It is a crow hop only if the pivot foot 'bears weight' before the release of the pitch. If the pitcher were to have the pivot foot contact on the toe plate, it would not be bearing weight, if she lands on the bottom of the foot, it would be hard to say it was NOT bearing weight and is most likely a crow hop at that point.Finally got around to reading the USSSA rule (since I'm scheduled to call U-Trip tomorrow ... if the rain stops) ...
Glad to see we are going the route of baseball and just giving up on calling anything the pitcher does. [sarcasm]
Correct me if I am wrong, as this is new to me ... so it is now legal in USSSA to leap as long as you land on the non-pivot foot. Landing on the pivot foot before releasing the ball is a crow hop (replanting the pivot foot).
EDIT: If you take a look at the JPN vs USA game from July 4 ( ), you see a pretty good example of the difference between the two. Carda is, in my opinion, crow hopping; her pivot foot lands on the sole of her foot and you never get a clear view of the bottom of her shoe if you are at the 2nd base umpired position. I am not going to opine on if this should or should not be called during an exhibition game at this level, just stating what I am seeing.
Miwa, on the other hand, comes down on the side of her foot and rolls directly onto the toe plate. In addition, from the 2nd base position, you clearly see the sole of her shoe. I know this is not part of the definition of either a leap or a crow hop, but it is a pretty good indicator of how the P is landing and again, I think it is nearly impossible to land on the sole of teh foot and NOT have the foot 'bear weight;.
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