HITTING VS PITCHING

Game changing?  
Does good pitching 
always stop good hitting?


Jason Bartel of SBNation reports in a story headlined “How the game of softball has changed in recent years” that the average fastpitch contest, once dominated by pitching, may be handing over the power that drives a team towards a championship into the hands of increasingly more talented hitters, better trained at a younger age with improved, “hotter” bats and softballs.

www.sbnation.com

CLICK HERE for the full SBNation story, which also features a graph and poll.

A few quotes from the article...

Arizona Wildcat pitching coach Alicia Hollowell comments...

Alicia Hollowell

► "I think a lot of it is the technology that's been introduced into the game. From bats getting hotter to a lot more video being used...

► "The core of the ball is a lot livelier. The bats are a lot hotter...

► "Whether our stadiums are built right now for a different game is one thing I see. I feel strongly that we need to look at moving our fences back, because there are a lot of balls that are going out that are a little bit cheap."
 
Arizona Wildcat head coach Mike Candrea adds...

Mike Candrea

► "I think the hitters have progressed. When I first got in the game, kids had no concept of hitting. Whereas these kids have grown up with better information, better instruction, they understand the skill. And so on a pitcher's side, it's made the game tougher. You gotta hit your spots. You gotta be able to throw an off-speed pitch to keep people off-balance."

Arizona pitching coach Alicia Hollowell concludes...

► "You get people that are more informed. There's more instruction going on, people learning, developing at a younger age. So you do see that. When you go out and watch the young kids, they have skills that they didn't have before. You find people that are really studying the game and are a lot more knowledgeable. People are making adjustments a lot faster so it's become a much more offensive game." 

The Wesley Wolverines enjoyed both good pitching and solid hitting for average and power in many games this past season...