The Fastpitch Chronicle

The 38th WIAA Softball season is now history. Although not a WIAA event, the Senior All Star games are the final hurrah for the seniors and for high school level fastpitch action.

The All Star games featured 153 excellent players who often wind up playing positions they have seldom played or perhaps never played. All-in-all it's then easy to see why those players are there -- because they make adjustments and play out of position superbly.

My hat goes off to the people who produced the games in Wisconsin Dells and Lake Delton.

However, just because the high school level season if over doesn't mean there isn't any fastpitch action to be played, watched or reported on.

Nope. Not hardly!

Roger Schliewe's Wisconsin Bandits left earlier this week for the Southeast and a huge invitational tournament being staged there this week. The Badger Blitz for one is headed for Elgin, Illinois for a big invite there this weekend.

Those are just two of the hundreds of teams in Wisconsin that play summer fastpitch that have told me where they are this weekend.

There is also a tournament in Baraboo this weekend. The Big Top Blowout. That's all I can tell you about it though as I have not heard from anyone connected with the organization running the event. I know it's taking place because several of our Poynette Youth teams are playing over there.

I'm not about to slow down. I'll keep on publishing the news as I get it and know it. However, nobody can expect me to be at all the events that get staged in the state each weekend. It's up to the people running the leagues and the tournaments to decided whether or not their respective events are worthy of some publicity.

Don't expect people to beat your doors down or fill your text boxes with requests for information. It just doesn't happen that way with this sport. If it's publicity or notoriety you are looking for as an organization, team etc. you'd better wake up and get some stuff sent to me. Send me the information and I'll put it out there for people to read. If you keep your team or your summer event a secret it will surely be just that -- a secret! It will be no different than the hundreds of high school softball programs that get little and mostly no publicity or notoriety each spring.

The Poynette Fastpitch Summer Jamboree will be played on seven fields in Poynette and Arlington on June 21-22-23. Age divisions are 10-Under with 11 teams entered; 12-Under with 12 teams entered; 14-Under with 11 teams entered and 16-Under with 12 teams entered. The Poynette Fastpitch Organization started the Summer Jamboree last  year and 31 teams played in it. This year there are 46 teams. It's a USSSA sanctioned tournament.

So, consider this an invitation to everyone connected with a summer travel ball team, summer travel ball program or a summer tournament to send some information and get some free publicity and some notioriety.

Just send it to me because I'm not going to be hounding you for information that you apparently don't want to share with other fastpitch followers.

Keep it Rising!

Bob