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Post by kiyoat on Feb 8, 2019 12:36:52 GMT -6
So the first game is happening right now. That snuck up on me. Here is the preseason poll:
Picked 4th out of 7. I'll guess we do a little better than that, as the team was very young last year. I think this year there will be a team left out of the tournament. They have had 6-team tournaments for a while now.
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Post by kiyoat on Feb 8, 2019 12:39:25 GMT -6
I don't use Snapchat, but if any of you do, it looks like the Softball team will have lots of stuff on there. Just a tip.
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Post by kiyoat on Feb 8, 2019 12:41:41 GMT -6
The first game of the double-header is almost over, but here's the game-day link anyway:
They are up 3-1 in the bottom of the 6th, so that's good.
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Post by kiyoat on Feb 8, 2019 14:35:07 GMT -6
I guess I jinxed them. Dayton tied it up 3-3 in the 7th (regulation is 7 innings) , then beat the Yotes in the 9th, final 3-4.
Yotes beat the host team (Charlston Southern) 8-2 in game 2.
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Post by kiyoat on Feb 9, 2019 15:42:47 GMT -6
Coyotes get the sweep today, with more games tomorrow.
* update: USD Softball is 4-1 after the first tournament in South Carolina. Good start!
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Post by kiyoat on Feb 11, 2019 9:39:42 GMT -6
Last year the Coyotes had a brutal non-conference schedule. Just behind NDSU, who always seems to have a tough schedule. SDSU had a much easier schedule, but at the end of the day, they did have the better team.
I am now coming to realize that with softball I think the non-con difficulty is harder to control, because most of your games will be in tournaments in the sun belt. I think playing top teams is good for exposure, recruiting, challenging the team, etc. I think coaches have some control over scheduling, but with tournaments you kind of just have to play the hand you are dealt.
Here's the current Massey rankings of the Summit teams, with (record), schedule strength rank and [preseason poll rank]:
71 NDSU--(2-1)#89---[1] 107 SDSU (3-2)#138--[2] 138 USD--(4-1)#225--[4] 188 WIU--(3-2)#227--[3] 221 UND--(1-4)#164--[6] 235 UNO--(0-5)#44---[5] 251 PFW--(1-4)#206--[7]
As far as good wins, UND has beaten Long Beach State, a team just outside the Coaches Poll rankings. Also the Jacks have beaten Drake, which is also getting votes.
The Yotes' schedule is pretty friendly for the first few weeks, but gets progressively tougher each week. They will play top-100 programs Utah and Loyola Marymount en route to the ASU tournament in early March against #12 Arizona State, #19 Michigan and #23 James Madison.
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Post by elcoyote on Feb 11, 2019 13:21:26 GMT -6
For teams on the northern Great Plains it's nice to start out against teams you can be competitive against and gradually build up to stronger opponents. Playing warm weather big dogs is fun, but it's nice to get some games under your belt before taking them on. Last few seasons it seemed we were up against the likes of UCLA, Arizona State, etc. immediately. No matter how much you practice inside or hit in the cage it's just not the same as outdoor game action.
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Post by kiyoat on Feb 12, 2019 8:40:56 GMT -6
Not a bad start to the season! Much better than last year.
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Post by kiyoat on Feb 12, 2019 9:43:38 GMT -6
Looks like the team will be travelling to Madeira Beach, Florida for the next two weekends for tournaments. I'm officially jealous. I'm guessing they have very little down-time with a sport like softball, with multiple games a day. Hopefully they will have a chance to at least see a sunset or two, or dip their toes in the ocean. The beaches on the Florida Gulf Coast are simply amazing. powder-white sand, shallow incline, gorgeous sunsets, clear water. The water might be a little cool this time of year, but I'd much rather be there than here. **full disclosure, our family is planning a trip to St. Pete Beach this year, so my head is in the (sub)tropics... also, I spent an anniversary in that area a few years ago. I highly recommend it. Cheap flights to Clearwater/St. Pete/Tampa on Allegient Air from SF probably means many of you have also been there, I assume. Madeira Beach (SB fields in the right of the picture)
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Post by elcoyote on Feb 12, 2019 18:44:00 GMT -6
Geez, we never got to do stuff like that for baseball when I was at in school although my senior year we went to Galveston for a week to play, but that's kind of a dump, plus it rained just about every day. We had to drive down and back in vans and when we got back to Verm it was blizzarding. Good times!
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Post by coyote70 on Feb 13, 2019 10:25:21 GMT -6
Madeira Beach on Treasure Island is nice. Stayed there a few years ago. My favorite place on the Gulf is Ft. Myers Beach (although traffic can be a hassle). The Twins play in Ft. Myers and quite a few folks from our neck of the woods (um, prairie) travel down. I was hoping the softball team would play there, but again, not to be.
Two things I absolutely hate to hear are "root canal" and "artic cold front". I've had both lately and it's now time to enjoy some time in the sun. Go Coyotes! I'll be following you!
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Post by kiyoat on Feb 15, 2019 11:32:42 GMT -6
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Post by kiyoat on Feb 15, 2019 11:41:24 GMT -6
Massey Predictions for this weekend: Friday vs Quinnipiac.......Win 6-4 vs George Mason..Win 5-3 Sat vs Drexel.............Win 8-6 vs Murray State....Win 5-4 Sun vs Cent Arkansas..Win 5-4
Not big margins, so we match up somewhat closely with these teams.
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Post by kiyoat on Feb 15, 2019 15:28:15 GMT -6
Two games, two wins! 4-0 and 9-7
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Post by kiyoat on Feb 18, 2019 13:44:49 GMT -6
Another week, another POW:
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