Episode Transcript
[00:00:14] Speaker A: Hello.
[00:00:15] Speaker B: Welcome to the Roundhouse podcast with Paul Solentrop of Wichita State University strategic communications. Thanks for listening. Today we're going to talk pitching with junior Allison Cooper and sophomore more Alex Aguilar of the Wichita State softball team shockers 44 and twelve. Last season they won the American Athletic Conference title, played in NCAA regional again. They are the preseason favorite in the conference for 2024. Wichita State opens the season on February 9 against Stephen F. Austin in the Bearcat Classic in Huntsville, Texas. So since we have two Texans, how many fans will attend those games to watch you play? And what is your go to snack when the bus stops at Buc ee's? Allison, you can answer those questions first.
[00:00:59] Speaker A: I think I'm going to have a lot of fans, I mean, my parents for sure, and then siblings, and then a lot of people that kind of live in the area, because I used to play softball in the Houston area, too, so that's pretty close. So I think I'm going to have some fans from there and then.
[00:01:16] Speaker C: Hmm.
[00:01:17] Speaker A: Have you had the brisket sandwich from Bucky's before?
[00:01:21] Speaker B: I believe so. I think that's my son's favorite.
[00:01:23] Speaker A: When we go to Texas, that is a go to that and then a Dr. Pepper, of course.
[00:01:28] Speaker B: Okay. You are from Granbury, orient us in the massive state of Texas. How close is Granbury to Huntsville?
[00:01:35] Speaker A: Granbury is about two and a half hours. It's a little bit more north, so it's not the closest, but it's still close enough where I think a lot of people from my family are going to try and come out to see me.
[00:01:48] Speaker B: That's just like right down the block in.
[00:01:51] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:01:52] Speaker B: Okay. Alex, how about you? Will you have a lot of family rolling in from midland or other parts of Texas?
[00:01:58] Speaker C: I don't know if I have a lot, but I'll definitely have my family there.
Maybe like my uncle, my aunt, but that's about it. Not a lot.
[00:02:07] Speaker B: How about Buc ee's? Are you a Buc ee's fan?
[00:02:09] Speaker C: Yes. I'm obviously gonna get Dr. Pepper. I have to get that. And then what are the little red drops?
They're like red.
They're sour, sour candy. It's like little red sour candies. And then they're straws, the candy straw, the sour patch.
[00:02:36] Speaker A: Those are so good.
[00:02:36] Speaker B: Okay, solid choices. Explain Bucky's. There may be people listening who have not been to Bucky's. How do you describe it?
[00:02:42] Speaker C: It's literally a store of everything. There's home decor, food, fudge like stuff, your dog.
There's literally like, there's clothes.
[00:02:55] Speaker A: That's the big thing everyone gets now is like the pajama pants with the Bucky's logos and all of that.
[00:03:01] Speaker C: My dog has, like, Bucky's collar a little, like a handkerchief almost tied around in his neck.
[00:03:10] Speaker A: Yeah. And you can get stuff like fire pits from Bucky's and crazy stuff like that. Yeah. The home decor.
You could decorate your whole house at a gas station. It's crazy.
[00:03:23] Speaker B: It is quite the stop if you're journeying through Texas.
[00:03:27] Speaker A: And it's always awesome whenever you bring people that have never been there for the first time because we usually get like, okay, you have 15 minutes. Like, go into Bucky's. And it's just a scramble of people just running around because they're like, what is all of this?
[00:03:42] Speaker C: Why is there so much?
[00:03:44] Speaker B: Got to get your picture taken by the big Beaver. There's a lot going on at Bucky's. Okay. Allison from Granbury, Texas. As we said, she is a left hander. Allison went eleven and four last season, 3.4 ERa highlighted, I guess, by a five inning no hitter 130 win over San Diego. And she threw six scoreless innings in relief and a nine three win over Kansas. Allison earned a spot on the American Athletic Conference all academic team, both as a freshman and a sophomore. Alex from Midland, she was the American Athletic Conference rookie of the year last year, third team NFCA all region pick. Also on the all academic team, she went 15 and four, 1.88 era, and through a complete game victory at number three Oklahoma State, a three to one shockers win. Allison, you wear number one on your softball jersey. Is there a story behind that?
[00:04:40] Speaker A: There's not really a story because I used to wear number 15, and then when I got here, someone was already 15, and then Bailey Lang was the left handed pitcher before me. And I had really looked up to her the year before I came in because I had been watching and keeping up with the softball and she had been doing really good and she was also left handed and she was really.
I just. I really did look up to her. So I thought, you know, I'm. I'll come and I'll take her number and I'll try and keep the legacy of that number one going as a strong lefty pitcher.
[00:05:13] Speaker B: Bailey Lang tribute. Very nice. Alex, how about you? You are number 31.
[00:05:17] Speaker C: Yeah. My story is not as cool as Ali's. I got 31 when I was, like, twelve, and I hate chains, so I.
[00:05:24] Speaker A: Kept it, stuck with it.
[00:05:27] Speaker B: All right, so there's a lot of talk. Shockers going to play a different style of offense this year. May have to win some games four to two instead of ten to five. Let's give us your view of the shocker offense. How's this team going to score runs? What have you picked up in fall and the early days of spring practice?
[00:05:44] Speaker A: I mean, we've been practicing a lot more like bunts and small ball defense and kind of just moving the ball around instead of the long ball, which we still have the power to hit the long ball, but we're working more on like, okay, if we're in a situation where the game is still, like in the fifth inning, how can we generate a run that can maybe lead up to more home runs, but how can we get that first step of like, let's just lay a bunt down, see what happens, and then try and steal her over or sacrifice a runner at second over to third instead of how we used to just let's go up there and rip.
[00:06:20] Speaker B: Right? Right. So the shockers also returned Lauren Howell in the circle to freshmen added to the staff. So it's experienced, it's deep. Alex, what's it like for the pitching staff to be the center of attention as we're getting started here?
[00:06:35] Speaker C: I think it's pretty cool. It also holds a lot of pressure, but it's pretty cool.
We have Chloe. She throws like 70, basically.
And then we have Erica, who also throws really hard. She's not as tall as Chloe, but pretty tall. They like tower over.
[00:06:51] Speaker A: Yeah, they do.
[00:06:53] Speaker C: But yeah, it's been pretty cool.
[00:06:55] Speaker B: So that's Chloe Barber and Erica shirts. They're the two freshmen. So, yeah, when there's a lot of talk about all going to. It may be three to one, it may be five to two. We can't count on three home runs in an inning, those kind of things. How's that change your perspective, your mindset as we're getting started here?
[00:07:15] Speaker A: I think with our bullpens, too, now we've been focusing a lot more on, okay, so how can we defend these games? So what is going to push us?
Instead of okay, we're going to throw the same thing over and over again? We would have a bullpen where it's okay, we'll work on our mechanics and then the next day it would be more stress. Like you're put into a three two count with like a runner at second. What are you going to do? And just putting us into more high stress situations instead of kind of just feel good. Feel good so that we can get that feeling of when we're in the game, that it's a tight game and we got to keep competing.
[00:08:09] Speaker D: Hi, this is Rick Muma, president of Wichita State University. Check out the latest episode of the Forward together podcast. Each episode, I sit down with different guests from Shocker nation to celebrate the vision and mission of Wichita State University. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
[00:08:40] Speaker B: On. The pitching staff started last season when all of a sudden, I think we realized, boy, this is a really good pitching staff. It's also a great defensive team.
Alex, last season, what was the point where you realized that group, the pitching staff, was capable of doing some pretty good things?
[00:08:58] Speaker C: I don't know. I never really had an aha moment just because I always felt we were pretty good. I was never like, dang, we're really bad.
I was always.
I mean, I think Lauren and Allie did a great job, and they set a good example that I was able to come in and follow. I didn't think we were ever. I don't know. I just never had.
We're really good. I just was like, we're really good.
[00:09:27] Speaker B: Allison, how about your perspective? You would have been here two years ago, so it was a little bit different for you. Was there a game or a practice or how did you come to the realization that pitching staff is going to be a really strong point?
[00:09:39] Speaker A: I think it was when we came back in January and we started working the bullpens and we all started getting together, and then we started working like, okay, you come in for her. And we were seeing the different dynamics of it. I kind of started to see, wow, we really do mesh well together. Alex can go in and she can throw, and then the moment, if things start to get a little uncertain, Lauren can go in and come in right behind her and do the job, or I can go in and then vice versa. Whenever I start to struggle, Alex is there to come in and get the job done. And I think we all had gotten really close, and then we kind of realized we all kind of had the same mentality of almost like a bulldog. Like, we're just going to go in and get the job done, just kind of keep our head down, not do too much. And I think it slowly built up our confidence over the season. And then Lauren Howell's Arkansas game, that was kind of a moment for me where I was like, wow, this pitching is. I mean, Lauren Howell was the only one that threw in that game. But just watching her throw, and then we played like Nebraska, and you went in, Alex, and you shut him down and I was really like, we are a strong pitching staff. I think that's kind of was my aha. Moment was when I watched you two succeed. It made me, wow, like, we really have it together right now.
[00:11:04] Speaker C: I also think another thing is that me, Lauren, and Allie bring different things. I think, like, more side to side. Allie's down and then Lauren's like, up and down. So it's just mean if we're all thrown in a game, you're going to get different things. So that's going to be really hard to hit. Yeah.
[00:11:22] Speaker B: So you both are talking about something that we talked about last season I thought was really interesting. I think you mentioned it was important to figure out that we're part of a pitching staff and it's okay to hand the ball off to somebody else because as you talked about, we complement each other, we have different styles, and it's okay to pitch four innings and then let somebody else finish off the game instead of. It's easy as a pitcher to think like, I'm a solitary figure in the circle and I've got to do all of this talk about that and how that realization really helped the staff last year.
[00:11:57] Speaker C: I think that realization was a really big confidence builder because if you think, dang, you're the only one, then what happens after you? You don't have a backup plan. And that makes me anxious. So I like knowing that if I can't get it done, Lauren and Allie can definitely get it done. Yeah.
[00:12:19] Speaker A: And I think it also really helped, too, that you knew that we were rooting for each other. It was always, if someone was going in, it wasn't, oh, man, I want to be throwing.
[00:12:30] Speaker C: Why is she throwing?
[00:12:31] Speaker A: It was always like, yeah, let's like, I got you. You're doing great. I'm still here for you. And it was even on the games that you probably didn't do as Lauren. There was one game that I threw, and Lauren Howell came up to me afterwards, and me and her had a talk, and she's a little bit older than me, but just to have her come up and talk to me and, hey, you're like, this is okay. It's going to happen. But you know what? You're a good pitcher. You're going to bounce back. That meant so much to me. And I think it just kind of solidified my confidence in each one of you because I knew that, you know what? If I don't have it today, you have it, or vice versa.
[00:13:13] Speaker C: Yeah. I mean, being pitcher is really hard, so it's really nice to have not one, but like two really good people that you can go to who are just going to keep building you up when you feel down. I think that's really important.
[00:13:25] Speaker B: We heard a lot last year that Sydney McKinney was the confidence giver, that if something was, if there was a rough spot, she would be the one that would come up to the pitcher in the circle and say, you got this. Just use your defense. Behind us, behind you. Who does that? Now that Sydney's gone, we've opened the floor for nominations.
[00:13:47] Speaker A: Yeah, I think right now I would say Lainey Brown has been really good for me. She's come in and she's told me a lot. She helps me calm down.
She's never like, hey, you need to do this. But she's like, you know, that was a little too high, but that was a good spot. She's been really good about it. And I think right now, too, we're trying to learn each other because we have a lot of younger girls that are getting to play and we're moving people around. Like, no one plays the same spot twice in our scrimmages. So a lot of people are trying to get comfortable. So I think it will take some time for maybe to get Sammy Hood, like our shortstop, to get her confidence to kind of speak out because there's just everyone's moving around. But I would say for right now, Lainey Brown has been really good about getting everyone together and calling timeouts at the right time and kind of being that positive energy on the field.
[00:14:41] Speaker B: Laney, of course, the catcher has been a returning starter, so that would be a natural position for the catcher to natural thing for the catcher to do. So both of you threw more than 100 innings last season. Allison, so that's about double what you threw as a sophomore. Alex, obviously, you were freshmen, so a lot of it was new. So now they've got scouting reports in the other dugout. They've got a lot of video on you. Alex, how do you adjust as a.
[00:15:11] Speaker C: You know, I came in in the fall and I was like, I need to grow, like, I need to get better. And so that's what I told Coach O, and we've been working really hard and just to make the same pitches look a little bit different and just adding some new things and refining. So, like, I'm not really changing anything and just making things better.
[00:15:31] Speaker B: Allison, how about you?
[00:15:33] Speaker A: I would say with coach O, in these last few months, I have gained so much more confidence, and I think my last two of I had a little bit of that confidence, but I've never been as confident as I am now with her bullpens. We work a lot on not really changing things, but doing things a little bit differently or putting some thought into what we're going to throw is the biggest thing. Like, in different counts, I had never thought about doing. Or maybe she swung at this ball so I can put it there, but maybe a little bit lower or something. I just had been kind of throwing to the same spot over and over again, and it's these little things. And then we've been working a lot on effective velocity, which has to do with the batter and how they perceive the ball based on where it's coming in. So, like, a high end fastball is going to look a lot faster than a fastball low and out. And it just. It's all this crazy stuff. Coach o is the brainiac with all her little things.
[00:16:36] Speaker C: Coach has definitely brought my softball iq up. Yes.
[00:16:40] Speaker A: Yeah. We even had a sit down one time where we sat and we were, like, talking about what to throw in this count or where you want the pitch to be in this count. I was like, wow, I've just been throwing, and this has really been a difference maker because now I feel like I'm not just a thrower, I'm a pitcher. I'm in there and I have a plan. I don't get to two strikes and I'm like, oh, man, what's going to happen next? It's like, there is a plan.
[00:17:06] Speaker C: I mean, even this week we threw a bullpen and it was like we had to throw these balls under the string. And she even asked us, why do you think I'm having you throw these balls under the string instead of at? And I didn't know. And she was like, well, it's because when you get to two or you're up in the count, these are where you want to put these pitches so that you can get them out.
[00:17:27] Speaker B: So she set up a string across the plate. The idea was to under the string, hit the low part.
[00:17:33] Speaker A: That typically wouldn't be a strike, but you want to work on throwing that because once you're ahead in the count, you don't want to just keep hitting that same spot. You got to make an adjustment.
[00:17:43] Speaker C: And we talk a lot about expanding the strike zone. So that was part of it.
[00:17:46] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:17:47] Speaker B: So we should introduce Coach o. That's Courtney Oliver, new pitching coach this year for the Shockers. She previously had been associate head coach at the University of Houston. She was also head coach at ECU. So she brings a lot of experience in college softball to Wichita State. Allison, describe her coaching style.
[00:18:05] Speaker A: Honest.
That is right.
She will tell you how it is. I mean, she's told me stuff that stung sometimes, but it's always out of a place of love. She just knows what we're capable of, and I think she knows that we kind of need that little extra push.
But even on your good days, she will let you know. Like, you did phenomenal. You did good. It's not just always bad days. And she's very good about explaining things different ways. So if you don't get it the first time, she'll try to explain it a different way. Or we've been using, like, bosu balls and standing on beams just to get different feelings of when we throw. So she's been really great, and her personality is very. She has, like, a dry sense of humor, just very kind of straight to the point.
But she's awesome. She's really just kind of fit in really well with our pitching staff. Instantly, she came in, she started business, and I don't think we've looked back since.
[00:19:12] Speaker C: And I think one of my favorite things about her is I'm a like, every time I get in, I'm like, oh, God, Joe. And she's always like, it's going to be fine. You're literally going to be fine.
[00:19:24] Speaker A: She's like, what are you doing? Why are you worried?
I don't know.
[00:19:28] Speaker C: I just was calming my storm.
[00:19:30] Speaker A: She's like, why are you worried about.
[00:19:32] Speaker C: I don't know.
[00:19:34] Speaker A: I'll throw something and I'll be like, that wasn't good. And she's like, okay, move on. Next hit.
[00:19:39] Speaker C: I mean, it wasn't even that bad.
[00:19:40] Speaker A: Yeah, she's like, you guys just need to calm down.
[00:19:43] Speaker C: But she's the best.
[00:19:45] Speaker B: It's going to be fine. That sounds like good coaching advice. Yeah, that's a good one. Let's make sure we're not listening, leaving listeners behind. You mentioned a boso ball.
[00:19:53] Speaker A: Explain that.
[00:19:54] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:19:54] Speaker A: Okay, so it's like half a ball, basically, like, right? Wouldn't you say that? Yeah.
[00:20:01] Speaker C: Have you ever seen the big, like, they're not yoga balls, are they?
[00:20:06] Speaker A: It's like a yoga ball, but cut in half as a plastic bottom. Yeah. So we'll balance on it and then throw off of it just to get different feelings of the drop. And then you'll do it, and she'll be like, nope, you didn't do it. Nope, nope. And you're like, just throwing off of this half a yoga ball, trying to figure out what you're doing wrong.
[00:20:28] Speaker B: Okay, that makes sense. So you're throwing a softball, you're on a balance kind of thing. Okay, that makes sense. I understand that.
Alex. So, excellent freshman season. How do you manage your own internal expectations going into sophomore?
[00:20:45] Speaker C: Um, I think coach o manages that more than.
[00:20:49] Speaker A: I just.
[00:20:52] Speaker C: I don't know. She's just kind of been a rock. She's going to be like, it's fine, you're going to be fine.
We have tools to help you and to make you better, and it's going to be a good season. That's basically it.
[00:21:06] Speaker B: And that is reassuring for an athlete to hear.
[00:21:09] Speaker C: I love reassurance. I need it.
[00:21:12] Speaker B: Allison, take us through your fall. What did you work on? What were your main points of emphasis?
[00:21:17] Speaker A: I worked on a lot of consistency because I would get into a lot of games and I would throw a really good pitch and then something not even close. So we worked a lot on hammering down the mechanics so I could consistently throw the same pitch over and over again. And that's been really helpful for me. And we worked a lot on, so I used to have a backswing when I threw, and that was one thing we got rid of to just kind of help with timing a little bit and so I could throw my change up. And that's been something that at the beginning of the fall, I struggled a lot with. But me and coach o, we figured things out. We tried a lot of different things, like different motions. And so once we got that hammered down, I think we were really able to go to town on like, okay, now that we have your motion down and we have your consistency down, now is when we build up basically the tolerance, I guess, for just doing it over and over and over again.
[00:22:20] Speaker B: So we hit on this briefly earlier. The other three pitchers on the staff, I'll ask you to go back and tell us a little bit more about them. Let's start with Lauren Howe. Lauren transferred from Arkansas, also had an excellent season in 2023. Give us a brief scattering report on Lauren and what she does for your staff.
[00:22:38] Speaker A: I feel like she's almost the rock of our staff. She kind of keeps us all in line altogether. She's got a great rise ball, and she's been working a lot on her change up, which is deadly. When she throws it good, it is deadly. But I would say I still look up to her, and I think our freshmen look up to her, too, because she's kind of our voice of reason almost sometimes.
[00:23:05] Speaker C: And she's like, it's going to be fine.
[00:23:07] Speaker A: We're just going to do this because I would definitely say me and Alex are more of like the. Oh, my gosh. Oh, my. Like, we kind of are all over the place sometimes. I'm always just.
[00:23:16] Speaker C: Worst case scenario, she's like, that's not gonna happen, and it never does, so. She's right.
[00:23:22] Speaker A: Yeah. But I'm excited to see what she'll do, and I think she'll do great.
[00:23:29] Speaker B: The freshman Erica shirts tell us a little bit about Erica.
[00:23:34] Speaker C: Erica just makes me laugh.
[00:23:35] Speaker A: Yeah. She's so sweet. She's kind of like the quiet one, but then she'll say something to surprise.
[00:23:42] Speaker C: Oh, where's that, then?
[00:23:44] Speaker A: Yeah, but she's got great side to side.
She throws it pretty almost her. She's got almost like a whip when it comes in, but I'm excited to see what she does, too, and to see her kind of come out of.
[00:23:59] Speaker C: Her shell, too, because I know both Chloe and Erica. I'm excited to see them come out of their shell.
[00:24:05] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:06] Speaker B: Erica is from Miami, Oklahoma. And then the next freshman, Chloe Barber, she is from Minnesota. Leno lakes, Minnesota. Tell us about Chloe.
[00:24:16] Speaker C: She's sweet.
[00:24:17] Speaker A: She's just a sweetheart. And she works, so she's a. She pitches and she hits, so she's there all day. I mean, she throws her bullpen, and then she hops into the hitting rotation and she keeps her head down and she works and she's tall, and she usually throws about 68. And her ball just. It dances. It does wicked stuff in there. It's like our batters look like dummies when they're hitting off of her.
[00:24:44] Speaker C: I literally remember her telling me, I only throw fastball, and I'm like, chloe, that's not a fastball. That's doing cartwheels.
[00:24:52] Speaker A: Yeah. I'm super excited to see her gain some confidence and kind of grow into herself, too, because I know freshman year can be pretty challenging because it's new environment, new people, new coaches, but they've handled it very well, very gracefully, and they're slowly getting out of their shells, and we're starting to see some personality. So I think Chloe's going to be a huge asset to us.
[00:25:18] Speaker B: Let's flip to the other, I guess, the other side of the softball, if that's a thing, there will be a lot of shockers who are either new to the team or will be stepping into bigger roles without Sidney McKinney and Zoe Jones and Lauren Mills and Lauren Lucas, who is out with an injury. So if you're a shocker. Softball fan who's a newcomer or somebody stepping into a new role that they should keep an eye on.
[00:25:43] Speaker A: I think Sid Zenin is someone you should keep an eye on. I mean, she plays first, and she's been working outfield, too, but she can swing the bat, and she's just a hard worker. She also just keeps her head down, and she goes through it and works. But I would be really excited to see what she does. I think that she's going to be great for the program. I mean, you're still a freshman. There's still some things that you do. Freshman mistakes. That's just what we call them. It's kind of like bonehead stuff that it just happens. But I'm really excited because she takes whatever the coaches give her and she runs with it, and she'll take all the little advice from upperclassmen they give her. So I'm really excited to see what she's going to do.
[00:26:28] Speaker B: Alex, what's your tip for shocker fans?
[00:26:32] Speaker C: I think you need to watch Sophie.
[00:26:34] Speaker A: I do.
[00:26:36] Speaker C: Mean, throws the ball at lightning speed. I can't even catch it. Yeah, I think she's going to be a great asset.
[00:26:46] Speaker B: The second catcher, Sophie Johnson, catcher, freshman from Odessa, Florida.
[00:26:51] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:26:51] Speaker C: She takes direction really well.
Super nice. Love her. I love when she catches me.
[00:26:59] Speaker B: So, Alex, let's give listeners a taste of your many superstitions. Just two or three top ones.
[00:27:06] Speaker A: Too many.
[00:27:07] Speaker C: I have the same hair tie since literally last season.
I have to have chalk and I have to have tons of chalk. That's not superstition, though. I just need it because my hands get sweaty.
[00:27:23] Speaker A: Man, I could do your superstition for you. Your shoe. You always adjust the tongue of your shoe. Okay, but that's not superstition.
[00:27:30] Speaker C: That's because they literally cut my.
[00:27:32] Speaker A: It's like a routine, I guess.
[00:27:34] Speaker C: It's a routine.
[00:27:35] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:27:37] Speaker C: Last year, I had to throw to Josh, our bullpen catcher. I had to throw to him, but I think I'm getting over that this year.
[00:27:44] Speaker B: Is Josh back?
[00:27:45] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:27:45] Speaker B: Okay.
Still lean on him if you need to.
[00:27:48] Speaker C: Yeah, if I need to. I'm going to go back, but I'm going to try. I'm going to try to give him a break.
[00:27:53] Speaker A: It was always a fiasco when you changed your hair, and we were like, oh, man, we hope this works or this hairstyle is never coming back.
[00:28:02] Speaker C: Mean, for the first game, I'm definitely going to do my trusty ponytail, but we'll.
[00:28:06] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:28:07] Speaker B: Allison, do you have any superstitions?
[00:28:10] Speaker A: Not really. I mean, I would say a little bit with my hair. I always have to have at least my bun in.
I do two braids into a bun. That's when I know that's my business bun, like I'm in business, but, I mean, I try some different little hairstyles here and there, but besides that, I'm more of, like, routine. And that's been my biggest thing now, is a routine instead of superstitions. But I do always put, this is. I don't know if this is a superstition. I always have to put my left sock on first before my right, or I have to take it off and I have to start all over it. I don't know, maybe that's a superstition.
I feel like I'm like, oh, I can't go out there. That's wrong. I have to put my left one on first.
[00:28:54] Speaker C: I think that's considered a superstition.
[00:28:58] Speaker B: Who is the best pickleball player on this team?
[00:29:01] Speaker A: Addie B. Yeah, Addie B and her sister, Avery Barnard. Both of them. We just had a pickleball tournament, actually, and they were both on the team and they were crushing everyone.
[00:29:13] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, I didn't win a game in that.
[00:29:16] Speaker A: I, me and Erica, we were partners and we played against them, and that was the toughest we lost, but it was the toughest game of pickleball in my life. You can just tell, like, Addie just gets zoned in and they put, like, spin on the ball and they trade off and they have little attack moves. It just was this whole ordeal I.
[00:29:38] Speaker C: Was not ready for, if we're being honest. I don't know what Addie B is. Not good.
[00:29:42] Speaker A: That's true.
[00:29:43] Speaker B: She's that kind of pool, golf, whatever.
[00:29:47] Speaker A: We were talking about that in practice. We were like, let's think of something that Addie wouldn't be good at.
We couldn't think of anything. We were like, I feel like she would just all around be good at everything she does. Like, she's just that type of person. She picks up something and she's good at it.
[00:30:02] Speaker B: Yeah. They talked about, I think Fred Van Fleet was like, that he would win the game of pool. He could do anything. Conor Frankamp was another one. These are basketball players, great golfer. So, yeah, there are people like that. Is it unfair that they let the Barnard sisters play together? Should they break them up?
[00:30:17] Speaker A: They should have, but I don't know how they ended up playing together. But then it's also funny because they're sisters. So when something would happen. There'd be like a little squabble of like, what are you doing? Why didn't you get that? That would be kind of entertaining.
[00:30:31] Speaker C: It was entertaining, yeah.
[00:30:32] Speaker A: So then you would just try and keep getting them to mess up, and then they would start going at each other.
[00:30:39] Speaker B: Okay, little sibling rivalry. That's good to know. Let's wrap it up. What is the game you are most looking forward to this spring? Allison, you can go first on.
[00:30:48] Speaker A: Ooh, the game that I am most looking forward to. I feel like it's got to be in Mexico.
[00:30:54] Speaker C: That's what I was going to say. Any games?
[00:30:56] Speaker A: The games in Mexico. I'm really excited to see us play Clemson because they have a lot of returners and they're a good team. So it would be really good to get a kind of gauge point of where we stand and what we can learn from it because either way, there's always something to learn. And Clemson has the MVP, Valerie Cagel, and she's a pitcher. So I would like to see our offense, to see how we react to that. And I know the freshmen, it's kind of throwing them into the fire with it, but I feel like it's good for us to get it.
[00:31:36] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, we're all going to get thrown into the fire. I've never played.
[00:31:41] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:41] Speaker B: Allison, you've got the schedule in front of you. Read through the Cancun schedule for the fans out there.
[00:31:47] Speaker A: Our schedule is Clemson, South Carolina, Auburn, and UC Davis. So I think that those games are going to be really competitive and are going to be a really good, kind of like just to see where we're at, see where we're standing, play competition that not a lot of our players have seen before yet. I mean, we do have a lot of returners. Like we have Bailey Urban, we have Lainey Brown.
We have just a lot of people that. Addie B. We have a lot of people that have been there and done that, and now it's kind of see the new generation come in of our younger girls and kind of helping them figure out, okay, like, yes, this is going to be hard, but we got.
[00:32:33] Speaker C: I'm just excited for this because I think win or lose, we're going to come out of it with a lot of new information, like what we need to work on, what we're good at.
I think it's going to be good.
[00:32:44] Speaker B: Shocker. Softball. They are early in their practices. They open the season February 9 in the Bearcat classic against Stephen F. Austin. Alex Allison, thank you very much. For your time.
[00:32:55] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:33:11] Speaker D: Great insight as always. Thanks for listening to the Roundhouse podcast, courtesy of Wichita State University strategic communications. We encourage you to rate, review and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can always find more roundhouse content at goes and they let him pass it up court and then he gets picked off a long three by pangos. No good. 1 second. It's over. It is over. And Wichita State has beaten the number one team in the nation to go to the Sweet 16. Go crazy, Wichita. I know you are.
