Prep softball preview: Game about to become more offensive

“After what I saw (last) Saturday, I expect a lot more offense,” Fairfield coach Brenda Stieger said. “It was the four best teams in the (Greater Miami Conference) and the four best in the (Fort Ancient Valley Conference), and there were balls getting hit hard all over the place. It was very atypical.”

That was the goal of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Softball Rules Committee when it made the change in June 2009. It became mandatory for all NFHS-member state high school associations this year.

“Our main thrust is getting the defense more involved,” said Mary Struckhoff, NFHS assistant director and liaison to the Softball Rules Committee, in a release. “When more balls are hit into play, the defense is more involved in the game, thus enhancing skill development.”

Increased safety for pitchers is an obvious improvement as well.

“That’s important,” Talawanda coach Christina Beckett said. “I was a pitcher, so I can appreciate that.”

The switch should also help prep athletes prepare for college softball. Forty-three feet is the distance used by the NCAA.

Talawanda junior Caitlyn Calhoun and Fairfield senior Erica D’Arcy got to pitch from the new distance last summer.

“It just kind of came naturally,” Calhoun said. “You had to find different release points, but you practice for that. It cuts down the speed, but it gives the balls more time to move. My curve will go from inside to outside really easily.”

Said D’Arcy, “It gives you time to move the ball around more and play with the batters. I got used to it this summer. I feel like if it was still (at 40 feet), it would be more of an adjustment for me.”

Ross senior Gina Huff skipped summer ball in 2010, so she’s getting her first real taste of the new distance.

“It was weird at first because my drop ball would drop way before it was supposed to,” Huff said. “I had to build my arm up again. It was kind of like starting all over again. It definitely made me work harder.”

Huff admitted she’s looking forward to swinging the bat this season.

“It’s a lot better for a hitter,” she said. “Definitely.”