Gonna be good to see this gal back on the field again...



...enjoy it while we can my fellow Dukes fans!!

We seem to see things the same way -

Can't wait for the game to start, and I echo "enjoy it while we can my fellow Dukes fans!!"

There could be another year in the future that we will look this good on paper, but I doubt it.

Appreciate and enjoy it while it happens. Anything is possible this year.

I'm really bummed that there's no way to follow the game vs Cal aside from live stats. I'm really excited to watch this team this season. Looking forward to watching the 5:30 game.

(02-15-2019 10:39 AM)JMad03 Wrote:  I'm really bummed that there's no way to follow the game vs Cal aside from live stats. I'm really excited to watch this team this season. Looking forward to watching the 5:30 game.

Each game really matters. Hope we can get to 1-0. Cal has games under it's belt, and we don't. Hope we come out firing and not first game jitters...

4-1 out of the gate with only a loss to the Vols would be a nice start, beating those teams ranked at the bottom of the Top 20 like Oregon and UK will be critical for a top 16 seed this year. A top 8 will require beating Tennessee, with Megan back in the lineup that is definitely possible. Will be interesting to see how the pitching is handled early on, do you start the season with Alexander or Buresch knowing you have a ranked Oregon this afternoon for Good?

(02-15-2019 10:39 AM)JMad03 Wrote:  I'm really bummed that there's no way to follow the game vs Cal aside from live stats. I'm really excited to watch this team this season. Looking forward to watching the 5:30 game.

Agree. When this event was first announced, it was either stated or implied that every game would be carried on one of ESPN's platforms. Bummer. At least with the 3 games this weekend on ESPN-3, they are archived for a little while and folks who aren't able to see them live can access later on if they want to see greatness in action.

And, of course, the fun thing about opening day is that if someone hits a homer in Game 1, you can then say things like "Alexander is now on pace to hit 75 homers this season".

(02-15-2019 10:50 AM)JMUSteeler Wrote:  4-1 out of the gate with only a loss to the Vols would be a nice start, beating those teams ranked at the bottom of the Top 20 like Oregon and UK will be critical for a top 16 seed this year. A top 8 will require beating Tennessee, with Megan back in the lineup that is definitely possible. Will be interesting to see how the pitching is handled early on, do you start the season with Alexander or Buresch knowing you have a ranked Oregon this afternoon for Good?

Man - I find this a little surprising......

No line for the Cal game, but for our second game versus Oregon this evening we are +340 meaning about a 4-1 underdog.

I guess they think Megan will not be starting the second game.

(02-15-2019 10:54 AM)Dukester Wrote:  

(02-15-2019 10:50 AM)JMUSteeler Wrote:  4-1 out of the gate with only a loss to the Vols would be a nice start, beating those teams ranked at the bottom of the Top 20 like Oregon and UK will be critical for a top 16 seed this year. A top 8 will require beating Tennessee, with Megan back in the lineup that is definitely possible. Will be interesting to see how the pitching is handled early on, do you start the season with Alexander or Buresch knowing you have a ranked Oregon this afternoon for Good?

Man - I find this a little surprising......

No line for the Cal game, but for our second game versus Oregon this evening we are +340 meaning about a 4-1 underdog.

I guess they think Megan will not be starting the second game.

Wow, that is interesting. This Oregon team is good, but not top 5 typical Oregon good. One of their top pitchers is Jordan Dail, who couldn't crack the lineup on a pretty crappy VT team last year. I just don't see that kind of spread against us.

Megan playing first base against Cal.

(02-15-2019 12:33 PM)JMU83 Wrote:  Megan playing first base against Cal.

So Megan pitching versus Oregon, and plus 340.

Go JMU. ;-)

live stats do not appear to be working

Spot Pos # Player Bats Today Avg
1 cf 2 Arnold,Cambry L 0-1
2 dp 3 Alexander,Odicci R 0-0
3 lf 17 Gordon,Kate R 0-1
4 1b 23 Good,Megan R 0-1
5 c 13 Roadcap,Kierstin R 0-1
6 3b 24 Meeks,Lynsey R 0-1
7 rf 7 File,Hannah R 0-0
8 2b 18 Naujokas,Madison R 0-0
9 ss 25 Lomax,Lexi R 1-1
10 p 20 Buresch,Payton R 0-0

1-1 in the bottom of the 2nd.

Unearned run for Cal and then Freshman Lexie Lomax with an RBI single after two 2 out walks.