Advice on What to Expect D2 Pitching

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Aug 18, 2014
57
8
My daughter has committed to a mid level D2 school. They usually do go to the NCAA D2 tournament but the conference competition seems to be on the weaker side.

Like any Dad I want her to succeed and I’m fearful that the pitching will be so much better than that which she has seen. I don’t know if this is true or not but I figure if I have a choice to worry or not worry why not worry.

She has played A ball the last two years and has gone to PGFs, Colorado, D-9 etc.

For those parents who have lived it, is the pitching at these tournaments comparable to what she will see at a D2 level? I realize there are always outliers in that some pitchers are almost unhittable and others get knocked around but overall what can you tell me?


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Cannonball

Ex "Expert"
Feb 25, 2009
4,854
113
I can't speak for those A Tournaments but you will find a vast range of abilities at the D-II level. Your conference and the tournaments that your team plays in will showcase a vast array of abilities. The conference by dd played in, GLVC, had exceptional pitching when she played. In fact, two pitchers from that conference went on to play professionally. How am I doing so far to help your anxiety? LOL

An article about the ace of my dd's team:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-ecn-gene-chamberlain-column-hannah-perryman-st-0410-20160409-column.html
 
Aug 18, 2014
57
8
I can't speak for those A Tournaments but you will find a vast range of abilities at the D-II level. Your conference and the tournaments that your team plays in will showcase a vast array of abilities. The conference by dd played in, GLVC, had exceptional pitching when she played. In fact, two pitchers from that conference went on to play professionally. How am I doing so far to help your anxiety? LOL

An article about the ace of my dd's team:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-ecn-gene-chamberlain-column-hannah-perryman-st-0410-20160409-column.html

Haha thanks a lot. Well at least that pitcher has graduated. Holy smokes 0.92 ERA. That’s in the unhittable category for sure.

It’s just hard to know what to expect. So much time and effort went into getting here and of course now she will have to prove herself all over again just like all of them. It’s exciting but scary too.


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Cannonball

Ex "Expert"
Feb 25, 2009
4,854
113
Haha thanks a lot. Well at least that pitcher has graduated. Holy smokes 0.92 ERA. That’s in the unhittable category for sure.

It’s just hard to know what to expect. So much time and effort went into getting here and of course now she will have to prove herself all over again just like all of them. It’s exciting but scary too.


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Enjoy the ride. D-II softball is quality softball and you will be surprised at the differences in level of play. My dd's team played in tournaments from Arkansas, Alabama, to Arizona. The one in Arizona had most of the top 25 teams in it. For my family and dd, we think that she made the best choice for her. She had a great career and gained a great education. I hope your dd does the same.
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
I currently coach a 23u travel team that is made up of D2 and D3 players. My DD plays D3. The D2 teams that are represented on our team are competitive in their conference (.600 to .700 winning percentages). The one team in particular has 3 girls that play for our team. I went to see some of their fall games. They beat a D1 team and then lost to a D3 team... In the same day! My point is that the quality of softball will vary within the levels. There are some very good D2 teams, and some not so good ones.

In regards to pitching. One of our travel team players plays D2 and throws 61-62. But our fastest pitcher plays D3 (chose her school based on academics). She throws 63-64. DD doesn't throw as fast as either of these girls.
 
Jun 6, 2016
2,714
113
Chicago
Try searching for some games of the other schools in the conference on YouTube.

A while back I was looking for lower level D3 schools because I, too, have no idea what college softball is like (outside of the very good teams you see on ESPN all the time). I found some schools in my region who had a few games. It's not a professional production, but you can get an idea of how good the players are.

One thing I noticed is that defense is definitely worse than what you see at the highest level of college ball.
 

Cannonball

Ex "Expert"
Feb 25, 2009
4,854
113
Try searching for some games of the other schools in the conference on YouTube.

A while back I was looking for lower level D3 schools because I, too, have no idea what college softball is like (outside of the very good teams you see on ESPN all the time). I found some schools in my region who had a few games. It's not a professional production, but you can get an idea of how good the players are.

One thing I noticed is that defense is definitely worse than what you see at the highest level of college ball.

As with pitching, other parts of the game including defense depend upon what teams you watch play. You have a very good D-II program in your area in Lewis University. My daughter's team was exceptional good at pretty much all phases of the game but they were ranked for a long time as the #1 D-II in the country. Every player on her team was recruited at the least by a mid major D-I.
 
Jan 18, 2018
22
0
Congrats on your daughter for becoming a collegiate athlete. The hardest adjustment for me was watching my daughter sit the bench her freshman year (4 at bats all year). I had the same thoughts that you are having now: can she play at this level, is the pitching too good, should she have gone to a different school and played club ball. It was hard on her, but I think it was even harder on me. I did not really care if she started; however, I wanted her to play enough to see if she belonged. For the entire year, I supported the team and kept hoping my daughter would get a chance that never happened. My daughter was supported by her teammates and continued to work hard. By the second half of her soph. year, she became a starter. Having a daughter play softball in college is a wild ride of highs and lows that goes by really fast. My best advice is to support your team and daughter and enjoy every minute of it because it goes by very fast.
 
Nov 29, 2009
2,975
83
I can't speak for those A Tournaments but you will find a vast range of abilities at the D-II level. Your conference and the tournaments that your team plays in will showcase a vast array of abilities. The conference by dd played in, GLVC, had exceptional pitching when she played. In fact, two pitchers from that conference went on to play professionally. How am I doing so far to help your anxiety? LOL

An article about the ace of my dd's team:

https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-ecn-gene-chamberlain-column-hannah-perryman-st-0410-20160409-column.html

My DD played in the GLVC before your DD did. There was always good pitching on some of the teams. My DD averaged over 7K's per 7 innings with an ERA under 2.00 and BAA of around .190. Her team made it to the conference tournament all 4 years and to the conference finals twice. Unfortunately the team was never strong in all phases of the game. They were almost always last or close to it in the conference in team fielding percentage and middling when it came to hitting. After my DD graduated the team was poor in all phases of the game and became the conference doormats for a while. The latest coach seems to be on the right track turning the program around.

Teams run in cycles. There were a couple of middling to weak teams in the conference when my DD played who later went on to be highly ranked nationally. You never really know from year to year. The addition of pitcher and a couple of power hitters can turn a team around in one season.
 
Jun 6, 2016
2,714
113
Chicago
As with pitching, other parts of the game including defense depend upon what teams you watch play. You have a very good D-II program in your area in Lewis University. My daughter's team was exceptional good at pretty much all phases of the game but they were ranked for a long time as the #1 D-II in the country. Every player on her team was recruited at the least by a mid major D-I.

Oh, I have no doubt there are excellent D2/D3 schools.

What I was trying to say was the lesser defense was the easiest thing to notice. You can't always tell just how fast a pitch is (especially when the camera angle isn't good). It can be hard to tell if the pitcher is good or if the hitters are bad, that kind of thing.

But subpar defense jumps out.
 

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