re: Softball Recruits

You keep believing you know more than some of us 357. It's entertaining to read at least.

Dawson is by all accounts a phenomenal athlete. I'd venture there were 4 or so better athletes than Thornhill that sat the bench this year.

Let's hope NONE!

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the odd inclusion of Thornhill

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Hmm? I'll leave it alone.

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maybe Dawson gets the OF spot

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I would hope that two OF spots are open. I'll go further to say that I hope that 1B, 2B and 3B be up for grabs also.

It appears that Thornhill has a tough time reading the ball out there. Maybe a shot at one of the corner IF spots would be better fit.

Griggs is solid as a defender but maybe Dawson will be better out there and offensively.

I love Quinn's athleticism but the ground ball is not her friend. I think a line-up of Bell at 2B and SJ at 3B would have been better personally. How would Quinn be in OF? She is athletic and makes the hard plays.

I never said I knew everything, you are kidding yourself if you think Dawson is gonna be used just as a pinch runner! Thornhill I don't think will see much time next year. We have a lot better athletes coming in.

Sanchez and Satchell are also very good athletes!

I don't have exact numbers but she's a versatile athlete and I've been able to see her up close in person quite a few times. Her speed is deadly but she has very good bat control and bat speed. Yes she is slapper but she can hit for power. She set national records and has been close to breaking other records. She is widely considered a top 30 prospect for a reason!

Claire Weinberger is also a very good athlete, I could see her at the top of our lineup sometime in her career here.

Andrews is a very good OF, good defense and she's difficult to strike out.

In the end, we are just loaded with great talent! We have a lot to be excited about!

I think Beth is going to re evaluate 2B this off season. She definitely was extremely dissapointed with our defense this season!

I personally think defense can be a strength for us next season. I think it will be hard to predict a lineup this early. Beth is gonna be working with a handful of different lineups early. She'll see what works and what doesn't.

I think this freshman class can make an immediate splash right out the gate! We just will go through some early growing pains but it will pay off in the end!

LINK

Who is who in this picture?

Didn't 2 or 3 of these girls have shoulder surgery of some sort?

How serious and does she pitch?

I've seen Dawson quite a few times over the last few years. She will be the fastest player to ever play at LSU softball and it won't be close. She may also be the strongest player to ever play here.

How do the skills translate is always the question. She hit leadoff and played SS for a top 5 travel ball team last year (East Cobb) Bullets that finished runner up in the World Series and at Junior World Cup. She hit over .500 on that level. She is playing for them again this summer but is nursing a hamstring injury that may limit her. Former LSU stud, Ashlee Ducote said in an interview that she attended the World Series last year and that Dawson was the best position player in the tourney.

I get the mantra about LA softball being not as good as Cali and others but Dawson is a total freak. Three national records and swung and missed only 3 times in 180 plate appearances in high school this year. I watched her work out with Connie in infield drills in New Orleans and if a bystander would have had to guess which of the two was a starter at LSU no one there would have guessed Connie. The physical tools and athleticism isn't comparable.

Big time speed, big time strength. To compare Dawson to Thornhill, or Thymes, or Bourg or other high school players I have seen is like comparing Fournette to pretty good high school running backs. Her skill level and upside is at a completely different level than any player I have seen. Landry was one of the best high school players I had seen until Dawson.

She may fall flat on her face but based on the successes and the statistics that make her one of the greatest high school softball players in US history I'd say she will be okay.

I'm not discrediting any of what you wrote. By all accounts the kid is a beast physically. I'd rather just wait and see what happens before I jump to conclusions. I realize I'm in the minority on this board in doing so. Like I said, I watched kids play this year in front of others that made zero sense. I saw shifts in the defense that made zero sense. So trying to guess what Coach Torina will do next season is pointless IMO. The certains are: Hoover/Walljasper/Smith are the 1/2/3. Griggs/Landry/Serret/Jaquish play every game barring injury or conduct issues.