Missouri Mariners Softball - Moll

10/27/2026

Congrats to Sydney Knaggs on a great Jr HS season!

10/24/2026

St Dominic going to State Finals! Thanks to our Super Fans Parker and Mia K!

8-2 Win over Parkway Central

The Missouri Mariners Athletics

10/24/2026

Good luck tomorrow ladies!!

Winfield: Natalie VanHook
Sullivan: Savannah Lorenz
St Dominic: Avery Cattoor, Jacie Phillips, Lyla Kehoe, Caroline Harrell, Evie Harrell aka Turkey Sandwich *honorary

The Missouri Mariners Athletics

10/16/2026

For all our Mariners girls and especially our seniors, Ava Bequette, Grace Ulrich and Avery Cattoor, Good Luck this week at Districts!!

10/07/2026

The old BORING Change Up wins again...

Want to know what pitches are missing bats at the college level?

I saved this graphic from 6-4-3 Charts back in May, and I think it's worth looking at. This is a college WHIFF% leaderboard from the Super Regionals.

And look at the top three:
Changeup — 59.7%
Changeup — 59.0%
Changeup — 51.9%

Three different elite college pitchers with changeups producing absolutely ridiculous whiff rates. Then look at the rest of the list.

Riseballs.
Dropballs.
More riseballs.

In fact, 9 of the 10 pitches on this particular leaderboard are changeups, riseballs or dropballs. That doesn't mean every pitcher needs to throw all three. But it does reinforce something I've believed for a long time:

The changeup is one of the most underdeveloped weapons in young pitching.

We spend SO much time talking about velocity and adding another pitch, when a really good changeup can make a fastball that much more effective. And I love the fact that the other pitches represented here are primarily pitches that create vertical movement. I would be remiss if I didn't point out that only one pitcher at this level dominated with a curve ball. And notice the screw ball is nowhere to be found on this list.

Rise.
Drop.
Change of speed.

That's a pretty good combination for making hitters uncomfortable. This is also why I'm not a fan of the idea that the curveball automatically needs to be the next pitch a young pitcher learns. I don't believe every 10-, 11-, 12- or 13-year-old pitcher needs to be learning a curveball simply because someone decided, "She needs another pitch." There are so many other ways to develop a pitcher. As Cat Osterman has said: "You don't fix what's not working by learning a new pitch."

If the fastball isn't working, let's figure out why. Maybe it's her spin. Maybe it's her ability to locate. But maybe, her changeup isn't good enough to make batters uncomfortable in the box.

Too many pitchers (and coaches) are ok with a mediocre changeup. Let's be awesome at that pitch before worrying about something new. Because, as you can see, good changeups are dominating the best hitters in the country.

Don't overlook the changeup. Don't treat it like the extra pitch. Develop it. Trust it. And make it a pitch hitters have to respect!

If this leaderboard tells us anything, it's that a great changeup is one of the most valuable weapons a pitcher can have in her arsenal.

10/07/2026

Let's GO!!!!!!

10/03/2026

Girls caught up with Mia K last night vs Timberland!