The Fastpitch Chronicle

Taking it downtown!

Hello fastpitch affacianados statewide.

As I go through the scores in the newspaper, on the wissports.net site and via my e-mails I am always trying to figure things out.

A case in point would be yesterday's twinbill between Parkview and Beloit Turner. Parkview took Turner down in both games but there's more to the story than just the scores. The question to most observers would be, "How did that happen?" One huge factor is the fact that Turner's all state hurler Kelsie Packard did not play. It was reported, unofficially of course, that she is out of the state this week on a family trip. Without Packard Turner is not the same team as she is a formidable opponent both in the circle and at the plate.

Rankers, no matter which set of rankings you look at, must be aware of those kinds of facts.

While I am on the topic of rankings, there are now two sets of rankings for Wisconsin High School softball. The Fastpitch Chronicle rankings which have been done for the past 15 years and the upstart rankings being done by the coaches association. The Fastpitch Chronicle ranks the top 10 while the coaches association ranks a top 10 and lists a few honorable mention schools. We list 20 so as to give the state a better idea of who the top teams in each division. We wind up listing 20 which is around 20% of the schools in each division of play. A few years ago we actually ranked a top 25 but quite honestly it's a crap shoot to get the last 8 or 9 in there in a chronological sequence so we cut back to 20 making it an easier task for the rankers each week. I spend several hours on the phone each weekend chatting with many of the experts on our ranking panels. It's not a "log in and click" system. It's more hands on and includes conversation.

The long and short of having two rankings is actually a good thing. It creates more interest. It sometimes ticks people off here and there but ticked off people create interest in a general fashion. The more dialogue the game gets, the better the game becomes. Without the dialogue it's a road to stagnation.

The senior watch lists is a wissports.net thing. The Fastpitch Chronicle has nothing to do with the watch lists. The watch lists are a good thing though. Again it is about exposure for the players and the game itself.

Getting high school softball more notoriety is a constant battle. Those dinosaurs still coaching can remember when most people thought of girls' fastpitch softball as just a recreational activity. Since 1975 the game has grown a great deal. There is still a lot of room for growth from the grass roots level all the up and including the game's administrative levels.

There are a few games scheduled for today but if played they will have to be in the southern 2/3 of the state sas more white stuff covers the fields north.

Have a great weekend!

Keep it Rising!

Bob