That's just a long OUT !!!!

[NumeroUno]

Washington's center fielder Kylee Lahners takes this home run away against Missouri. Washington won the game 1-0 and Missouri had a runner on. This was a game saving catch.

the catch.jpg (40.91 KiB) Viewed 7372 times

[DonnieS]

Who's covering first ?

[NumeroUno]

She played second base for the Firecrackers and for the USA JR National team, at Washington she plays center field for some reason

[jonriv]

Was made to watch a lot of softball by my DD this weekend(hated every minute of it ) One thing we noticed(this play an obvious exception) was just how poor in general the outfield play in both the regionals and super-regionals has been. (Contrasted with the superb infield play). Bad angle towards balls in the gaps, poor play going back on fly balls, missed cut-offs... We were trying to figure why? Is it due to the fact that so many are converted infielders- recruit lots of shortstops figuring they ae the best athletes and they can play anywhere? Is it just nerves? Harder hit balls thanthey are used to?

[dodgerblue]

Thats because all the OF were infielders when they were recruited. Anybody can play the OF can't you tell?

[Fredegar]

Was made to watch a lot of softball by my DD this weekend(hated every minute of it ) One thing we noticed(this play an obvious exception) was just how poor in general the outfield play in both the regionals and super-regionals has been. (Contrasted with the superb infield play). Bad angle towards balls in the gaps, poor play going back on fly balls, missed cut-offs... We were trying to figure why? Is it due to the fact that so many are converted infielders- recruit lots of shortstops figuring they ae the best athletes and they can play anywhere? Is it just nerves? Harder hit balls thanthey are used to?

I think you see what you wanna see. If your DD is an OF, you watch that more closely. I saw plenty of spectacular OF plays. The one above obviously. Another was a play by Oregon's RF who made a catch in the gap and fired a laser home that was on-the-fly and on-the-money. Plenty of diving catches too. As for "superb IF play", maybe. But there were plenty of errors there too. Missouri tried a couple kids at 3rd, Oregon's 2B struggled, etc. I think we saw good plays and unfortunately some errors from various position players. Misplays weren't limited to one group or the other.

[NumeroUno]

Jonriv I agree with you 100%. Colleges recruit infielders who have never played outfield and stick them on the grass thinking they can do the job. We have had complete stud shorts stops and for some reason have had to put them in the outfield and they are lost. You have girls coming out of travel ball who have played outfield for 5 6 7 years and they have learned how to track a ball, get around a ball, get on a good angle etc. It's not like a great athletic MI can't become a great outfielder but it takes time and it takes good coaching which a lot of colleges don't have

[Blind Squirrel]

I was shocked at the often lame outfield play in college. Obviously converted kids who never played out there before. How weak the arms are. I guess if you want a bat in the lineup and you have better defensive infielders you don't have a lot of choices. I feel genuinely sorry for kids put in that position. My kid had to adjust to right field after only playing CF before college but she was at least used to making the throws.

One other thing about my kid and the outfield: She NEVER made a catch like the kid above. That is spectacular. Very well done.

John

[Fredegar]

You guys make it sound like teams don't recruit outfielders. That's simply not true. Sure, some teams have converted infielders, but most D1 teams have at least 2 OF starters that played OF in HS/TB. A quick bit of research on the OF starters for the WCWS teams confirms this.

Not saying some of the OF play hasn't been lame, as Squirrel said. And maybe most of those bad plays are indeed made by the converted kids. So I'm not disagreeing with the point you're making -- I'm just saying they're recruiting OFs more than you think.

[NumeroUno]

Of coarse they recruit outfielders no said they didn't. If they find outfielders with big bats they recruit them for sure. Washington had 2 girls starting playing outfield that never played outfield before. Yes that is Washington in the Pac 12. That is only one example but it happens nation wide recruiting middle infielders the most athletic kids on travel teams and they get to college and find themselves playing on the grass