Ava's Week — A Quick Recap
A short read on the week that was, so nothing gets lost between games.
A good week. Two bullpens and a game, and the command is starting to look like a habit — she's getting ahead of hitters. The changeup is coming; it still tips a little when she's tired and slows her arm down.
- Command — the corners game. Strike one is becoming the default instead of an accident.
- The changeup — same-arm-speed reps. Better, but the arm still slows late in the session.
- The reset — a walk in the game followed by a composed next pitch. Small, but that's the whole thing.
The swinging strikeout on the changeup in the third. Same arm speed, hitter way out in front — the exact pitch we'd drilled. A month ago that's a fastball she's sitting on and crushing.
- Keep the command work first, before the arm's tired.
- One inning where she commits to throwing strike one every single hitter.
- A pre-game routine run-through before Saturday's tournament.
One thing to keep an eye on: after a bad pitch, does her demeanor change, or does the reset hold? Her body language is the tell — and the whole team reads it.
