re: Who thinks Torina will be the next gone?

I mean just the fact that almost everyone else has been replaced makes her more than likely the next in line.

I can't claim to be an expert, but it seems that what this team is lacking is elite pitching. Kilponen is having to carry too much of the load. With the highly rated pitchers coming in, we should look very different in the circle next year.

Based off of what? Look at her record. She has been pretty damn successful!

I think everyone thinks she will be next. The question is weather on not it will be after this season or next?

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Does anybody even care about softball?

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why yes, yes we do dipshit

changes?

see how many changes she has made since 2012

let me know.

she will go down with the ship

or she will pull it out her arse and save her job

but it will not be because of changes.

she has been trending down for some time for anyone who pays attention

The program is trending downward, but I’ve said I think Woody doesn’t give it attention as long as Beth makes the Supers. But hey, with the facilities and budget, five years not making it to OKC (assuming we fall short again this year) may get SW looking closer, especially since we may not host a regional.

I gave Howard Dobson credit because the hitting is better, although it does seem to tail off in the clutch and with RISP as we get closer to the postseason.

I won’t retype what I’ve posted before. I’ll just note there are some Johnny-come-latelies in the softball threads who sound an awful lot like Beefense and Choctaw going down with the Les Miles ship.

Their mantra with Beth and softball is:

1. “Oh, we can’t hope to compete with Alabama and Oklahoma! Let’s just be happy we host a regional most years!”

2. “Oh we can’t fire Beth! Who would we get that’s better?!? We can’t take that risk!”

It’s like the Miles propagandists of old got hired on to come out of retirement and defend Beth.

I hope Beth makes the needed and necessary changes, but she seems overly loyal to a stale staff. She also seems to think she owns the job and is untouchable.

That’s a risky state of mind with an AD like Woody who doesn’t hesitate to pull the plug.

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Beth not being able to win a NC with Hoover, Walljasper, Bell, Jaquish, etc. is like:

1) Chatman unable to win one with Augustus and Fowles.

2) Miles unable to win one with that 2006 team with four first round draft picks

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It's almost like winning a national championship is extremely difficult to do.

We have a softball team?

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1. “Oh, we can’t hope to compete with Alabama and Oklahoma! Let’s just be happy we host a regional most years!” 2. “Oh we can’t fire Beth! Who would we get that’s better?!? We can’t take that risk!”

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I suppose I’m one of the Johnny-come-latelies you are referencing in your comments. I didn’t discover this forum until December so my lack of comments here related to softball are not proof of anything.

These two points bear a resemblance to arguments I have made, but of course they come with the typical internet tendency to exaggerate and create strawmen. The Oklahomas and Alabamas have dominated college softball. It’s not impossible to compete, but the only non-blue blood to win an NC since 2005 is Florida St. If your only standard for excellence is winning an NC, then the odds of achieving that goal are exceptionally small.

That then ties into the other point. If there is only one coach out there who has demonstrated she can break into that club, who exactly are you going to get that is going to elevate the program to a level beyond the level Torina has established? Lonni Alameda is the only current coach who has taken a program from a lower level up to the level you seem to desire and it took her 10 seasons to get there. Even in her case, she missed the WCWS in 2 of the previous 3 seasons before finally getting over the hump. It wasn’t a smooth progression toward achieving that level.

I am not happy to just host a regional in most years, but there is a middle ground between that level and one that demands an NC or bust. I agree the program has taken a step back the last few years. I am willing to be patient a little longer, but not indefinitely. The next two seasons are make or break. If Torina can’t get back to the WCWS within the next two years, then it’s time to move on. The talent will be there both offensively and in the circle. After that, my expectation would be to earn a national seed at least half the time and make the WCWS at least 3-4 times in the next 10 years. If she can’t do that, then there is a larger pool of candidates that seem capable of that more modest expectation. I just think the NC or bust mentality is much more likely to result in bust.