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hokiehigh2000 OP
Jun 14, 2025 at 12:05 PM ET
Packed house in Chattanooga, Emma Lemley in the circle
Blaze vs. Talons! Great to see so much support for AUSL — there’s hardly an empty seat, and it’s a nice facility here in Chattanooga!

16 Replies

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hokiehigh2000 OP
Emma being pulled after one inning
Quick outing — was not a good one, unfortunately. Gave up a bomb, another one over the fence but foul, didn’t have her command…bounce back her next time out, hopefully! ** Edited by hokiehigh2000 at 6/14/2025, 12:39:20 PM
MidloHokie MidloHokie
Without some reliable change of speed it's going to be tough to . . .
. . . pitch in 'the league'. It will not take these hitters one or two times through the order to time her up. If the games I've seen thus far are any indication the umpiring philosophy is to favor the hitters making the changing speeds absolutely vital. ** Edited by MidloHokie at 6/14/2025, 12:50:51 PM
PokieHokie PokieHokie
Offspeed pitching, 6 area zone pitching, and two to three change of speeds
is required at the pro level. Your most effective pitchers are the ones who can do this. Rachel Garcia is a good example of a pitcher that moves the ball around and changes speeds effectively. Even she was beat in extra innings the other night. Just shows how good the hitters are in this league. Emma was working on her off speed early in the season, but went away from it as the season went on, she seemed hesitant to throw it when the games were on the line. I guess she was worried about giving up more walks since she couldn't throw consistent strikes with the pitches later in the season. Emma will find her way in the league as will Cori. We have to remember they are playing against 5 to 6 year pro's!
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dallasvt
Was Lemley calling her own pitches?
PokieHokie PokieHokie
Probably not with a sophomore catcher! I would say coach Johnson was!
hokiepro hokiepro
Except she pitched 5 inning in her last outing and gave up 1
Moral of the story being they’re all pros. Some days the pitcher wins, some days the hitters win ** Edited by hokiepro at 6/14/2025, 1:24:24 PM
PokieHokie PokieHokie
100% on that Hokiepro!
VTChip VTChip
Midlo will never give Emma credit for pitching well.
How she became a first round draft pick is a mystery.
TomTurkey TomTurkey
Were her non-strikes subject to ump bias or was she just off-base[sic]?
MidloHokie MidloHokie
Don't think that's true. I've often said 'she's a very good pitcher'.
She'll be rightly remembered as one of the best five to play at VT through the first 30 years of the program. I think she had the pure arm-talent to be truly elite. It was frustrating to see that talent not fully developed. Yes, there was the revolving door pitching coach situation at VT but she also must have had a private coach. She did, at times, seem to be on verge of adopting a more 'down in zone' approach that would limit the extra base hits but never seem to fully commit to it. The failure to ever change speeds consistently is just baffling.
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Techdady
Midlo 'Highlights' pitcher's shortcomings.........
As if we can't see it with our own eyes.
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dallasvt
I wonder how much of it was the coaching staff's shortcomings as opposed
to the pitcher's shortcomings.
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Techdady
No need to wonder.......It's always both.
MidloHokie MidloHokie
Well, we get some more data on that question based on . . .
Mazz's development over the next two years.
hokiepro hokiepro
Mazz already has a nasty change. Her issue is consistent command
MidloHokie MidloHokie
Like I said.