- Aug 21, 2008
- 2,388
- 113
I disagree with you. How many times does a college softball game go 7 innings? Almost all. How many time does a TB game go 7 innings? Almost none. An extra inning game is rare as hen's teeth in TB.
TB is 4 to 5 innings a game. I've coached some that went *TWO* innings. There is always a time limit, and many tournaments have a drop dead time limit. HS ball is 7 innings, sometimes 9 or 10....whether the game takes 60 minutes or 3 hours.
Throwing the extra two or three innings changes the dynamics of pitching. The pitcher has to be smarter and stronger in a 7 inning game.
Kids who have only pitched TB often get shelled in the 6th inning of a HS game. They aren't physically or mentally prepared for it They have no idea how to pitch after the batters have seen them two or three times.
The competition level in HS varies, just like it does in TB.
Norco in SoCal could play with any TB team in the US.
FINALLY:
Softball is supposed to be played, not practiced.
These kids should play every chance they get...because when softball is over, it is *OVER*. After college, 99.99% of these girls will never play a fastpitch game again.
Depriving the kids of even one game when they are playing makes no sense.
I was talking about the aspect of school ball relating to college recruiting. That is the context of the statement you disagreed with. I don't disagree with you about anything else, but I wanted the OP to know school ball means diddly for college recruiting.