That from an in game perspective Thomas struggles with having a plan and then executing it. Obviously the plan yesterday was to ride Eberle as far as he could and it worked. The issue was there was no relief plan. With the two freshman, yes he had lost some confidence in them, partially their own doing. The reality is that if he made a pitching change (and I think he should have but hindsight is 20/20), he had to do it to start the inning or maybe after first base runner. Both Dail and Rochard are rise ball pitchers and susceptible to the HR. Dail obviously had control issues as well. Those two issues essentially meant you couldn’t bring them in with bases loaded etc (see last Liberty game). Eberle had only allowed 3 HRs all year, But when your pitcher has thrown 100 pitches two days in a row you have to have a plan. The plan should have been after surviving the 6th inning jam was “Carrie you have done enough, and we got your back”, and bring in a new pitcher to get three outs without the pressure of bases loaded and a disappearing strike zone. Thomas’ lack of plan is also seen in sporadic sacrifice attempts, often waiting until one strike on the batter, awkward stolen base attempts, etc.

The girls played really well the last two days and deserved better. Hopefully the necessary changes will be made and a fresh start will help this year’s freshman class and get some of the other hitters back on track.
[Post edited by VT_Alum2x at 05/11/2018 3:39PM]