28 replies to this topic

[Stitch]

Just curious...what is considered fast or throwing hard in fastpitch softball? 40mph? 45mph? 50mph? 55? 60?

If a hard thrower in baseball touches 80, what would be the equivelant in softball?

[DC/MS]

Jenny Finch threw/throws a softball 71 mph, which is said to be equivalant to a 100 mph baseball pitcher.

[larrythecableguy]

Jenny Finch threw/throws a softball 71 mph, which is said to be equivalant to a 100 mph baseball pitcher.

If you have ever seen that T.V. show on FSN Ohio, I think its called sports science or somthing like that. They had Jenny Finch on there and she was striking out a guy that could hit 90 mph fastballs.

[zoesdaddy]

If you have ever seen that T.V. show on FSN Ohio, I think its called sports science or somthing like that. They had Jenny Finch on there and she was striking out a guy that could hit 90 mph fastballs.

she was distracting him, if i had to look out at the mound and see Jenny Finch pitching at me, i'd be distracted too.... (hope mama z dosent read this one)

Edited by zoesdaddy, 25 March 2008 - 05:33 AM.

[alaskan]

she was distracting him, if i had to look out at the mound and see Jenny Finch pitching at me, i'd be distracted too.... (hope mama z dosent read this one)

She was on Joes vs Pros a few seasons ago , as well. The combination of the rising fastball and her hot looks were too much for those guys. Arms and legs flying....long hair flowing.....How do you find the ball when it's leaving the looks of that?

[Stitch]

Back to original question...what is fast for high school pitchers?
Maybe a seperate thread needs to be added for the direction this is going. I'm sure Futuremoderator could put in a nice photo.

[larrythecableguy]

Back to original question...what is fast for high school pitchers?
Maybe a seperate thread needs to be added for the direction this is going. I'm sure Futuremoderator could put in a nice photo.

Sorry Stitch, but i think that 35-40 mph would be a solid guess for a fast pitcher in High School.

[JackCord4]

A good high school pitcher will probably throw in the mid 50's from the 40' distance. There are some pitchers in the area that are throwing in the upper 50's and lower 60's.

Colleges throw from 43' which makes that 71 MPH even more impressive.

I'll try to explain how to convert softball speed to baseball speed.......


If a pitcher is throwing a softball at 55 MPH from 40', you multiply 55 (softball speed) x 60'6" (basball distance)=3327.5. Then divide 3327.5 by 40 (softball distance) and the answer is 83 MPH.

[JackCord4]

Sorry Stitch, but i think that 35-40 mph would be a solid guess for a fast pitcher in High School.

Shawnee had three pitchers that were clocked with a radar gun last week during practice. The fastest was 58 MPH and the slowest was 51 MPH.

And it was the MIDDLE SCHOOL TEAM.

[DC/MS]

I would tend to agree with JackCord4 on the speed. 35-40 didn't seem fast enough.

[Captain_Brinn]

Coming from a softball mecca high school...Convoy Crestview...I can tell you that no middle schooler is throwing upper 50s on a 40ft mound. Sorry. Doesn't happen. If so, then Mike Candrea of USA Softball is on line 1 holding.

Next, we've had our number of great pitchers at Crestview. Keri Perkins threw in the low 60s on a pretty consistent basis which was one of the fastest in Ohio her last two seasons of high school. Her sister Jamie who is currently the top pitcher at Wright St and throws in the mid-high 50s consistently with an occasional 58mph ball.

Jessica Price who is a product of Richwood North Union HS in 2000 threw in the mid-60s on her fast ball on a 40ft mound. She went to Eastern Mich.

A ton of the top pitchers threw from the 55-62 range. If they are throwing higher than that consistently...then by all means Candrea on Line 1...

[JackCord4]

I was told after I posted that the top speed was 55 not 58. That was the fastest pitch. The coach didn't tell me what they were throwing on a consistant basis. Another detail that the coach didn't say was if the pitcher was throwing strikes. A pitcher can throw the ball through a brick wall, but if it is not a strike, it doesn't really matter.

Do I think that any middle schooler is going to throw like that during the season? No. It was done in the gym, with no batter and perfect conditions. It was just a statement to let Stitch and larrythecableguy know what speeds the high school pitcher throw.

Captain_Brinn, are you familiar with travel ball? I was at a tournament this past weekend in Ft. Wayne and the Ann Arbor Gold had a girl on their 12U team that could bring it. Nobody had a gun on her but if I had to guess, I'd say she was mid to upper 40's. I realize that a girl like that is more exception than the rule, but she was fun to watch. I think Coach Candrea was sitting next to me.

Edited by JackCord4, 27 March 2008 - 06:34 PM.

[Captain_Brinn]

I used to folllow it and go to it more but not much any longer.

Where was the girl from? Crestview

[KittenPower]

I used to folllow it and go to it more but not much any longer.

Where was the girl from? Crestview

The pitcher you are referring to is from Ida, Michigan. Her pitching coach happens to be the University of Michigan's pitching coach.

Captain, I have to agree with you regarding the speed of pitchers around here. Remember Grace Luginbuhl from Bath several years back? Won a state championship in 2001. She was very fast as well, but what got people most was her unbelievable change up. I find it hard to believe as well that some middle school girls are throwing in the mid to high fifties. Might want to get the gun calibrated.

In this day and age, speed isn't important anyway, its movement. Everyone can catch up to speed eventually, but movement is harder to adjust to.

[DC/MS]

The pitcher you are referring to is from Ida, Michigan. Her pitching coach happens to be the University of Michigan's pitching coach.

Captain, I have to agree with you regarding the speed of pitchers around here. Remember Grace Luginbuhl from Bath several years back? Won a state championship in 2001. She was very fast as well, but what got people most was her unbelievable change up. I find it hard to believe as well that some middle school girls are throwing in the mid to high fifties. Might want to get the gun calibrated.

In this day and age, speed isn't important anyway, its movement. Everyone can catch up to speed eventually, but movement is harder to adjust to.

I agree with KittenPower on this issue. Hitting is about timing. So a pitcher in softball/baseball must disrupt that timing by changing speeds.

[Captain_Brinn]

Kittenpower:

How could I forget? How many epic battles have Bath and Crestview had over the years??? It's been like 12 years now and counting. Grace was such a great pitcher, but what made her even more special was her tenacity and her just being a "gamer" as I call it. She was a diamond rat...lived and breathed softball and was mentally into her game.

2001 was a great year for Grace! 2001 was our wonderful year when we were upset by an unknown pitcher Jamie Wonderly and the team of Gibsonburg derailing us. I'm still upset from it.

Hey, when you guys going to give us a game again??? We've been rockin your world now for a few years, huh?

I look forward to this season.

p.s. I agree about the movement and types of pitches. We see it more and more in the college world series. Mowitt (sorry for the spelling) for Arizona is all about changes. I feel that is what Jamie Perkins did for us and our state title in 2005.

Edited by Captain_Brinn, 29 March 2008 - 06:11 PM.

[JackCord4]

When talking about dominate pitchers, where would you put Hannah Rockhold?

When talking to a recent Shawnee graduate, who played in college, she told me that Rockhold was THE fastest pitcher she ever faced. Some of the other pitchers had more movement, but she was definiately the fastest.

[Captain_Brinn]

Rockhold was just a bit faster than Grace, but I felt Grace had more junk and off speed and more control.

[JackCord4]

How is Crestview this year? Shawnee plays them this weekend with Spencerville and New Bremen.

[Captain_Brinn]

We should be pretty good again this year. Our pitching will not be as tough as it once was so we have some work to do on that. Granted, it's not like we are throwing with junior high style either...we do have some good talent.

Our defense should be superb, and our offense will be very good.

We return Eickholt, Nedderman, Hartman, Etzler, and return Henry who missed part of last season.
Eicholt and Etzler had multiple homeruns last season.

I feel we could be better than last year's Final Four team...but who knows.