Aug 31, 2009
New Jersey high school softball pitchers will move back 3 feet

New Jersey high school softball pitchers will move back 3 feet
by Allan Conover/Warren Reporter
Wednesday August 19, 2009, 5:00 PM
This doesn't guarantee there will be no more pitchers standing menacingly in the circle mowing down one batter after another.

But it's certainly going to force them to work a bit harder to do so.

Making an effort to maximize the overall competitiveness in the high school ranks, the NJSIAA softball committee recently unanimously approved moving the pitcher's rubber back three feet to 43 feet from home plate, effective next spring.

"I think it'll make for a much more exciting game," said Phillipsburg High Head Coach Kristin Boyer. "The teams that do really well all have a dominating pitcher, and I think there's a lot more to the game of softball than to just have one dominating pitcher."
Speaking of dominating pitchers, Hackettstown has one in Liz Tillou, who'll begin her senior year next month. Tillou, whose pitching and hitting have been the primary reasons for the Tigers' recent success on the field, wasn't especially surprised to hear of the extended distance and already has had experience pitching from 43 feet in several summer tournaments geared for college-age players.
"It does take a bit to get used to," she said, "but I don't think it will make that much difference for me. You have to think about making your release a little later and with the drops, the release is a little different. You have to take the farther distance into account with your breaking pitches, too.
"My velocity doesn't seem as fast because you're farther away," she added, "but as you start pitching and as the game goes on, you start to realize you haven't lost any speed. It's just not as close. But it's good I'm hearing about this now instead of two weeks before the season so I can start practicing from that distance. That's going to help me out in the long run."
Belvidere High Head Coach Dan Dempsey anticipated the change while attending the Skyland Conference's post-season coaches meeting.
"Everybody seemed to be in favor of it," he said. "Pitchers have been so dominant over the years at the high school level. We were due for a change."
Boyer couldn't agree more.
"I think it's great," she said. "It's going to put more emphasis on teaching defense as well as pitching and hitting. I think it's important to involve the other eight players out there, not just the pitcher. It will make it a much more exciting game and will improve the quality of games for players and also for the spectators."
Those three extra feet will also give batters an extra split-second to determine if a pitch looks like a strike or ball, and another consideration is the pitcher's safety. Boyer pointed out she's seen some serious injuries from pitchers getting drilled by line drives.
"It's important from a safety point of view," she said. "I've been on the field as a player and also as a coach at Hunterdon Central when a pitcher was hit on the head by a batted ball, so this should definitely help."
"It gives you another half-second to react," added Dempsey. "It makes a difference."
The new ruling also could eventually boost P'burg softball as the Lady Liners have been vying with the school's lacrosse program for personnel the past few years.
"Softball loses a lot of girls to lacrosse," said Boyer, "because there's more action involved in lacrosse and it's more exciting. I've had a lot of issues with that, trying to work around that."
Tillou, who went 18-8 with a 0.93 earned run average and a school-record 222 strikeouts at HHS this spring, was named The Reporter's "Player of the Year." Looking ahead to a college career as well, she participated in a few summer tournaments while pitching from 43 feet and also is likely to see action for the elite Jersey Fusion squad on weekends this fall.
The new distance will be implemented at all New Jersey high school levels, freshman through varsity. The National Federation of State High School Associations stipulated in early July the increased distance would be mandatory during the 2010-2011 school year but gave each state association the option to adopt the change for the upcoming year.