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Post by austinace on Mar 2, 2024 3:08:23 GMT -6
As 65PointGame mentioned in another thread we are 0-13 to start the season. This is a little concerning to say the least. In past years we have done better in the non-conference season than the conference season. Last year, we were said to be a “young team” implying we would be better this year. We have nine games in the next nine days before conference play starts March 12th. Most of these games we should have a chance in. St. Bonaventure is 0-6, for instance. Wofford (today’s early game is arguably the toughest remaining non-conference game) and we should still have a chance in this game.
A quick look at the stats shows that we have pitched only three pitchers this year. Jolly appears to be the best pitcher with a 5.01 ERA and the other two have ERA’s in the 6’s. Weatherford has not pitched or played this year. No batter is above .250 with most of the everyday players .233 or below with several in the 100’s.
Note: A fourth pitcher has a 14.53 ERA (allowing 13 runs in 4.1 innings).
Only three games have been one run games (all losses). The rest have essentially been blow out losses. Does anyone have more insight on why we have started so poorly? Our “young” team is a year older. Has the schedule been tough so far (to prepare us better for conference play)? Injuries? Etc.
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Here was my closing overview comments on last last year’s team back in May:
Our season ends with a 7-0 loss to Drake in the MVC Tournament. We were only able to get three hits in the game.
This year provided reason for optimism early as we started 13-1 and received votes for the Top 25 for the first time in over two decades before finishing the regular season 22-31.
This was a very young team comprised of underclassmen. So hopefully with a more experienced team next year we will be able to maintain and build on some of the early success of this team. Time will tell.
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Post by 65pointgame on Mar 7, 2024 11:45:48 GMT -6
After 17 losses, we finally picked up a win yesterday in the 2nd game of a DH vs Lindenwood. Hopefully this is the start of a good weekend for all our ACES sports team. One can hope!
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Post by ATP on Mar 7, 2024 14:23:28 GMT -6
After 17 losses, we finally picked up a win yesterday in the 2nd game of a DH vs Lindenwood. Hopefully this is the start of a good weekend for all our ACES sports team. One can hope! Um, if they went 17 in a row without a win, there's a trend. I have envisioned some kind of ESPN story about how could a team lose 50 games in a season. |
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Post by austinace on Mar 7, 2024 15:13:06 GMT -6
1-17 but we are on a one game winning streak. Only three hits for us today but two by senior infielder Marah Wood (2B and HR and two RBIs). Megan Brenton goes the 7-inning distance. Gave up six hits and six walks and hit one batter but Lindenwood must have left a lot of runners on base as we win 2-1. Down 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning, here was the big hit by Marah Wood: |
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Post by austinace on Mar 11, 2024 3:38:07 GMT -6
We have now won three in a row with wins over Bellarmine and St. Bonaventure and Bellarmine again over the weekend. We are now 4-18. We scored 44 runs in the last three games. gopurpleaces.com/sports/softball/scheduleConference play starts Tuesday and Wednesday against Indiana State and then a three game set against Valpo this upcoming weekend (Fri, Sat and Sun). Update: Bellarmine is 8-12 and St. Bonaventure is 1-10 with their lone win over Quinnipiac. Not exactly world beaters but a win is a win and we have won four out of the last five. Generally conference season is harder though. The other win was over a 12-11 Lindenwood team. |
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Post by austinace on Mar 12, 2024 16:46:58 GMT -6
Could be a long conference season. Down 6-0 in the second inning against Indiana State. Looks like those four wins in the last five games gave us some false hope against teams like St. Bonaventure who had only one win themselves. But it's not over yet. stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=510610Update: Our Aces lose 9-0 in a five innings game. We had two hits and four walks. They match up again at 5 pm tomorrow. |
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Post by ATP on Mar 13, 2024 18:52:20 GMT -6
Aces snatch victory from defeat with 3 in the 8th to beat the Sicklies 6-5.
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Post by austinace on Mar 13, 2024 20:18:14 GMT -6
Aces snatch victory from defeat with 3 in the 8th to beat the Sicklies 6-5. Glad to hear that. There might be hope after all. I get the feeling it’s going to be an uphill struggle though to get conference wins. ISU-blue was 12-12 (I believe) - so this was a good/great win for us. |
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Post by ATP on Mar 13, 2024 21:01:14 GMT -6
Aces snatch victory from defeat with 3 in the 8th to beat the Sicklies 6-5. Glad to hear that. There might be hope after all. I get the feeling it’s going to be an uphill struggle though to get conference wins. ISU-blue was 12-12 (I believe) - so this was a good/great win for us. I gotta confess to not having a great deal of interest in the WSB program but it happened to be on. Sicks scored 2 in the top of the 8th. Actually, last night one of the Aces hitters dang-near pulled out a clutch extra base hit that could have won it. It took a nice catch in CF. |
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Post by austinace on Mar 13, 2024 22:15:51 GMT -6
Glad to hear that. There might be hope after all. I get the feeling it’s going to be an uphill struggle though to get conference wins. ISU-blue was 12-12 (I believe) - so this was a good/great win for us. I gotta confess to not having a great deal of interest in the WSB program but it happened to be on. Sicks scored 2 in the top of the 8th. Actually, last night one of the Aces hitters dang-near pulled out a clutch extra base hit that could have won it. It took a nice catch in CF. They lost 9-0 last night. gopurpleaces.com/sports/softball/stats/2024/indiana-state/boxscore/11626I’m confused by your last two sentences. Can you now score 10 runs on one hit to overcome a 9-0 deficit? What am I missing here? And the game only went five innings according to the box score. Update: I think you meant “tonight’s game” not “last night”. That is what was confusing me. I see now. No big deal. Point well-taken. |
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Post by ATP on Mar 13, 2024 22:41:09 GMT -6
They lost 9-0 last night. gopurpleaces.com/sports/softball/stats/2024/indiana-state/boxscore/11626I’m confused by your last two sentences. Can you now score 10 runs on one hit to overcome a 9-0 deficit? What am I missing here? And the game only went five innings according to the box score. Update: I think you meant “tonight’s game” not “last night”. That is what was confusing me. I see now. No big deal. Point well-taken. Now that I think about it, I must be losing it. It was the third inning and they were down 6-0. So whatever I remember, that was it. And it was to left field. Ah ................... OK. |
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Post by austinace on Mar 15, 2024 23:30:35 GMT -6
This puts us at 2-1 in the conference despite our disappointing non-conference record. They seem to be playing better lately. Weatherford being back helps.
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Post by austinace on Mar 16, 2024 16:16:05 GMT -6
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Post by ATP on Mar 16, 2024 18:46:14 GMT -6
This game was one big hit away from being a mercy-rule win, but Brenton just has too much trouble with throwing strikes. One thing that's interesting about the women's game is the reentry rule that I recall from years back. It allowed Valpo's starter to leave the game and re-enter a couple of innings later. She pitched better the second time. Box score does not reflect that and as a result, does not add up. UE defense is a bit sketchy. They do have some pretty good hitters. Marah Wood is a legit cleanup hitter. |
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Post by ATP on Mar 17, 2024 12:51:04 GMT -6
2-1 walkoff win for the Aces over Valpo. Lacy Smith, who has become my favorite female athlete of all time, with a single in the bottom of the 7th.
First MVC sweep for the Aces in forever, who have never lost at home to Valpo. Sydney Weatherford, a lefty, gets the win. I think she missed a lot of the early part of the season.
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