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The Fastpitch Bulletin - Volume 21, Number 23 - 5/22/21

05/22/2021, 9:30pm CDT
By Bob Tomlinson

It was a great day for fastpitch!

But then any and every day is a great day for fastpitch.

Hello Fastpitch Folks

There were quite a few high school games today and there were youth tournaments all over the state. A bit later I will post a few of the games that had really interested me for today as they involved the Fastpitch Chronicle and WFSCA statewide ranked teams and those just out of the rankings that are making a push to get included.

I got this note from our great fastpitch friend Brent Erdmann

On Friday Kenna Mix, A Freshman (Daughter of Chad Mix) hit 3 home runs in a single game against Seymour, total of 9 RBI's and 2 of the 3 off the same Pitcher. While Mix did get a 4th plate appearance, Seymour chose to intentionally walk her with the bases loaded to push the game to what would be a New London 12-0 win in 5, A rain delay did happen In the 4th inning as well. Paeton Kringel also tossed a no hitter and struck out 9 in 5 innings of play. This rematch game was on the line as Seymour previously upset New London 7-2 just a few weeks back. 
Bob's Note: I have known Chad Mix for more than 20 years from our men's fastpitch relationship. I have added Kenna's 3 home run game to the Fastpitch Chronicle State Records pages. Here is the list of players who have been reported to me who have hit at least three automatic home runs in a single game.
From the Fastpitch Chronicle State Records Pages

Most Automatic Home Runs in a Game
4 - McKenzie Winkers - Holmen vs Luther (Onalaska) 5/15/2017
3 - Kelsey Squires - Poynette vs Randolph in 2004
3 - Paige Spaulding - New Richmond vs Fargo, ND North 5/3/2008
3 - Ali Murray - Pepin vs Spring Valley in 2010
3 - Meg Kraatsch - Oshkosh West vs Kimberly 5/6/13
3 - Makayla Pagel - D.C.Everest vs Stratford (4/12/14) in Poynette
3 - Abbey Long - Eau Claire North vs Superior 5/15/14
3 - Mikayla Pagel - D.C. Everest vs Wausau West (5/27/14)
3 - Stephanie Lombardo - New Berlin Eisenhower vs Pius XI (2013)
3 - Ava Sander - Kettle Moraine vs Catholic Memorial (5/6/19)
3 - 2016 Abby Elsholtz of New London vs Seymour
3 - 2021 2016 Kenna Mix of New London vs Seymour  

Part of the fun of writing these Fastpitch Bulletins has been the opportunity to tell a few stories of things that take place in games I heard about, watched, have coached in and even played in. One aspect to my position here at the Fastpitch Chronicle is to answer questions about rules, situations etc. If I am not 100% sure of the answer I contact one or two umpires who enjoy talking softball rules with me.

Today I got a couple of questions from a fella who I believe had been coaching at a youth tournament somewhere in the Badger state and ran into an umpire who most likely seldom reads his rulebook. Here is the question and the answer as it pertains to the National Federation of High School Athletic Associations or NFHS for short. 

Hey Bob, Here is a rules question for you. A catcher hits a double early in the game and a courtesy runner goes in to run for her. In the third inning the catcher bats for the second time and gets another safe hit. Can we use a different kid to courtesy run for that catcher this time or are we locked in to that same kid all game long?

Answer: In the NFHS Rulesbook the rules involving courtesy runners can be found in Rule 8, Section 9, Articles 1 through 7. They are too long to retype here so I encourage everyone to bone up on this aspect of the game. To answer the question as simply as possible -- yes you can use a different courtesy runner for the pitcher or catcher at any time they reach base as long as the courtesy runner meets all the requirements of Rule 8, Section 9, Articles 1 thru 7. 

The same fella had another question. This one addresses a runner who is trying to avoid a tag. In his case it was a first sacker attempting to tag out a batter-runner headed for first base. You must understand that the white chalk lines that form the running lane.chute that starts halfway to first base (30’) have nothing to do with avoiding a tag. What really is taking place is that a runner has three feet each side of a defensive player attempting to tag her out. If she deviates more than 3 feet on either side of that defender she is automatically out. Of course there is judgement on the umpire’s part on this kind of play. 

So that question about avoiding tags stirred up a memory I have from a game I was playing in while on the LaCrosse State University (now UW-LaCrosse of course) baseball team. During the game one of our players got caught in a rundown between first and second base. This particular teammate was fast and proved to be really cagy. As he was headed for second base he found himself running directly at a defensive player who had just received a throw. My teammate stopped dead in his tracks and as the defensive player reached out to tag him, my teammate dove to the ground, rolled over, popped up  and the defensive player had missed the tag. He headed to second base but the ball beat him there. Then he was in the same rundown but with different defensive players involved. This time he tried to avoid a tag by making himself “skinny”  with his arms up above his head and jumped backwards about 3 feet to the inside of the would-be tagger and that tagger missed him so the rundown kept going until the runner ran out of gas and got tagged out. That runner is the same teammate who once hit a grand slam home run but passed our runner who was on first when they were about half-way to second.  He was so excited about the ball leaving the yard that his sprint around first took him past our runner and the batter sprinted on and touched second before the runner from first had touched it. Our entire team was laughing loudly because those types of things had become common occurrences with Ken. Do you know the rules covering that play? 

Here are some really interesting results from high school games today.
Oak Creek won two games in Stevens Point, beating Kimberly 7-4 and SPASH 5-2 - that’s noteworthy.

Divine Savior Holy Angels 7, New Berlin West 0 (West has been dealing with COVID issues)
DeForest 7, Baraboo 1 and Baraboo 8, DeForest 7
Denmark 12, Oconto Falls 10
West Bend West 5, Fond du Lac 1
Monona Grove 9, Fort Atkinson 8
Jefferson 3,.Arrowhead 2
Freedom 6. Wrightstown 4

Tag(s): Bulletins