The Fastpitch Chronicle

T - minus 10 and counting. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one -- We have lift off! We have launched.

That was the scene here in front of my computer earlier this afternoon when I switched domain servers from go-daddy to SportNgin and launched the latest edition of The Fastpitch Chronicle websites, fastpitchchronicle.net.

I've been trying to learn the ins and outs of the SportNgin website platform so I can add articles, pictures and new things to the site. I'm still learning though so bear with me.

The new site will have all the information the dot com site had and more. I'll be doing more things with summer travel ball news at all age levels. I'll add some collegiate fastpitch news as well as some information on the men's side of fastpitch as well as women's stuff (what little there is in that genre). When you click on some aspects within the wissports.net site you will automatically be taken to www.fastpitchchronicle.net where the content will have been posted by me. You will also be taken to the wissports.net site from fastpitchchronicle.net when you click on things such as Teams, Scores, Statsitics. While on wissports.net a click on news gets you to the good stuff the wissports.net staff writes about softball but at the present time it does not get you to fastpitchchronicle.net so you must get to the content I post by going to www.fastpitchchronicle.net. Some of that transisition back and forth is apt to or may change as we move along. There will still be great premium high school fastpitch articles on the wissports.net side of things.

Take a look at the new-look Fastpitch Chronicle website.

Here are some highlights from games in the state this week.

The state record for the most automatic home runs in the same game was tied twice this week. The record is three in the same game.

There was a time when an automatic home run was impossible in most Wisconsin High School Fastpitch games. Until 2002 it wasn't even possible to hit an automatic home run in a state tournament game. It had never been done before that! Most fields that high school fastpitch games were played on didn't have outfield fences or the ones that were there were at distances for men's fastpitch or even farther away from home plate for men's slowpitch games.

In 2002 the WIAA state softball tournament moved to Goodman Diamond and finally, for the first time since the sport was first played by high school girls in Wisconsin (1976) somebody hit a state tournament automatic home run. Since then hundreds of balls have been seen sailing over outfield fences. Even in this, the most miserable of seasons when it comes to weather conditions, automatic home runs have become a common occurrence.

This week alone, two Wisconsin high school girls blasted three automatic home runs in one game. Meg Krautsch of Oshkosh West hit three in a game against Kimberly on Monday. On Wednesday Stephanie Lombardo of New Berlin Eisenhower cracked three that went up, up and away in a game against Pius XI. Their names have been added to the Wisconsin High School Fastpitch Softball Records page of The Fastpitch Chronicle website.
Congratulations to both girls. They will both be receiving Fastpitch Chronicle State Record Award Certificates.

The Division 2, 3 and 4 WIAA tournament brackets are posted on the WIAA website. Just click here and you will get to the WIAA softball information where you can click back and forth and see the seedings.

I'll be taking a close look at all the regional pools and will be offering some thoughts on what I expect to transpire in some of them.

It's been a trying year to say the least. Today, many of the statewide games were washed out and probably can't be made up before the tournament starts. Keep in mind that makeup games can be played after the tournament series has started. No new games can be added to a team's schedule once they have started WIAA tournament action.

On Satuirday, Poynette will host the Second Annual Poynette JV?Frosh Jamboree. There will be 10 teams from eight school taking part in Poynette and Arlington. There will be nine games in Poynette and six games in Arlington. In addition to the JV/Frosh games three varsity teams will play a round robin on Diamond of Champions. Wausau West, Pacelli and Poynette will sqaure off against each other at 11:15, 1:00 and 2:45.

Have a great day!
Keep it Rising!
Bob