discussion on college D1 illegal pitches

[FPump]

The pitch does not start until the hands are brought together. They can do pretty much anything they want up until the hands touch. Facing the plate, being turned sideways etc has nothing to do with it. Standing there holding the ball and spinning it in your hand does not sound like any kind of pitching motion anyway.

Incorrect. The pitch STARTS when the hands separate...NCAA and ASA rule sets.

NCAA 10.3 The pitch officially begins and cannot be discontinued once the hands have separated after coming together.

ASA 6.3 STARTING THE PITCH The pitch starts when one hand is taken off the ball after the hands have been placed together.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Thanks, FPump. That is what I have been teaching, but I wasn't certain of the rule. So, they wouldn't even need to step backwards. They are on the rubber, hands together, 3B gets a bug in the eye, the pitcher has her hands together - she can just step off, any place. Right?

 

[CoachJim]

correct...but step off with hands together...

 

[Jeff_H]

HEY,HEY,HEY!!! Watch out there! Brittany Rogers is a SAINT, buddy! Don't use her name in vain. She played for the greatest university in the entire known universe.

You are correct, but my point is and has been that it's against the rules and should be called as such. The screwed up batting the girls do now should also be called, but that's not what this thread was about. I think the pitches should be called if they're genuinely IP's and in short order there wouldn't be an issue with it anymore. At that point the various Orgs could go to work on the batters for you. Then we'd both be happy.

Got the chance to take in a DH the other day, Tulsa vs Wichita State. Not a single IP called either game, both pitchers in the first game were classic drag top of toe. Second game WSU's pitcher was a dragger but more of a banana shaped ditch in front of the plate, TU's was a leaper with her plant foot landing on the chalk line. From where each pitcher started in relation to the location on the plate, it would have been impossible, with out leaping, for either pitcher of the first game to drag through the trench the WSU pitcher made in the second game.

The old doublewall pales in comparrison to the new bats huh?

 

[Glipski]

The old doublewall pales in comparrison to the new bats huh?

Yes it does, however the doublewall still put plenty to the fence and beyond...I'm too old for any of them now

 

[FPump]

Thanks, FPump. That is what I have been teaching, but I wasn't certain of the rule. So, they wouldn't even need to step backwards. They are on the rubber, hands together, 3B gets a bug in the eye, the pitcher has her hands together - she can just step off, any place. Right?

No. She MUST step off backwards. Stepping off in ANY other direction constitutes an illegal pitch.

 

[WinThemAll]

Michigan softball pitcher Jordan Taylor changes motion, finds perfection

Pitcher changes motion

Michigan softball pitcher Jordan Taylor changes motion, finds perfection

Jordan Taylor found out she needed to change the way she pitches one month ago. The tough part: It happened in the middle of a game.

Taylor threw illegal pitch after illegal pitch - 33 of them by her count. She’d throw a strike, and the umpires called it illegal and an automatic ball.

The problem came in Taylor’s pitching motion, the same motion she learned when she forced her parents to move her from the outfield to pitching at age 12. She crow hopped, meaning she’d take a small forward hop or step off the mound.

It also seems to work. Despite learning the different motion, Taylor pitched a perfect game Saturday against Minnesota - the fifth in Michigan history - in a game she called one of the better ones she’s had this year.

Complete Story

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Interesting story and a nice outcome.

I linked that article to some other people that need to read it. Amy

 

[FPump]

great story.

 

[amanda_cake]

Definitely a great story, however, I wonder if others will be able to change their pitching like that.