Saxon Holly Hill likes slow-pitch action

When the slow-pitch softball program began in the Greater Spokane League four years ago, only a handful of teams took part; Rogers, Shadle Park, North Central, Lewis and Clark, and Ferris. This season, Central Valley and University have joined up, and next year, Mt. Spokane and Mead are expected to join the fray.

“We get a lot of kids who are afraid of the fast pitch and don’t want to play fast pitch,” said Ferris head coach Linda Bushinski, adding, “It’s really a sport anybody can play, and it really is the lifetime sport.

“We have kids playing who would never make a team in the regular high school sports programs.

“We have a no-cut policy, so we keep everybody regardless of how many we get.”

One of those who took advantage of the opportunity four years ago is Ferris outfielder Holly Hill. Having been through both the fast-pitch and slow-pitch programs over her career, Hill has found that slow pitch helps her enjoy fast pitch.

“There’s a lot less stress, which is nice,” she said. “It’s a lot more fun, I think.

“In the outfield especially, you get tons of balls hit at you. You get a lot more action in slow pitch.”

Hill welcomes the break as well. The Ferris senior joined the Running Start academic program last year as a junior, taking classes at Spokane Community College in the morning, while playing outfield for the Saxons in the afternoon.

“It’s like high school in a way but you’re with people who want to be in class. It’s not high school students who have to be there; it’s people who pay to be there.

“I feel I gain a lot more from that. During Running Start, it’s a lot more work, and during slow pitch, it’s a lot more work, too.

“Helping the team out and pumping the girls up is a big responsibility, but so is doing your homework and getting tests done.”

Hill is just one of four seniors on a youthful Saxon squad that is the two-time defending champion of the GSL and has been asked to help lead Ferris in her final season.

“We lost a ton of seniors last year,” said Bushinski. “We have three returnees in the field. We have a lot of youth and inexperience out on the field this year. It’s just a different team.”

She added: “Definitely our main goal is to have fun. Coming from two years of being champions, we lost a lot of our seniors, so that was a big blow. We have a bunch of new people coming up, and we have so much room to develop.

“It’s an adjustment, and that’s what we’re doing right now, but I think we’re going to win so many more games because we have so much more room to develop.”

While Hill is focusing on her final season of slow-pitch softball, like any good student, she is looking forward to her academic career, too.

“When I do get into college, I’ll have two years under my belt, so I’ll have an A.A. degree,” she said. “I’m thinking of going into English because I do like to write a lot. It’s something I’m good at.

“If not English, then definitely history, because it’s been my main thing. I also get that from my dad, too.

“I’d rather be a journalist, and I definitely want to write one book before I die, which would be great. I’d really love to write screenplays for movies or sitcoms.”