Bringing Softball Up To Speed Area Teams Make Conversion From Slowpitch To Fastpitch
Dwight Wilson started his fastpitch softball career in 1962, and spent 26 years pitching the underhanded, windmill-style game.
When Wilson applied for the Lake City girls softball coaching position last spring, he attached a note - if the Timberwolves weren’t playing solely fastpitch, he wasn’t interested.
Wilson got his wish and the job, as Idaho abandoned the slowpitch game in favor of fastpitch.
Southern Idaho teams made the switch last season.
“We realize now that we actually lost a year (of fastpitch),” Coeur d’Alene coach Larry Bieber said. “Down in Boise, they all went fastpitch last year. They developed their pitching.”
The change not only alters pitching and hitting, but adds base stealing and the bunt.
Coeur d’Alene dominated the A-1 slowpitch division, capturing its 13th consecutive state championship last season.
St. Maries brought the state A-2 slowpitch title North the past five seasons.
Bieber and first-year Lumberjacks coach Todd Gilkey give the Southern Idaho teams the fastpitch edge.
“Now, it’s a completely new game,” Gilkey said. “This is a whole new season at St. Maries. What they did in the past is in the past.”
The Lumberjacks, not unlike the rest of the North Idaho teams, have some learning to do.
“The hitting is going to be an adjustment for a while,” Gilkey said. “Until the hitters get used to (fastpitch), I really believe your right side of the infield has to be solid. I believe a lot of hitters will be (swinging) late and the right side has got to be ready.”
Offensively, fastpitch “is a little discouraging when you come from slowpitch, which is essentially a hitter’s game,” Post Falls coach Chris Johnson said. “Fastpitch is centered much more on the skill of the pitcher; you have to adapt defensively. If you end up with walks, it slows the game down.
“One of the most difficult aspects is to keep the defensive players focused, because they don’t see as many balls as they used to and find themselves standing around,” Johnson added.
State tournament sites have yet to be confirmed. Three teams will advance to state from the A-1 Region I tournament, and two will advance from the A-2 District I-II tournament.
Lake City has put in a host bid for the A-1 state tournament May 26-27.
The A-1 Region I and A-2 District I-II finals will be played May 20 at Sandpoint and St. Maries, respectively.
The Timberwolves open league play today, when they entertain Post Falls in a doubleheader at 3:30. The games will be played at Diamond Park in Hayden Lake.
Coeur d’Alene opens league Friday when it travels to Lewiston for a doubleheader.