It took 10 innings to finish this one. Van is now 25-0.

What happened to that team that has been ten running people? Looks like things are getting a little tougher. How are they going to handle the pressure they face in the playoffs?

I guess just how they handled the pressure tonight by a very good Wills Point team. Never quit.

Shelby Perry Pitched an excellent game. Kudos to you.

Van gave Wills Point 4 runs in one inning on errors, just like they did the lastime they faced them....without that inning it wouldnt have even been a game! And if i remember correctly, they scored under PRESSURE twice, its when there was no pressure that they messed up! After tonight, VANDAL SOFTBALL: heart, heart, heart, heart, heart, heart......who would like to question it next?

Righhhhhht, and all 6 of Vans runs were on solid hits, and WP had a perfect game defensively? LOL if you took out all the errors, on either side, it probably should have been a 1-0 game Van wins.

While Van's coach was restricted to the dugout, did he finally figure out that you can only ASK for a time out, but aren't entitled to it? I know he never grasped it even after wasting time arguing with both umpires.

i specifically remember the batter asking for time as well as the catcher. in that instance, why was the batter rewarded by getting a ball because the blue wouldnt grant either batter/catcher a time out??

It is at the umpire's discretion whether or not to grant a time out. He does not have to grant it. Some umps are jerks about it, and this particular umpire was already upset with the Van coach (which should not cloud his judgement, but you know how that goes), so that would probably explain it.

I thought they performed pretty well under pressure tonight. They were down to their final out in the 7th with no baserunners on, and found a way to tie it up to go to extra innings. Then they got a one out triple by the #9 hitter in the 10th, and found a way to score her for the win.

Seriously? Because under the rules of softball, not much else was gonna take place until the pitcher threw the ball. That's why the delay of game call.

And whether he didn't grant the timeout because he was already upset with the Van Coach? Who knows, but he didn't grant requested timeouts all night to either team.

Yeahhh i also agree that the Lady Vandals showed alot of heart!!!! Those girls really work hard and lastnight you could tell!!! :] Last night you could also tell what side the umpires were on ! But the Lady Vandals still pulled through!!!

GO LADY VANDALS!!! ALL THE WAYY :]

Stopped by to see this game thinking it would be a tight, errorless game but it was quite the opposite.
I will agree that the officiating was less than acceptable, but the attitude shown by the Vandal coach and fans was outragious. This is the third or fourth Vandal game that I have watched and the coach has been confrontational with the officals in all of them. Some of the things were worth arguing over and some of them I think he was just arguing just because. Personally if his attitude continues he is going to be marked by all officials and the Vandals are going to be playing out of a hole even before the game starts.

Maybe it was just a night off for the Vandal defense, but I personally did not see a #1 rated defense on the field. I saw lots of mental errors along with several physical ones. Vandal offense was not as strong as I have seen in some other games but they still managed to get the ball in play.

Shelby Perry did pitch a good game but her defense is lacking behind her.

Bottom line errors kill and even though both teams have secured a playoff spot if they do not improve over last nights performance niether one will advance past the third round even with the byes. IMO!!!!!!

I agree, I have seen them play a few times and there coach needs to start setting the example of a number 1 team instead of trying to rub there victories in the other teams face.

You just happen to stop by alot of Van games?????????? I'm guessing you know all about the team, new Athletic facilities, town etc. because you must be from Van. That being said I would have to agree with you about this new young coach and his over zealous approach to getting his point across to the officials. I also believe he sets a bad example for his players and a bad reputation for the schools at Van. I would hope that the Van administration would put a stop to this. The only way that they may know about this is by you reporting it to them instead of on this board. If you truly care about what goes on in your community speak up to them instead of being cowerdly on here.

Just so happens I have no dog in this hunt but I did see the Van AD at that game and he did not look to pleased after the fact!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As for stopping by I love the game and enjoy traveling around and watching good teams play, no harm in that!!!!!!!

The AD is at almost all of the softball/baseball games, as all but Van in the district have their baseball/softball facilities together, and the AD's son plays baseball.

I would go further and say all 3 pitchers that appeared at the plate did a good job that night. Both teams have sticks, but if both teams don't get their E's under control quickly, neither team will go very deep.

(apparently Smoaky doesn't like multi-quotes hope this doesn't confuse anyone)

Well then, here's hoping something is going on behind closed doors to get this coach calmed down, that those of us on Smoaky aren't and shouldn't be privy to. Looks like there are quite a few that do not find his behavior acceptable. No doubt he has a talented group of players, and regardless of what side of the field I sit on, I would hope they aren't penalized...

OKay yeah at that game the Van coach got a little upset but for every time he did there was a point he was trying to make! Those officials were awful!!!!!! You could easily tell what side they were on!! And the Van coach is verry respected by his team!!! They know that he is going to fight for them no matter what!!!!

GO LADYY VANDALS !!!

Just so happens I have no dog in this hunt but I did see the Van AD at that game and he did not look to pleased after the fact!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ff247365


He was not happy after the fact!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not about his softball coaches actions but he home plate umpires actions. He was heard saying that he was going to report the umpire behind the plate. That he had never reported an umpire before but was going to on this one. Still needs to get his coach in check.

What was so awful? I keep hearing that - but nobody can point to anything in particular.

Was it the close play at home that went against Van? That seems to be what started the coach's downward spiral. Did the umps go against the rulebook on it? There were I think 3 close plays at home that night, two went against WP. And someone suggested home cooking earlier LOL.

Was it the strike zone? I never heard the dreaded "C'mon Blue call it the same for both sides"...so I assume if it was his zone that made him awful, it must have been equally awful.

Or are you all saying the umps were bad because it was a close game...give the WP girls some credit. It was a close game in Van, with the Van coach getting "upset" and "making his point" more than once there as well. Never heard anyone from either team complaining about those umps.

Do ya'll seriously believe the umpires were biased towards Wills Point? And about the Van coach I was at the boys game and could hear that fool over on our field.Thats NOT how you treat an umpire or anyone as far as that goes.Good luck to the Van and Wills Point girls.

what actually did the van coach say to the umpires who were taking the wills point side (which is a ridiculous accusation might i say)? seriously, what did the coach do that was so awful?

No, the Umps were not biased. The strike zone was the same for all pitchers. Not very consistant but the same. The time outs not given was the same on both sides. The close call at home was not the issue the Van coach was arguing, it was the fact that the home plate was being blocked by the catcher before she had posession of the ball. (valid argument?)

The Wills Point girls as well as the Van girls should be left out of this discussion. The Van Coach is the one that got out of line. He just needs to know when to stop. Not getting your way on everything in life does not mean it is ok to pitch a temper tantrum.

[quote name='sftbfrk' date='Apr 16 2009, 02:48 PM' post='1159176']
No, the Umps were not biased. The strike zone was the same for all pitchers. Not very consistant but the same. The time outs not given was the same on both sides. The close call at home was not the issue the Van coach was arguing, it was the fact that the home plate was being blocked by the catcher before she had posession of the ball. (valid argument?)



A. Obstruction. Obstruction requires a clear defensive infraction. Two separate and distinct conditions must occur for a violation to occur. The first situation is that a defensive player cannot block a runner's access to a base or base path without being in possession of the ball. The second is that, in order for an infraction to take place, the runner must be hindered or impeded. For obstruction to be called, both situations must occur. If a fielder is blocking a base without the ball and the runner has not yet been impeded in any fashion, i.e., she has not been slowed down or had her path altered, she has not been obstructed. As the play becomes imminent, if the fielder obtains the ball before the runner is hindered, no infraction has occurred. If, as the play becomes imminent, the fielder's location limits the runner's access to a base or base path, and the fielder does not yet have the ball, obstruction shall be called.

Argue argue argue argue, and continue to argue, and then approach the other ump and argue argue argue and continue to argue ...I thought the defense was going to need to rewarm their arms before play could resume.

From what I saw, the umps were not biased, they were indiscriminate in their incompetence.

i agree 100% with oldcrow1 !! vandal softball is all about heart! <3 and anyone who disagrees, has to be insane! if you were at that game you would know. yeah they made a few mistakes here and there, but anytime your watching a game, there will ALWAYS be mistakes. key thing here is that van did score under PRESSURE. they always do. and before some of you go bashing the van coach you should know what he's about! he will do ANYTHING to win! he knows the game better than most officials. so before you go talking your smack behind your little screen names, know what he and vandal softball is about!

playoffs for van may be tough, but they will pull through. they always do!

go lady vandalsss!! go kick some butt girls.

pretty sure he had a fine reason to argue. the officials were simply unfair and deserved to be argued with. coach roberts was right. so get over it.

LOL, now thats priceless.

if that's what you wanna call it.

It's amazing what people will post

Coach Roberts is young and full of passion for the game of fastpitch. He does react quickly and could temper his reactions some, I agree, but he is greatly respected by his team. By other posts on this site, other districts would kill for a coach with this much passion, knowledge and love for this game.

The home plate umpire was determined to show he had "control". The play at home that started it was a bad call. Van fans are loud and always will be.

Did anyone notice the Wills Point coach snub her team?? She did not even go out to meet with them after the game and it was an amazing game [win or lose]. This is what I call "bad" behavior.

In hindsight, I may have directed my sarcasm at a player. If that is the case, then I apologize. The play on the field was great, and as I said before Van should have won period, and it is not my intent to take anything away from their victory - their victory was not won or lost by their coach, but by their play on the field, no doubt in my mind about that. Further, I will never knowingly argue with a child.

I've only witnessed bad behavior from players a couple of times over the last 6 years of following high school ball. I certainly don't bash any of them. Hopefully their parents or coaches will have set them straight.

What disturbs me are comments such as:

Last night you could also tell what side the umpires were on...

OKay yeah at that game the Van coach got a little upset but for every time he did there was a point he was trying to make...

He was not happy after the fact!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not about his softball coaches actions

pretty sure he had a fine reason to argue. the officials were simply unfair and deserved to be argued with.

this new young coach and his over zealous approach to getting his point across

I find it surprising that alot of people seem to think that his behavior is somehow justified for any reason. I find it surprising that there are several different excuses given for his behavior. Hopefully I am wrong, but the messages coming across from some - but not all, are that his behavior condoned, especially in light of the fact that some have intimated it is a continuing issue, and not just that one game. I have to wonder why?

This coach has a responsibility to set a good example for his girls, and he also has a responsibility to represent his ENTIRE school. There is an expected decorum of a coach, and as someone pointed out, you simply just don't treat anyone in that manner. You don't like the call? Be polite, ask for help from other umps, if you lose, thank them for the opportunity get off the field and let the game move on. Don't make the game about you, and your arguing skills. Its not all about you - its all about the players. You think the ump is incompetent? Pick up the phone and discuss it with his/her chapter the next day.


As far as I know Van has always been considered a classy competitor winning or losing, and this one coach is changing the opinion of many. That is a shame.

This game we are talking about was a great one with or without umps or coaches. The girls played awesome on both sides!

I would have to say the home plate ump was going way overboard to prove something and it was just a big delay of the game.

Coach Roberts is a great coach who is just hyper-sensitive to everything that goes on on the field. He expects the officiating to be spot on with no mistakes because as you know this is what he lives for this is how he is judged as a coach...his record. I know some are not happy with his style but I would say most of us appreciate how he pushes our girls to excellence with their skills. I know my child, who is a "strong willed child", would walk through fire for him. She wants nothing more than to accomplish what he asks of her. I am proud of this.

Let's move on to another subject...this is getting old. Two good teams met and played, both awesome. Coaches have their quirks... Next thread please!

Go Lady Vandals!
Go Hilda

Yep it was noticed, yep more than one player was hurt by it, and yep there will be a new coach at WP next year.

yeah this subject is getting old. hmm, is it really that obvious i'm a player? LOL oh well.

Man oh Man.. some of y'all are incredible!! This WP vs Van thing might as well be a knockout drag out fight. I'm hearing nothing but he said/she said BS.
This should sum it all up very easily-
1. The ump behind home plate sucked. His strike zone for BOTH teams was the size of an actual softball therefore it wasn't very fair for the pitchers. But hey that's life!!!

2. Yes sftbfrk you were right about it being a valid argument about the plate being blocked. In softball rules you may not block the plate unless the ball is in your possession.

3. I find it funny that the poster that said they could hear the Van coach yelling while they were watching the baseball game, come on get real. Don't even post if you're going to lie. The Van coach never screamed once or yelled once. Just not his style. But I did notice that he does stick up for his girls and it's great to be able to see that those girls appreciate it. I can't say the same for the WP coach. She's too busy looking forward to coaching at Wylie HS next year.

4. The Van coach argued 2 times. 1st was the home plate incident which was a 30 second argument. 2nd was the time-out incident. And i enjoyed seeing one poster say that WP got no time-outs either, wrong. I can count on about two hands the number of time-outs they got, but it's irrelevant to the game and had no matter in the outcome.

5. "This coach has a responsibility to set a good example for his girls, and he also has a responsibility to represent his ENTIRE school. There is an expected decorum of a coach, and as someone pointed out, you simply just don't treat anyone in that manner. You don't like the call? Be polite, ask for help from other umps, if you lose, thank them for the opportunity get off the field and let the game move on. Don't make the game about you, and your arguing skills. Its not all about you - its all about the players. You think the ump is incompetent? Pick up the phone and discuss it with his/her chapter the next day."
- He set's a great example. He made it about the SCHOOl and his PLAYERS, not about HIM. Seriously, a coach is a coach to not only teach his players about how to become a better athlete, but to also fight for his school. A bad coach is a coach that just sits there and does nothing and let's everyone run all over them.
-Also Mr. Bright One. You can't pick up the phone and discuss it with his chapter bc he is the head of the terrell chapter. )

6. "Coach Roberts is a great coach who is just hyper-sensitive to everything that goes on on the field. He expects the officiating to be spot on with no mistakes because as you know this is what he lives for this is how he is judged as a coach...his record. I know some are not happy with his style but I would say most of us appreciate how he pushes our girls to excellence with their skills. I know my child, who is a "strong willed child", would walk through fire for him. She wants nothing more than to accomplish what he asks of her. I am proud of this."
- Why can't we all be like Hilda, she speaks the truth. I'm a Plano Wildcat 5a softball fan, but now bc of all this nonsense that excites me Hilda has earned the Lady Vandals another Fan... GO VAN!!! Let's win state!!!

Does anyone know who Van might play in the first round of playoffs?

Go to UIL Softball Playoffs Conference 3A Bracket. The way I read it the Winner of District 14 gets a Bye in the first round. Van in the second round would play the Winner of District 15 Runnerup versus District 16 Third Place. I can't find a District 15 so I guess Van would play the District 16 Third Place finisher who would also get a first-round Bye. If this is not right maybe someone will let us know.

It is correct. There is no 15AAA so all of 16AAA gets a first round bye.

www.uil.utexas.edu/athletics/brackets/softball/3A_bracket.html

You guys think this clown behind the plate was bad, you should have seen the umpire in a D1 game I watched a couple of weeks ago at Louisiana Tech. The batter asks for time, ump keeps her there, then gets the pitcher for a delay. The funny thing is he says delay on the pitcher, ball on the batter, then gives a strike signal with a "huh". It was just about THE most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. I guess this plate umpire and that plate umpire must be 1st cousins.

Why is the W.P coach leaving for? I seen that the job is open, is the team filled with a lot of seniors this year? AND the coach doesn't have a BRIGHT future?

Can anyone help with this??

Getting married

She is going to take the head coaching job at the new high school in Wylie, Wylie East is what I have heard.

I'm amazed that this thread just won't die lol

I am just reading this thread for the first time and this quote happens to be an outright lie. I was sitting behind home plate and couldn't hear a thing.

BEHIND HOME PLATE!!!!!! Finally, the umpire read's the post.

LOL -- yeah and I couldn't see anything either except that Darn Van Coach not sitting where I wanted him to sit!....of course I am not the umpire...thought I had better clear that up before someone went off on me....Go Coach Roberts and Lady Vandals... job well done!!!