The NFCA has released the first edition of the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll yesterday which placed 7 Pac-10 teams listed in the top 25.

Of the 29 first place votes that were available, Arizona received 27 and came in at #1.

2008 USA Today/NFCA Preseason Coaches Poll 

1. Arizona (27)
2. Texas A&M
3. Arizona State
4. Alabama
5. Oklahoma
6. Tennessee (1)
7. Northwestern
8. Baylor
9. LSU
10. DePaul
11. Washington
12. Michigan
13. Florida
14. UCLA (1)
15. Hawaii
16. Virginia Tech
17. Georgia Tech
18. Oregon State
19. Stanford
20. Oregon
21. Cal State Fullerton
22. Texas
23. Ohio State
24. Louisiana-Lafayette
25. Missouri

Donald Trump has added a new form of his hit show The Apprentice to hit big screens on January 3rd.  It’s a ‘celebrity’ version of the popular reality show.  Celebrities will be competing for their favorite charity and one of our own stars will be stepping into the game.  Jennie Finch!

The cast members on the show are:

• Trace Adkins, country-music star
• Carol Alt, actress/model
• Stephen Baldwin, actor from "The Usual Suspects"
• Nadia Comaneci, Olympic gymnastics gold medalist
• Tiffany Fallon, 2005 "Playboy" Playmate of the Year
• Jennie Finch, Olympic softball gold medalist
• Nely Galan, TV producer and Telemundo executive
• Marilu Henner, actress from "Taxi"
• Lennox Lewis, heavyweight boxing champion
• Piers Morgan, "America’s Got Talent" judge
• Omarosa, former cast member of "The Apprentice"
• Tito Ortiz, UFC fighter and former champ
• Vincent Pastore, "Big Pussy" from "The Sopranos"
• Gene Simmons, lead singer of Kiss, reality-show star

We know Jennie can kick ass on the field, let’s see what she can do in the business world.

Having Jennie Finch appear on such a high profile show  is really fantastic for the sport of fastpitch.  The reputation of the game is changing and bringing it in to the main stream will only benefit the sport in the long run. 

The date for the 16U State tournament has been changed from 6/13 to 6/20 in order for girls to be able to attend the Las Vegas Showcase the weekend of 6/13.  The location is still TBD since the 18G tourney will be the same weekend in Lancaster.

Both of these techniques will be used in situations where the defensive corners are being overly aggressive when they charge on a bunt, and/or the middle infielders are breaking to their bags before the ball is actually bunted. 

A push bunt is executed just like a sacrifice bunt except instead of “catching” the ball with soft hands to reduce the distance the ball travels, the bat is instead pushed out at the ball. The goal is to push the ball between either the pitcher and 1st baseman, or the pitcher and 3rd baseman.

The slap involves a shortened chop swing combined with a crossover step. The ball is driven down into the ground, causing it to pop up over the heads of the charging/shifting infielders.

An intentional pickle will usually be called when there are 2 outs and you are trying to score the runner on 3rd. If the runner is on 1st, she will break at the pitch just like a normal steal. However, if the catcher throws the ball (which they tend to do because it would be the 3rd out) the runner stops short of 2nd and retreats to 1st. If the short stop throws back to 1st, (initiating the pickle) the runner needs to stay alive long enough to allow the runner at 3rd to reach home. If the runner on 3rd reaches home before the runner in the pickle is put out, the run counts. 

If the runner is on 2nd, she will break for 3rd as if she is trying to steal the base. When she gets about two thirds of the way there, the 3rd base coach will yell for her to go back. This creates the appearance that the runner on 2nd made a mistake, which will often cause the catcher to throw to 2nd. When she does, the runner on 3rd scores.
 

A delayed steal is called when the pitcher and catcher are doing a poor job of watching the runner on 1st, or the middle infielders are not doing a good job of picking up 2nd base. Executing a delayed steal starts with taking an aggressive leadoff. When the catcher releases the ball to the pitcher, the runner breaks for the next base.

The base runner must be fully committed to doing this and always go in sliding (preferable sliding by and reaching around to touch the base).  This is always a tag situation, so that extra .5 of a second will almost always result in a successful steal attempt.

A bunt and run play involves the runner(s) stealing at the pitch combined with the batter executing a bunt. Coaches call bunt and  run plays in a couple different situations.

Moving Slower Runners and Avoiding Force Plays - When coaches find themselves in a traditional sacrifice bunt situation (less that 2 outs, with a runner on 1st and/or 2nd) with slower runners on base, they will sometimes call a bunt and run.  Having the runners steal on the pitch gives them extra time to advance to the next base, which reduces the chances of them getting thrown out. When using a bunt and run to move runners, the batter will attempt to execute a sacrifice bunt. (Square up early).

Scoring a Run From 3rd aka (Suicide Squeeze) - A suicide squeeze play will be used in a non-force situation where the batter is ahead in the count, (2-0) and you have less than 2 outs.  In a nutshell, the runner on 3rd is stealing home. When executing a suicide squeeze, the batter needs to use the delayed bunt technique (wait until the last possible moment to square up) to lay the ball down.

In both situations, it is extremely important for the batter to understand that she absolutely, positively must make contact with the ball, regardless of the location of the pitch. The runner(s) will be stealing at the pitch, so failing to make contact with the ball will almost certainly result in the runner being thrown out.

The worst thing we can do in a squeeze situation (other than miss the ball) is to bunt the ball directly back to the pitcher.
 

As the name implies, a base hit bunt is used when the primary objective is to get a runner on base. Coaches will usually call for a base hit bunt when facing a team whose infielders are either slow, or playing their positions quite deep. The technique used when bunting for a base hit will differ depending on whether the batter is right or left handed. For a right-handed batter, the process is similar to the sacrifice bunt, with the following exceptions:

A)    The batter needs to wait as long as possible (at the point the pitcher releases the ball) to come around into a bunting position.

B)    Contact is made with the weight on the front foot while the back foot is pushing off towards first.
 
Left-handed batters will use a drag technique.  “Dragging” involves a crossover step with the back foot as the batter moves into a bunting position.

In both cases, the delay prevents the corner infielders from charging forward, which means it will take them longer to come forward and field the ball. The batter moves from a normal hitting stance to a forward moving bunting position very late in the delivery of the ball. The lack of movement by the corners combined with the early steps toward 1st increase the chances of reaching first safely.

The most common reason attempted bunts for a base hit fail is poor placement of the ball, or contacting the ball too hard. The goal is always to create that perfect “slow roller.”

Key Points to Remember:

• Wait as long as possible to come around
• Use soft hands to “catch” the ball with the bat
• Only bunt a strike
• Keep the bat at the top of the strike zone
• Try and place the ball near the foul line where it will be difficult to field
• Push off towards 1st at the point of contact

More Tips on Bunting:

See Sac Bunting 

This is a traditional “move the runner” situation where there is a runner on 1st or 2nd with less than 2 outs. The goal is to lay a soft bunt down that travels just far enough (5 to 8 feet from home plate) to cause any infielder to have to take a few steps forward to field the ball.  What we don’t want to do is to either bunt the ball right in front of home plate, (in the forward part of the batter’s box) or bunt the ball hard back to an infielder.  If that happens, the chances the fielder will try and throw for the lead runner increases dramatically. The goal is to make the out at first the only option.

Key Points to Remember on Sac Bunt:

• Come around early
• Use soft hands to“catch” the ball with the bat
• Only bunt a strike
• Keep the bat at the top of the strike zone
• Keep the barrel of the bat above the knob
• See the ball on the ground before running

More tips on bunting:

Bunting for a Base Hit

An offensive signal system is based on counting individual signs rather than looking for a specific indicator followed by a specific sign. The idea is to simplify things for the batter/base runner, while at the same time eliminate the need to constantly repeat specific actions. With the counting system, it makes absolutely no difference what signs are given. The only thing that matters is the number of signs given.

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