example. One way, would be if Mazz pitched against Texas Tech and Bree pitched against West Texas State Junior College. That is an obvious difference, and we did see that some early in the season while Pete tried to figure out who was going to pitch the critical games besides Mazz. Mazz definitely wasn't going to pitch in a weekend tournament against the low major teams when we had SEC teams for her. Pete threw everybody else at these teams. That's not a lot of it, but some. The other example, and really what I'm referring two when I say "better situations", is is exactly what you mention. In the first inning or the fifth inning, you aren't necessarily facing the same batters. Same people, not the same scenario. Mazz is facing a batter for the third time, and Bree would be facing a batter for the first time if she came in in relief. That's what we saw most of the season, certainly through the nonconference portion. If you only go 1-2 times through the batting order, you will definitely have a better ERA and better per inning stats. If we played Texas Tech tomorrow, Mazz would start and go until they started hitting her. Bree would come in and finish them off. She wouldn't have to pitch until they started hitting her, unless Mazz was pulled early. We did see Bree pitch a 5-6 inning game once or twice as a reliever, but not usually. Bree has been going longer and longer in games, so I would expect her ERA to go down some. Hopefully not a lot, and maybe it's still better than Mazz. I'm just telling you why it should be better right now. Bree may be better now, or may be better next year, or have a better career. Only Pete knows what he sees and who he trusts, I'm just saying it may not all be about the season stats. Remember, when Bree got ACC rookie of the week, Mazz got ACC pitcher of the week, then Mazz repeated as ACC pitcher of the week. Somebody saw something in Mazz those weeks. ** Edited by vatechcowpatty at 4/11/2026, 10:17:26 PM