women's college world series

[nostatic]

Nice to see sports for the sake of sport. And some amazing play. Missouri vs. Baylor is in the 12th inning of a 0-0 game. The Baylor pitcher already pitched a game earlier in the day (to avoid elimination) - well over 250 pitches and still bringing it working on a 1-hitter. Missouri pitcher has 18 strikeouts in this game.

[nostatic]

walk-off 2-out solo HR in the bottom of the 13th. Losing pitcher had 19 Ks.

[gassy]

I watched some of that too. My 14 yr old is in softball and we love watching the pitching motion at that level. Pretty cool.

[vash]

women's fastpitch softball..

can a male throw an underhand softball pitch as fast as a female? faster?

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by vash

women's fastpitch softball..

can a male throw an underhand softball pitch as fast as a female? faster?

Faster. My dad was a pitcher for 30 years or so. Could make the ball break any direction. Harder to hit as the mound is closer than baseball.

YouTube - ‪The King and His Court‬‏

100+ mph from 50' away. And trying to read a drop vs a rise? Forget it...

The women throw in the 70's I think. Plenty hard to hit. Plus look at the fact that they routinely throw multiple games in a day, throwing as hard at the end as they did at the beginning. MLB guys are out by the 5th most of the time these days. Wimps...

[74-911]

Originally Posted by vash

can a male throw an underhand softball pitch as fast as a female? faster?

Absolutely,.... the females are really good but just not in the same league as the best male pitchers.

Back in the Vietnam War era some of the best fastpitch mens teams in the country were military teams. I had the privilege?? of trying to hit some of the best fastpitch pitchers in the country on several occasions in those days.

Nostatic described it well. When a pitcher was "on" he was said to be "shooting BB's" and it was like trying to hit one. The good pitchers used exactly the same motion on every pitch and the ball was on you so quickly you (I anyway) couldn't tell if it was going to rise, break or ( in the case of the best pitchers) drop like it fell off a cliff and leave you looking like a fool when you swung at it. And a pitcher with a good changeup.... forget it.

Throwing underhand is a very natural motion as opposed to overhand and in the course of tournaments a pitcher might pitch 2 or 3 games in a 24 hour period and never seem to get tired.... just that same old motion pitch after pitch..

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by 74-911

Absolutely,.... the females are really good but just not in the same league as the best male pitchers.

When a pitcher was "on" he was said to be "shooting BB's" and it was like trying to hit one. The good pitchers used exactly the same motion on every pitch and the ball was on you so quickly you (I anyway) couldn't tell if it was going to rise, break or ( in the case of the best pitchers) drop like it fell off a cliff and leave you looking like a fool when you swung at it. And a pitcher with a good changeup.... forget it.

Throwing underhand is a very natural motion as opposed to overhand and in the course of tournaments a pitcher might pitch 2 or 3 games in a 24 hour period and never seem to get tired.... just that same old motion pitch after pitch..

My exact experience...and for me it was a few at bats against a friends of mines Dad after HS baseball practice. The sound of the big ball as it comes in is memorable.

I caught most of my Little League years, so I had an idea on clues and cues of pitchers: How anyone CATCHES fast pitch is another mystery.

+1 on sport for sports sake.

[nostatic]

My dad had a minor league contract offer as a pitcher (Red Sox iirc) after he got out of the Navy after WW2. He warmed up too quickly one day and hurt his shoulder - that kinda ended that route. So he switched to fast pitch softball. During the late 40's into the 60's, fastpitch softball was *huge* in San Diego. The big aerospace firms all had company teams as did the utilities (my dad work for SDG&E). The level of play at AAA and the one above that was fierce. Pretty much every game was 1-0 as the pitchers were so good.

By the time I came along my dad (35 when I was born) was still playing a couple times a week. My mom would keep score and I grew up on the softball diamond. When I reached little league age he was starting to slow down but could still bring it. My coach for 3 years was a guy who pitched with him on a couple of teams and sometimes at batting practice he'd throw baseballs underhand - but full windmill. Talk about a good way to freak out a 10 year old. You cannot pick up the ball like you can with an overhand pitcher. The ball basically appears from the hip of the pitcher and you have a split second to try and read which way it is breaking.

I pitched fast pitch in a couple of leagues but I was never to the level those guys were...I just couldn't get the snap right. The only thing I could do it throw a changeup that looked the same as my lame fastball but was way slower. Those two pitches done right are enough to make most weekend players look silly.

[vash]

thanks for clearing it up.

i think my BIL told me a fast softball pitch was possible because of a woman's anatomy. i be sure to slap him in the back of the head tonight.

[74-911]

Originally Posted by nostatic

I just couldn't get the snap right. The only thing I could do it throw a changeup that looked the same as my lame fastball but was way slower. Those two pitches done right are enough to make most weekend players look silly.

Getting the "snap" is definitely the secret, one I never was able to get either.

Agree, nothing makes you look sillier than to get smoked badly on strike two by a rising fastball and then have the pitcher follow up with an off speed change up that you could have taken two swings at before the catcher caught it.