Another EIS terrible K! - True Seniors to Watch.....Lyons ?

[OUBeliever56A]

I won't post the article but I will provide a summary of the list. Extra Innings Softball listed their 8 selections for "True' Seniors to Watch in 2022. Here they are:

1 - Bailey Klinger, Washington, UT - She is a very good player/hitter and she will play one of several positions on the infield depending on what the Huskies need at the time. She is a potential All-American.

2 - Mack Leonard, Florida State, P/1B - Leonard is leaving the smaller world of Illinois State to play for the Seminoles in the much bigger world. Leonard had a big season in the FGCL in the summer of 2020 and returned to Illinois State for her junior year. Now she is off to FSU. She will get her chances to play and she could do well. It is an interesting story for sure.

3 - Lexi Osowski, Austin Peay, 3B - Okay, she was an All-Conference Selection in the Ohio Valley conference and she hit 0.425 in 2021. She had 10 doubles and 5 HRs. the team was 27-16 and lost their first two games in the conference tourney and did not make the playoffs. She might be a nice player, but it is hard to understand how she rises to a list of the 8 players selected.

4 - Ari Castillo Rhode Island, SS-3B - Okay, she hit hit 0.431 with 10 doubles and 2 HRs and an OB% of 0.512. The team was 5-22 in 2021. Again, much the same as Osowski above. She was on the All-Rookie team in 2019 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

5 - Kassidy Wilbur, Stephen F Austin, P - Wilbur is a RHP that had 57 career wins against 24 wins snd a career ERA around 1.40. She was the Southland Conference Player of the Year in 2021 with 30 wins - 6 losses and an ERA of 1.08 and 274 Ks. she is a nationally known pitcher due to her great junior year. Any team playing her will be aware of her and watch tape on her in 2022. I can understand why she is included in the list. If she plays here 'extra' season in 2023 she could be a transfer option for many teams with a good senior season. It looks like she will play and perhaps pitch against Baylor, Texas A&M, LSU and Louisiana in 2022.

6 - Courtney Coppersmith, UMBC, LHP/UT - Sooner fans will remember her as the freshman phenom in 2019 that came into Norman the the Regionals with the hot UMBC squad. Coppersmith pitched against the Sooners in the opening round and gave up 12 runs in 3+ innings. She lost to Notre Dame the next day and the UMBC season was over. She does have 40 wins in her three seasons and is a good pitcher. But she has not pitched against anyone significant after OU/ND until she pitched against Arizona and Villanova in the 2021 Regionals in Tempe. she lost two straight again. She is a very good plyer at her level of play. But in a list of Top 8 seniors, she is more of a name than anything else.

7 - Ashley Rogers, Tennessee, RHP - Rogers is a big time pitcher. In her two seasons at Tennessee she has a 47 and 17 record with around an 1.60 ERA and 505 Ks. those numbers will play anywhere. She was injured her sophomore season and is technically a senior but could have 2 seasons left if she wants to play a grad student. She does have the potential to pitch Tennessee to the top of the SEC in 2022. I understand her inclusion 100% in this list. She will be a note-worthy player to watch this season.

8 - Alex Storako, Michigan, RHP - Storako is another big time RHP pitcher. She is 44-12 with a 1.71 ERA and 601 Ks in 363.1 innings at Michigan. She is a Top 3 or 4 pitcher in the Big 10 easily. Storako and Beaubien (LHP) make up a very good 1-2 punch for the Wolverines. They almost upset Washington in 2021 in the Regionals in Seattle. She is another note-worthy senior and a player to watch.

Okay, out of the 8 i can agree with 5 of them.

But let me ask, well maybe ask loudly, "HOW DOES A NATIONAL PUBLICATION DEDICATED TO SOFTBALL NOT INCLUDE GRACE LYONS IN A LIST OF TOP 8 PLAYERS?

C'mon EIS, do a little review before you publish such a list. Grace Lyons has to be in any list of top shortstops for D1 softball. If you reduce the list to 'true' seniors, she simply has to be included. Here are her career stats.

0.340 BA / 0.444 OB% / 0.633 Slug % / 0.956 Fielding % / 27 doubles and 27 HRs. Grace Lyons is the glue that has held the Sooner infield together the last three seasons. Lyons was on the All-American NFCA 2nd team in 2021. Lyons was the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. She was on the All-Freshman Big 12 Team in 2019.

It is fairly easy to project her Senior season to produce numbers like a 0.375 BA, 0.475 OB% with 15 doubles and 15 HRs possible. Lyons will be superb once again on defense at SS and she will start every game once again for the fourth year in a row. EVERY GAME. Lyons has played in every game possible in the WCWS in her two years that is has been played.

This is not a strikeout by EIS it is a strikeout looking on three straight pitches down the middle. EIS has to do better. And all three pitches were tipped off by the pitcher.

I could make an argument that Grace Green could be included as well but that would be as a Sooner fan and might be expecting too much. But there are a couple of Oklahoma State players that could be overlooked as well. Kelli Naomi and Cheyenne Factor have had very good careers at OSU and will likely be in the WCWS three times.

EIS needs to do better!

[cclift38]

For whatever reason Grace Lyons has always been underrated. I think she's the best defensive short stop in the game and bat has improved every year. I'd take her over Sis Bates every day of week and twice on Sunday.

[OU_Tom]

It is amazing how some players don't get the recognition that they deserve. I am not even sure if Lyons has been on many 2nd or 3rd team all American lists over the last couple of years.

Romero seemed to be overlooked until she was a senior.

Hopefully the 4 players that are currently at the national team tryouts will get some recognition that might lead to other awards down the road