“We are excited to have a leading sports company like Rapsodo join our efforts in bringing more consistency, accountability and structure to these young players through technology.” Jami Lobpries, Executive Director, Alliance Fastpitch
The Alliance Fastpitch broke sports world barriers when its inaugural All-Star Game aired on ESPNU the evening of Tuesday, July 27th. The broadcast featured some of the country's top DI softball commits, handpicked by a national committee spearheaded by Derek Allister and OnDeck Softball. Split into the American and the National team, over 40 players battled it out at USA Softball's Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, in which ended in a close 10-9 game.
In the days leading up to the All-Star game, Rapsodo Softball was on site at the Alliance Fastpitch Championship Series, collecting and analyzing data for many players at the event. The team first ran Rapsodo Certified Assessments on both of the All-Star team rosters, and any other player at the event that wanted to learn more about their hitting and pitching metrics. We also brought our HITTING 2.0 unit on the field to show Home Run Derby competitors just how hard and far they were hitting. Winners of the 16U and 18U competition put up big numbers, including exit velocities above the Division I average of 68MPH. Cydney Sanders, one of Rapsodo Advisor Marty Tyson's players and Arizona State commit, took home the gold for the 18U division, so it's no surprise she was the one to hit a bomb in the top of the 7th during the game that would bring the American team within one run of their opponents.
As the Official Player Evaluation Partner of the All-Star Game, the Rapsodo team was ready to give live play-by-plays on Twitter when it came time for the first pitch. We featured the data from stand-out players' Certified Assessments collected throughout the week, along with some game commentary of our own.
Holmes from @ImpactGoldOrg fighting HARD at the plate. We can hear the exit velo all the way from STL. pic.twitter.com/aB9CWwwc2w
— Rapsodo Softball (@RapsodoSoftball) July 28, 2021
Otis sneaking a hard hit ball down the 1st base line. Sometimes the low launches get the JOB DONE ✅ pic.twitter.com/OrAE4QQhej
— Rapsodo Softball (@RapsodoSoftball) July 28, 2021
There were a lot of stand out performances during the game that matched up with the numbers both teams produced during their Assessments.
We’re thrilled to bring our tech and insights to the softball community to highlight these talented young players. We’ve had the pleasure of working alongside college athletes that turned into professionals, such as Carley Hoover, and hope that we’ll be able to work with some of the athletes on the field today in the years to come.” - Art Chou, General Manager, Rapsodo North America
Top Performances from the Alliance Fastpitch All-Star Game
Rapsodo gathered data from players with outstanding performances in the All-Star Game. See the data that some of these Softball America 2021 Top 100 Recruits are producing below.
American Team
Brooke Blankenship
Blankenship, a SS for the Wichita Mustangs and Florida State signee, ranks #15 on Softball America's Top 100 List. Her RapScore of a 65 puts her in the Top 5 of the All-Stars we tested with our Certified Assessments. Blankenship drove a 2 RBI double in the 4th inning to cut the American team's deficit to 4.
Quincee Lilio
The #13 ranked outfielder is headed to Norman this fall to play for the University of Oklahoma. Lilio finished off her All-Star week with a spot on the All-Tournament Team and a National Championship win with Athletics Mercado/Smith.
Raelin Chaffin
The right-hander for the Texas Bombers - GOLD ranks 47th on Softball America's 2021 Top 100 List. Chaffin, an LSU signee and USA Junior Women's National Team member, was also named to the AFCS All-Tournament Team. She had one of the best change up data sets out of all the All-Star Pitchers, dropping off the table with a high spin efficiency and downward vertical break of 6".
Baylea Brandon
Brandon will join Chaffin at LSU this fall after playing together on the Bombers - GOLD squad that finished second in the Championship Series. The 1B/OF comes in at #34 on the Top 100 list from Softball America and was 2-2 in the All-Star Game with a Solo Home-Run in the 1st and a Single in the 3rd.
National Team
Mac Morgan
Morgan was lights out in the circle for the National Team, with 2 scoreless innings against a powerful offensive line up. The pitcher for Aces Fastpitch and Arizona State signee is the #6 Recruit on the Top 100 list, and is also a member of the USA Junior Women's National Team. A heavy drop ball pitcher with a high spin rate game, Morgan has the highest ranked drop ball out of all the pitchers we tested in terms of vertical break. Watch it drown a whopping 9 inches below.
Katie Dack-Howell
Dack-Howell ranked at the top of the All-Stars during our testing session with the highest exit velocity of 76 MPH. The catcher and Gatorade High School Player of the Year Play from Highlands Ranch, Colorado is heading off to Texas A&M this fall. Katie had the second highest RapScore of a 69.
Sophia Simpson
The #9 Recruit on Softball America's Top 100 list was no stranger to her pitching data as she trains with a Rapsodo pitching unit regularly. The right-hander for the Texas Bombers is headed to the University of Texas this fall. Showcased below is her nearly perfect backspin rise ball with over 7" of vertical break. Simpson closed out the All-Star game with a strike out to give the National team the win.
Emma Lemley
Lemley brought the heat and a rise ball to the mix of the pitching staff for the National Team, coming in with the highest Rapsodo testing velocity at 68.1 MPH. She struck out the side in the 3rd inning with this pitch. Lemley earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team and is off to Virginia Tech this fall.
We're excited to see what everyone does this upcoming season!
Want to train on the same tools the All-Stars did? Visit www.rapsodo.com/softball to get started.
