http://www.softballdirt.com News and Gossip About Fastpitch Softball Thu, 24 Jan 2008 22:29:07 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en 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) ... http://www.softballdirt.com/nfca-preseason-top-25/ 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 ... http://www.softballdirt.com/jennie-finch-apprentice/ 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.   http://www.softballdirt.com/16u-state-date-changed/ 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 ... http://www.softballdirt.com/push-bunts-slap/ 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 ... http://www.softballdirt.com/intentional-pickle/ 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 ... http://www.softballdirt.com/delayed-steal/ 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 ... http://www.softballdirt.com/bunt-run/ 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 ... http://www.softballdirt.com/buniting-base-hit/ 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 ... http://www.softballdirt.com/sac-bunt/ 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 ... http://www.softballdirt.com/counting-offensive-signs/