A pitch to make softball a hit again
Young hurlers may wind up farther back
Standing on a pitching rubber 40 feet from home plate, a horizontal stripe of eye black painted on each cheek, Hudson High School junior Kaitlin Andrews unleashed pitches that befuddled batter after batter during a game against Central Massachusetts foe Lunenburg High School on Monday .
Her pitch of 60-plus miles per hour reaches the plate in about the same amount of time -- less than half a second -- as a 90-mile-per-hour fastball does in the major leagues. With her repertoire of six pitches, she can take control of a high school softball game. Andrews struck out 12 and allowed three singles in the unbeaten Hawks' 10-0 victory.
But pitching dominance and low scoring games, common in girls' softball across Massachusetts, have the state's governing body for high school sports considering a proposal to move the pitching rubber back 3 feet to give batters more of a chance.
This morning, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Council will consider a proposal that would make Massachusetts just the second state to move the pitching rubber to 43 feet. (Editor's note: The committee voted Thursday to move the rubber back to 43 feet. Click here for more details.)
"It's nice to see pitchers dominate the game, but the game is hitting," said coach Russ Davis, who guided Hudson High to the Division 2 state final last spring. "Elite pitchers are still going to get their strikeouts [with the added distance], but this will be good for both sides of the game."
Officially, the association is citing safety issues for the proposed change, reflecting concerns that pitchers and corner infielders do not have enough time to react to balls flying off composite bats, increasing the risk of injuries on the field. But in interviews this week, coaches and administrators repeatedly pointed to dominating pitchers, who frustrate batters and cause low-scoring games that bore some fans and dampen player enthusiasm.
The MIAA's Softball Committee and its board of directors have both approved the change. If the 18-member panel of principals and athletic directors gives final approval today, the pitcher's rubber will move to 43 feet for the 2008 season.
Forty-three feet is the standard in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, as well as the Amateur Softball Association's 18-and-under summer league elite level.
Last spring, Florida adopted the new distance for a two-year trial shortly after Sarasota high school pitcher Kellie Sirus , now a freshman star at Lipscomb University in Nashville , suffered facial injuries, requiring plastic surgery, from a line drive .
Thom Holdgate , athletic director at Duxbury High and chairman of the MIAA Softball Committee, said coaches and athletic directors find that many of their players pitch from 43 feet in their summer leagues, and the change would bring consistency to the game. In addition, he said, "safetywise, the pitcher will have an extra 3 feet to react to the ball coming right at her."
A year ago, the MIAA introduced face guards, attached to batting helmets, to protect hitters from errant high-speed pitches.
With improved coaching, better athletes, and dedicated year-round training, softball pitchers appear to be dominating games more than ever. A review by the Globe found at least 32 pitchers in Eastern Massachusetts were averaging less than one run per game against them.
Andrews, the Hudson ace, works out with a number of top pitchers at a fast-pitch facility in Uxbridge. She is ready to make the transition to 43 feet next spring.
"I like 43 feet. My pitches definitely break that much more," said Andrews, who shut out Shrewsbury and its ace, Amanda Aditays, in a 1-0, 65-minute classic Saturday. Earlier this spring, she set down 24 Narragansett hitters on strikes in a 12-inning Hudson victory.
Andrews is enthusiastic about the effect the new distance might have on her rising fastball. "It's devastating," she said of her pitch. "My rise will just shoot up right up out of the strike zone, plus [the new distance] it gets us all ready for college the next year."
At the Lunenburg game, Andrews unleashed the ball in a powerful windmill delivery. With her 5-foot stride, Andrews releases the ball 35 feet from the batter. The ball made a resounding pop in the catcher's glove.
The batters stood a few brief moments at the plate, took a few futile swings, then walked away, shaking their heads. In some innings, it took less than five minutes to retire the side.
Opponents of the change focus on the effect the longer distance could have on young pitchers' arms. Some are also skeptical that the additional 3 feet would make much of a difference in the reaction time of the batter or infielder safety , but many coaches and players said they want the change.
"There's no question that it should be at 43 feet," said Donna Lopiano, CEO of Women's Sports Foundation, a Long Island-based organization, and formerly a 10-year pitcher for the nationally-renowned Raybestos Brakettes traveling softball team, which is based in Stratford, Conn.
Jamie Walker , Florida's director of high school softball, said the majority of his coaches wish the rule were changed nationally.
But Lori Salvia, Franklin High's coach and a former pitcher at Milford High and Boston College who currently runs pitching clinics, has concerns the change would hurt young pitchers' arms.
"I have been doing this a long time, and I have yet to see a pitcher injured by a batted ball," said Salvia, who has an ace of her own in senior Kristin Graci . Graci has helped to keep the Panthers near the top of the Hockomock League.
Mary Struckoff , the federation's assistant director and liaison to the softball committee, said the national federation does not have definitive data on injuries suffered by pitchers struck by a batted ball.
Jenny Allard , coach of the Ivy League champion Harvard women's softball team, said the onus will fall on the high school coaches, who will have to make sure they do not overuse their young pitchers.
"You're seeing more overuse injuries when the kids are playing year- round," she said . "You really have to watch pitch counts and how many times a week they're pitching. By their freshman and sophomore year [in college], the damage has already been done."
But all agree that 3 feet will change the dynamics of the game. "This is going to make for a different game and put more emphasis on defense," said Lou Tredeau, the Marian High coach, who credits sophomore hurler Keliann Kirby with a big role in his Catholic school's 12-0 start in Framingham. "This is a huge change, messing with the dimensions of the game.
"Maybe it will make the game more interesting ; when a girl strikes out 18 of 21 kids, that's not an interesting game."
Monique Walker of the Globe staff contributed to this report. 