Who is Alex Blake?
Blake is the two-time NJCAA DII Pitcher of the year from Labette Community College in Parsons, KS. Last season she was responsible for 23 of her teams 25 wins with her 23-12 record. She is a strikeout pitcher averaging 9.81 per seven innings of work. That resulted in 292 on the season. She also had a solid ERA of 1.91. The prior season Blake posted 294 strikeouts and a 1.39 ERA with 24 wins.
She was originally committed to NAIA Park University for next season. But after being named the Dudley® NJCAA Division II Softball Pitcher of the Year for the second time, the first player in history to accomplish that, DI schools started calling. of the Parson Sun recently interviewed her about her decision. The one quote that stood out is when Blake said “I told them on the phone that I am very competitive,” Brake said. “I don’t want to be a reliever or an inning-filler…” Read the entire article here…
Tennessee is in need of pitchers that much is clear. They only have one returning pitcher with experience freshman Matty Moss. They do have help on the way from their 2017 recruiting class in local prospect Caylan Arnold. Arnold is considered a blue chip recruit. Blake may offer the Weekly’s the chance to bring someone like Arnold along a bit slower and pick her spots to build confidence and gain experience. Matter of fact three of the four players they are bringing in for 2017 have pitching experience. It will be interesting to see which of them work into the rotation, or if they all do. If Blake finds success that may change things. It is clear by Blake’s own words that she expects to compete and contribute in a significant way from the start.
One thing that we wonder is; what in going at Tennessee and all the transfers going out? They have one of the highest attrition rates in the country. We looked at this awhile back “A Look at Attrition in NCAA Softball Programs” and over a three year period from 2012-2014 (recruiting classes) they had a 52.4% attrition rate.
Alex Blake is living a dream and getting the opportunity to compete against some of the best softball players in the country. This has the makings of a great story and one we will follow.
