Final Thoughts about the Taco Tech Series

[TropicalSooner]

I am such a spoiled Sooner Softball Fan.

Very normal events can occur in a Sooner softball game that can make my heart race a little faster, hold my breath a bit longer, maybe even sweat just a bit.
The final overall total score of this weekend was 40-3 made up of 3 double digit wins against the Red Raiders. Yet Tech is not really a bad team. Well, they have questionable pitching. But they're not a bad team.
Our offense exploded for massive production in the 7th inning of the first game, 1st inning of the second game, and 7th inning in the third game. But there were innings when all we got was a lonely single, maybe a walk, or even a 3 and out, that seemed to invite Tech to see if they could catch up to us.

We seemed to hit lasers exactly right to their defenders.
They seemed to thread the needle between Brito and Jennings, or just past the pitcher that Jennings or Torres were just out of reach for, or bloop a ball just over our defenders heads that would drop in and put a runner on base for them.
We would just crush a pitch and watch it die right at the warning track with their outfielders backs nearly against the wall--(thank you new softer less dense balls??)

These kinds of things are just going to happen. It's softball.

And even though the empty innings just kept showing up over and over, in the end, there we were producing 40 runs against a team that came into the contest at 21-5 and had some folks wondering if their power bats were going to carry them to new heights in the B12.

Our Pitching this weekend was actually very good and made sure that nothing ever really got out of hand. KellyMax pitched 6 sweet innings allowing only 2 hits while striking out 10. After a 12 run 1st inning, Deal threw 4 nice innings giving up 2 runs, both solo HR shots in different innings limiting damage there, and May seemed to move the demons out of her 1st inning into the 3rd but still only allowed 1 run while striking out 6 in her 6 innings pitched. The relief pitchers, Monticelli and Keeney, both did everything asked of them in their 3.2 innings of relief allowing no hits, no runs, and striking out 6 between them.

Although emotionally feeling like it, the games were never really out of control.

Although we had scoreless and at times hitless innings...sometimes strung together....those things happen also. To the Sooners. it's softball.

Our entire starting lineup is hitting over .365, and 6 are over .400. Even Hodge coming off the bench now is at .323. Our pitching staff is becoming an awesome force now. Our defense, while sporting 10 errors, is still enviable at .985.

Yeah....I'm a spoiled Sooner Softball fan.

[inconnu]

You've got a right to a spoiled take.You're a Sooner!

[viacool]

What was up with the less than stellar TV production company for the Tech games? Looks like it must have been their Junior Varsity crew. NO instant replays, the balls and strike count was not to be seen and way too many goofy in your face crowd shots. Did anyone else notice these things?

[OUBeliever56A]

What was up with the less than stellar TV production company for the Tech games? Looks like it must have been their Junior Varsity crew. NO instant replays, the balls and strike count was not to be seen and way too many goofy in your face crowd shots. Did anyone else notice these things?

Why not just be thankful you have an opportunity to watch the game? Many times, perfection is no where the goal for ESPN+ broadcasts for softball. It is what is. Look for positives and things will work out.

[AustinTXSooner]

I was disappointed with the lack of replays. But I was more than grateful for more than one camera. I could have rewound on my own, but then my radio broadcast wouldn't be synced.

For balls and strikes, there was a dude in the crowd behind the plate, flashing the count between every pitch.

You should have seen the Texas Tech broadcast two years ago. Talk about Mickey Mouse...

[TN Sooner]

If you were watching tv coverage of OU softball just 4-5 years ago, you would marvel at how far things have come in that short time frame. Is it perfect? No - not even close. But we have come light years from just a little while ago.

I have plenty of issues with Plank, but I almost always try to sync to his radio call, so I don’t experience the Tech voices on the tv call.

[inconnu]

He judiciously tries to say "pinch" now, instead of "pinge". What other issues with Plank?

[Bricklayer]

I don’t want to jinx her, especially after this weekend…but TJ is making her way up the NCAA career RBI/HR list. Such an unbelievable player.

[TN Sooner]

He judiciously tries to say "pinch" now, instead of "pinge". What other issues with Plank?

He gets so many things wrong - you’d never know if you aren’t also watching the game, but he often just gets things wrong. Recent examples:

Announces ball when it’s a strike - or vice versa. Happens 3-5 times a game.
Sunday he declared the Tech outfielders were making GREAT plays on the Sooner hits. Most of these were ordinary outfield plays - exception was the catch on Jayda’s ball.
Has a very hard time identifying player substitutions - he just won’t take the time to actually identify the player and instead just gets it wrong
I didn’t hear him say anything about Kinzie being out this weekend. I know he’s an OU employee and they don’t want him talking injuries, but he should still report what we can all see with our own eyes - don’t share any private, but at least acknowledge there’s an issue

Several weeks ago, he awarded an rbi to Tiare on a wild pitch. He went on and on about it, because it would have been a milestone rbi as Tiare was moving up the OU career lists. Except that isn’t an rbi. Another game recently, he said no rbi on a fielders choice. He at least circled back to this one and corrected himself.

“3rd inning shoutouts” - I get that this is a “thing” and goes back to when OU committed to radio PbP for all games, home and away, and it’s cute and quaint - but it becomes a burden when he has to list every single one - Toby does the same thing for baseball, except Toby limits it to just a few - not EVERY single one. It’s a distraction from actual game coverage.

Just a short list of examples - I could go on. To be clear - I LIKE Plank, and listen most of the time, he’s family. But he can be better and he should be better.

[inconnu]

He said about Hansen(that I heard) that she was "hobbling", in that game recently where she played early on, and then was substituted. Since I usually just listen, and watch highlights later, I have heard him correct himself pretty often, FWIW. Yeah, I'm not interested in the shoutouts, either.

[1KCSoonerFan]

Tropical put into words the very things I thought and felt about certain game-time Moments against T-Tech. Tropical also articulated the retrospective view of the final results which leave me feeling like a doofus to ever doubt for a second that the Sooners would dominate them. The FACTS say it really wasn't a close, three-game contest. Even using the word "close" is hyperbole. As the team is learning how to be a great team, I am learning how to be a great fan and interpreter of the game.

Excellent narrative, Tropical! You captured both the frustrations and spoilage of my own OUSB fanhood!

I get mad when the team cannot get at least 1 RBI with the bases loaded. (I think they did break through in one of the games against Tech) The stats of how the Sooners hit and score with bases loaded may likely prove me a fool. Yet, as a fan that listens to every game on the radio, it seems like IF the bases get loaded, batters go into a torpor - and will immediately record easy outs that have no chance of scoring an additional run. I have called this (in my own mind) the Bases Loaded Curse.

I'm not as invested in being "right" as I am in scoring runs that may put a game out of reach when OU has the chance to do so. I get invested because I am thinking of games when we may need to take full advantage of every opportunity to score....when a bases loaded hit (or even infield ground out that scores the runner from third) might be the difference in a win or loss in a tight game. As a result, I pull my hair out when we load the bases and then proceed to foul out, and/or infield out to the catcher or short stop. Arg!!! I know Coach must feel the same way.

Yes. This is softball. A failure sport that the Sooners are very good at! That's the tension of the game that makes it enduring.

I also appreciate TN's critique of Plank's radio calls. I grind my teeth multiple times a game with his unrelenting string of gaffes, miscalls, and coy excuses about why he makes these errors. I absolutely hate it when he does something like this:
"This ball is hit pretty Deep....to Right FIELD....AT THE WARNING TRACK!...but not deep enough...and its caught for an out." I'm learning to listen for the subtle voice inflections when he'll drop his inflection and energy at the last second. I don't like that style of narration. He also called Ludlum, "Lugwig" this weekend.

If it happens once in awhile, okay. ALL announcers make mistakes and will say, "Excuse me, I mean.." Plank is just times-twenty with the errors with simple things like pitch counts or scores at the end of the inning. He will criticize the scorekeepers for his lack of awareness of the pitch/out/score/inning count. Blame his late night for not having his info in front of him at game time....while bragging about dinner with a player's family or fans...

It's kind of silly, but I hear Plank giving all kinds of info about these themes: TIME, WEATHER, and the SHOUTOUTS combined with his personal relationships/life. This isn't a reason to dislike him altogether....it just feels rather irrelevant. I want to hear more about the softball team, game stats, and opponent. I want less talk about his dog that got out of the yard and had to be retrieved by his neighbor.

I know, I know, this is what makes him endearing to many - even me to some degree. I get that. I think he is a dynamic announcer. I just would like a vast reduction in the misspeaks, miscalls, and other mistakes that seem like unforced errors for a professional play-caller for one of the greatest athletic programs of them all - OU Softball.

Great posts to all!

[oufanforever]

Before the Tech series, OU was 4 for 22 with bases loaded. After the Tech series, they have improved to 9 for 27 with bases loaded. I guess you have to hit with bases loaded when you scored 12 runs with 0 out :P

[OUBeliever56A]

He said about Hansen(that I heard) that she was "hobbling", in that game recently where she played early on, and then was substituted. Since I usually just listen, and watch highlights later, I have heard him correct himself pretty often, FWIW. Yeah, I'm not interested in the shoutouts, either.

I went back last night and looked at the series of pitches in the bottom of the 2nd inning in Game #1 of the Texas Tech series to see if I could see what maybe happened to Hansen.

With the second batter of the inning at the plate, Jennings for Tech, on the last pitch thrown to her was a single that one-hopped into the wall that Coleman fielded and threw back to first base to hold the runner on 1st at second for a single for Jennings. It was actually a very good play by Coleman as she dinked the runner that she would catch the ball.

On that pitch, Hansen was leaning outside to the left handed Jennings. The pitch was over the inside part of the plate though. It looks like Hansen's right knee was exposed a bit as she leaned back above the waist to catch the pitch that never arrived. During the next two or three pitches the first signs of some discomfort was seen with the largest indication being when Hansen called time out and went out to talk to Maxwell. While their the first signs of her knee being right leg being uncomfortable showed up.

Her discomfort could be a muscle issue with her thigh, her hamstring, her groin or it could be something in the knee. Her frequent flexing of the knee is an indication of Hansen trying to find the spot of the pain or the beginning of the pain or discomfort.

When the inning ended a couple of batters latter, she did not stop at the huddle outside the dugout, she went straight down to the bench area and she was not seen again on the field. Ludlam caught the next inning.

[AustinTXSooner]

I like Plank. Every announcer makes mistakes. Go to ESPN+ and watch one of the Texas Tech games. Tell me Plank isn't better than that guy. And it isn't just Tech, you can say that about many college softball announcers.

Plank gets better every year. Yeah, some of the more obscure situations throw him for a loop, but he does know most of the rules. Unlike Chad McKee, who I'm sure knows the rules and strategies of some sport. I'm just not sure which one it is. I remember when Plank gave an RBI on a wild pitch. He needs someone with him that will correct him right away. A lot of people don't know the obstruction rule that came into play with Hodge. I'm not sure what they were reviewing, it was pretty cut and dried. Erin Miller is pretty good at stepping in and clarifying the rules...when she's there.

When he's working games by himself, he occasionally misses things. There's a lot to be done in the booth. But he knows the players. He spends time with them, especially on road trips. He talks about it and allows us to connect more with the players. I'll take that.