Coaches Corner for July 7th: Reed Smith, Ogden Softball

joining us on coaches corner KWB G going to talk some Ogden softball as a Reed Smith joining us Bulldogs getting ready for postseason as mattered will be their opponent on Wednesday night and believe it or not read last time we talked the postseason pairings hadn't come out yet so I know we're just 24 hours away from an opportunity against Madrid but when you first saw the brackets I know you weren't maybe overly surprised although I'm sure maybe a little disappointed to have to face a team for the third time this year yeah you know you know it's always nice to just go face a team that you know you haven't played all season and you know maybe you have to travel a little bit or they have to travel to you but ultimately you know at this point we can't do anything about it you know we've got a lot of respect for Madrid you know they've got some kids that can really swing it and they've got a good pitcher in the circle and Serrat but and we split with them throughout the season so it should be a good ball game tonight but you know I'm excited I think that our kids have been playing really well lately and I think that they are up for the challenge to host Madrid and in our first regional round tomorrow night well you had an opportunity last week to get some softball in I think that's the one thing that coaches always get a little worried about before postseason read and probably coaches baseball and softball but you always want to stay kind of a little bit in a routine you it definitely were your team last week got a couple of wins Panorama and Baxter dropped two against West Marshall and then Green County how did you feel like you played overall though last week yeah felt like we played really really well especially earlier in the week you know got you know in our last conference matchup you know beat Panorama scored a bunch of runs and and then you know beat Baxter pretty handily and scored a bunch of runs against them and then you know played two tough opponents you know West Marshall's ranked in two-way you know played a good game against them you know they're just a team that can swing it pretty well and and you know had our number that night but felt like our kids competed really well and we're playing good ball and then you know Green County was a close one you know ended up losing by one run but you know again a really a really good competitive game where you know we had some opportunities to make plays you know I think we left 12 runners on base in that game so we had some opportunities to score runs to and end up on top but you know that's just that's just the game of softball you know you're gonna get your chances you know we've got to have we've got to have our kids execute you know when we get those opportunities but you'll feel like we're in a really really good spot right now and playing good softball and it was nice to play some good competitive teams in our last week of the season to make sure that you know we're battle tested and we're ready to go for regional play and you know ultimately I feel like you know we had some challenges last week and we were put in some situations late in games where you know where we had to really make a play and you know kids are experiencing some pressure you know which is good for us because you know we know that we're gonna need to be able to make those plays and pressure situations and experience that especially when it comes to regional time. Well talk about somebody's been making some plays and I know I'm gonna go back a little bit far on this first one just to kind of start talking about Clara Cruz I know she had a heck of a game she threw against Grandview Christian her bat has been very consistent the girl that's hitting over 400 on the season coach and 34 RBIs on the year as well tell me about Clara Cruz what have you seen from her the last couple weeks? She has just been a kid that you know we really feel like can do some damage in the box for us you know she hit six for us which is you know I think a lot of people would think that's kind of crazy you got a kid that's sitting over 400 with 34 RBIs that's sitting six but you know really our our lineup you know one through nine we feel like we've got a lot of kids that can get on base and and do some damage for us and you know in that in that six goal you know she has been able to drive in a lot of our three four and five hitters that you know get on base a lot and and are hitting some of the top of our order kids in so we feel like that's a really good spot for her especially to make to kind of spread our lineup out a little bit and to make sure you know one through nine you know we're competitive and we can hit runners in and we can spread kids out and we've got kids that can get on base in front of her so that you know she can score some runs for us in that in that six hole and yeah you know she pitched against Granby Christian you know they're ranked number one in the state at the time that we played them you know she pitched phenomenally hit a bunch of spots got a bunch of ground balls and fly outs and you know Granby Christian's a really tough team and you know we hope to see them again on Friday but I had a great game pitching and ultimately you know she plays left field for us when she's not pitching and that came a long way in the outfield you know she makes a lot of plays out there for us but is really a dangerous bat in our order and you know you know we hope that she continues her success that she said this season especially late this season into the postseason I think that you know thinking back to the last week of the season her and Sophie Seligman had a had a really cool moment of the game against Panorama they hit back-to-back home runs off back-to-back pitches and so you know we're a team that you know we don't hit a ton of home run you know we've got a few on the year but I was cool for that you know Clare hit the pitch you know over the fence and then very next pitch Sophie Seligman steps up and hit it over the fence and you know those two are good buddies too so it was cool cool for them to have a good moment so well I'm really glad you brought up Sophie too because I kind of wanted to talk about her next because I feel like she has got a quiet season where yet she's 367 she's got a couple of home runs she's got 34 RBIs you know she's got what we're talking 11 extra base hits with doubles triples obviously home runs she has had a quiet season but yet man she can be really really important in that lineup for you absolutely and she's one of those kids that you know she hits right before Clara and is a great kid to be able to get on base for for Clare to hit in but you know Sophie's definitely hit plenty of runners in as well this year and and has had a ton of success you know she's a kid that you know she's a strong kid she hits the ball hard when she puts it in play and then you know when she gets on base she's a threat to steal some bases you know I think she's got you know 19 stolen bases or something close to that this season and had some wheels on her and you know she's been a staple for us at second base both last season and this season and it's really sure-handed and you know we talked to Katie you know hey Katie throw a lot of stripes you know get ground balls and fly balls you know you've got you know one of the fastest middle infield that we feel like in two ways between Aubrey and Sophie and you know those kids can fly around and play good defense behind her so yeah we we've just got you know we've got great kids that love playing softball and love to show up to the park every day and and Clare and Sophie are definitely two of those kids that you know their attitudes and their hard work as you know we have really paid off this season and that's helped us win a bunch of games. Alright Reid final thing give me a couple things you guys need to do to knock off mattered on Wednesday night I know you're not going to dip in any playbook or anything and give Gabe any ideas but give me a couple things you'd like to see the girls do for Magden tomorrow night. Absolutely great to get Gabe is a great coach you know we feel like you know this will this will be a tough matchup for us you know especially splitting throughout the season and have a ton of respect for Madrid and just what he has done with their program but yeah I just it comes down to us you know we've got to throw strikes and play good defense and you know it's a rather good picture but you know we were we were able to score some runs offer and are in the last matchup that we had so hopefully we can just continue the success that we've had late this season especially on the offensive side of the ball and you'll feel like if we're able to score some runs and play good defense behind Katie then you know we'll be able to have success as a team. Reid is always thank you so much for some time best of luck tomorrow night. Thank you. You bet. Reid Smith again joining us. Ogden Softball here on Coaches Corner.