Softball Tips - It Still Comes Down to Pitching

Guest post by Ken Krause, Life in the Fastpitch Lane blog

Anyone who has been following fastpitch softball over the past few years knows we have entered an era of hitting. The philosophy used to be "put the ball in play and hope for something good to happen." Games used to end 1-0 or 2-1 after 12 innings.

Today, though, it's all changed. There's lots more offense in the game, thanks in part to better training for hitters and in part to superior bat technology that turns checked swings into extra base hits.

So it might tempting to think that having that great pitcher isn't nearly as important as it used to be. Yet the truth is the opposite; if anything, it's more important than ever to have good pitching.

Softball/baseball is the only sport where the defense starts with the ball. And who on the defense has it first? The pitcher.

To paraphrase a saying from my underground comic book reading days, "Good pitching will get you through times of no hitting better than good hitting will get you through times of no pitching." Think about it.

To win a softball game, you have to score more runs than your opponent. The more you can limit the runs of your opponent, the fewer you have to score yourself.

If your pitchers are giving up an average of five runs per game, you have to score an average of six. But if your pitchers are only giving up an average of two runs per game, you only need to score three. That's a lot easier pace to maintain.

In an era where there's more hitting overall, it's even more important to have top-notch hitting. Think about that checked swing again.

If that's all it takes to drive a ball for extra bases, being able to avoid those situations becomes even more critical. That doesn't mean your pitcher has to strike out 15 hitters per game (although that's always welcome). But she does need to be getting at least a few Ks, and more importantly inducing hitters into hitting balls that are easily fielded.

It's easy to become obsessed with having a great hitting team, especially these days. Having a team that can bang out the big hits is fun.

But remember that good pitching always trumps good hitting — because hitters react to pitching. Think of it like this.

If your hitting fails but your pitching is strong, you may still be able to win by scratching out a run or two, either through the short game, errors by your opponent or a combination of both.

But if your hitting is strong and your pitching is not, you may have to score a lot of runs to compensate for the failure of your pitchers.

So yes, enjoy your team's offense while it's happening. But remember no matter how well your team hits, pitching is still the key to the game.

Anyway, that's the way I see it.