Rohr of the Crowd - March 10

Rohr of the Crowd is the official blog of Nate Rohr, the play-by-play announcer for Husker softball. Nate has called Nebraska softball games since 2004 and will call every game of the 2010 season. Look for new blog entries weekly.

A Whole New Ballgame

The Loudest Roars
Two tape-measure home runs from Husker
hitters this weekend - this towering home run
by Heidi Foland vs. North Dakota on Saturday
and Sunday's blast off the bat of Brooke
Thomason against Tulsa.

In college softball, the balance of power has been drifting toward the offense for years. As athletes begin to specialize in softball earlier in their careers and hitting instruction becomes more refined, better hitters are being developed and more runs are being scored. Nationally, runs per game have jumped from 3.48 runs/game in 2004 to 3.98 last year, and home runs per game have jumped from 0.43 to 0.57 in that same timeframe. 

Nebraska’s games this weekend brought home to me how much the balance of power has moved toward the hitting. In those games, we saw the Huskers homer in every game (including tape-measure shots from Brooke Thomason and Heidi Foland), hit a grand slam and still only win two of five games. As recently as 2006, if the Huskers scored two runs, they were virtually guaranteed of winning. NU scored two runs or more in 45 games that season, winning 40 of them.  This season, Nebraska has scored two runs in 17 of 21 games, only winning 11 of those games, including losses when scoring nine and six runs. 

Of course there are explanations for Nebraska’s specific situation. The loss of five defensive starters from last season has left some holes defensively that the Huskers are still working to fill. Robin Mackin continues to work to regain the form she showed her first two years at Fresno State, while Ashley Hagemann continues to work toward becoming a consistent Big 12-level pitcher. Julie Brechtel’s absence from the lineup due to concussion symptoms earlier this month has also cut down on the defensive continuity Nebraska needs in the infield. And the lack of the ability to practice outside due to the poor weather in the area this winter has limited the Huskers’ ability to clean up the mistakes they’re making defensively, especially in the outfield, where Nebraska lost its entire outfield from last season, a group that included two three-year starters and one two-year starter. 

But all of the issues are in play as Nebraska works in a context that sees more runs scored nationally, and more teams having success despite a lack of a great force in the circle. Last year, Arizona State made the Women’s College World Series despite having a team ERA of 3.22, thanks to an offense that scored 6.7 runs a game. Similarly, Arizona, formerly driven by arms like Jennie Finch and Taryne Mowatt, made it to Oklahoma City despite having the worst team ERA (by over a run) in school history.

Because more runs are being scored, the expectations have changed for each individual role in the lineup as well. Once, a team would almost automatically send slappers to the plate early in the order. Now, power is expected out of the No. 2 spot in the order (like Amber Flores at Oklahoma or even, from this weekend, Lauren Lindsey in Tulsa), and in some cases, even the leadoff spot (see Rhea Taylor at Missouri for the new prototype at leadoff). The Huskers are making that transition themselves, as Heidi Foland seems to be locked into the leadoff role despite being a right-handed hitter with power and not a typical leadoff hitter. 

College softball continues to evolve, and it will be interesting to see how the Huskers continue to adjust to the changes around them. 

The Rolling Sing-A-Long

Stat of the Week
Freshmen lead the Big 12 Conference
in nine major categories: home runs, RBI,
total bases, stolen bases, SLG%, ERA,
starts, shutouts and opponent batting
average.

A Husker softball tradition is that all newcomers to the program have to sing aloud on the intercom system on the bus during Nebraska’s first bus road trip of the season.  Singers are advised to crank up their MP3 players (so that they can’t hear the laughing of everyone else on the bus) and are required to sing at least the first verse and the chorus of whatever song they sing.  Thursday, we checked that rite of spring off the list of things to-do for the season.  The highlight performance was probably Megan Southworth’s rendition of “It Happens” by Sugarland, if not for the vocal quality then for the wild wobbling (I hesitate to call it dancing) that she did along with the song. 

In case you’re wondering, I was able to duck my time on-stage on the bus until my second year of travelling with Husker softball.  But finally, on the way home from regionals in Iowa City in 2006, I finally fulfilled my duty to the program and sang.  I chose Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days” (one of the few songs I know all the words to), and yelped my way through the song, with a minimum of wild wobbling to the song, I promise!

Weekend Warmup: The Diamond Devil Invitational, Tempe Ariz.
The Huskers start their stay in Tempe against Pacific on Friday and again on Saturday. The Tigers are 6-9, but have knocked off Northwestern twice and Tennessee in the early going of the season.  Their offense has struggled, averaging just over two runs a game while hitting .254 as a team. The Pacific pitching staff is led by Shaina Brock, who has made seven starts and has a 3-4 record with a 2.91 ERA after transferring from Baylor. Brian Kolze is in his 18^th year as the head coach of the Tigers.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

Nebraska also takes on BYU on Friday. The Cougars are 15-4 on the season, thanks to a potent offense that averages nearly six runs a game. Angeline Quiocho has taken her game to another level at the plate, hitting .514 with a .914 slugging percentage in the first 19 games of the year for BYU, leading a Cougars offense that is hitting .345 overall. The pitching hasn’t been quite as strong, as BYU has a team ERA of 3.88. The Cougars were picked to win the Mountain West Conference, and they’ve won three of the last five conference titles.

The Huskers take on Arizona State twice on the weekend. The Sun Devils have played in the last three Women’s College World Series and won the national championship in 2008.  Arizona State is 15-2 thanks to an incredible offense that averages over nine runs a game, despite losing All-American outfielder Katie Cochran. Katelyn Boyd leads the ASU offense, hitting .560 while slugging 1.240. She already has nine home runs and 25 RBI in 17 games this season.  he’s one of six Sun Devils who have started 10 or more games hitting over .400. Arizona State has shown incredible discipline at the plate, earning 96 walks while striking out 56 times. Hillary Bach and Megan Elliott have split the starts in the early going, and the staff has an ERA of 2.44.

That’s all for now...we’ll talk to you Friday from Tempe.

Husker Power!

Nate