Softball: bursts of speed, action,
forcing attention, fast reactions
According to ESPN (see video below), here is college softball by the numbers...
► SOFTBALL FIELD is (7,200 sq. ft.) 43% size of baseball field (16,700 sq. ft.) -- base paths 60 ft. vs. baseball's 90 ft. -- which means every player is constantly on the move, potentially being part of every play, while all the action is within easy purview of every spectator's seat.
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TOP ROW, L-to-R: #12 P/MI Lindsay
Siok, #21 C/3B Whitney
Dibb,
BOTTOM ROW L-to-R: #11 OF Brook
Creighton, #19 OF Casey
Beall,
#22 C/UT Morgan
Seymour
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► SOFTBALL PITCHING RUBBER is just 43 ft. from home vs. baseball's 60.5 ft., but a windmill pitcher releases the ball 37 ft. away to hurl a ball that can reach the plate as fast as 0.35 seconds later (faster than it takes a 100 mph baseball from its 55 ft. release point to reach its batter).
► SOFTBALL BATTER can have just 0.350 seconds to locate and identify a pitch, compared to 0.395 seconds for hard ball (and, then, she has as little as 0.025 seconds to decide whether to swing!)
► SOFTBALL BATTED BALL can come off the bat at speeds up to 100 mph. A shortstop may have only 0.61 seconds to react.
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TOP ROW L-to-R: #25 1B Samantha
Mahoski, #16 3B Ashly
Bendorovich,
#6 MI Breanna
Hartman, BOTTOM ROW L-to-R: #8 OF Steph
Caracozza,
#99 OF Olivia
DeGraba, #42 P/1B Devin
Mackay
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► SOFTBALL INFIELDERS facing shorter base paths must get the batted ball to first in less than 3.2 seconds. That's more than a full second faster than how a typical major league must successfully perform to fire a baseball to first (4.3 seconds).
► SOFTBALL SLAP-HITTERS can reach speeds of 19 mph, racing home to first in as little as 2.66 seconds. A third base fielder can take no more than 1.5 seconds (or throw faster than 100 mph) to record that out.
► SOFTBALL BASE STEALERS -- despite softball rules against leading off -- can get from first to second in as little as 3 seconds. On average, a softball catcher must react 1/10 of a second faster than her major league counterpart.
► FOR THE FULL STORY FROM ESPN, CLICK ON VIDEO BELOW...
► SEE ALSO “ESPN SPORT SCIENCE: HITTING A SOFTBALL"
VIDEO AT http://youtu.be/0aGTDGMBTEc
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