THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 7, 1994 TAG: 9408050295
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 24 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BRYAN JOHNSTON, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines
THEY ARE PART of a dying breed, and softball conservationists have considered putting them on the endangered species list.
They are fast pitch softball players.
Their natural habitat is usually on or around a reduced baseball diamond, where the pitcher's slab is only 45 feet from home plate. The infield is usually skinned and not a blade of grass is allowed to pop through the red clay.
Why are they becoming extinct? Slow pitch softball - a hitters' game - is exploding in popularity and crowding fast pitch players out of the habitats. Hitting is more fun to play and watch, the slow pitch fans say.
Who wants to watch a team go three-up, three-down inning after inning like they do in fast pitch ball? What pleasure can players or crowds derive from watching a pitcher fanning almost every batter he faces?
After all, ASA Hall of Fame pitcher John Hunter of the Clearwater (Fla.) Bombers once struck out 45 batters in a row. A pop foul was a morale booster.
In baseball, pitching is said to be 70-75 percent of the game. In fast pitch softball, it is closer to 90 percent.
Under the protection of the Suffolk Parks and Recreation Department is a four-team fast pitch softball league, and this season's champion team was G.P. Gwaltney General Contractors. Naturally, the squad's star performer was pitcher, Ronnie Powell.
He had 12 strikeouts in the semifinals and 10 in the championship contest.
Playing fast pitch since he was 16, Powell, now 37, is a big booster of the sport. And he doesn't mince words.
``There is no comparison between slow pitch and fast pitch,'' he said. ``Slow pitch is a game for those who are too old, too out of shape or can't handle fast pitch.''
Fighting words? There's more.
``The best athletes play fast pitch because it has a fast pace,'' Powell said. ``There's more action, and it's more intense.
``It's more like a baseball game. That's why baseball players tend to migrate to fast pitch.''
Powell has his own theory of why fast pitch is on the decline: lack of pitching.
``There are a dwindling number of teams around because of the lack of pitching,'' he explained. ``Anyone can lob a ball.
``It's easy to keep up the interest if you have good pitching.''
When Powell started playing, he played for a church league that had a good mix of young players and veterans.
``Today, you don't have the youngsters trying to learn how to pitch, and teams don't hang around with weak pitching,'' he said.
Powell didn't get a shot to pitch until the last game of his rookie season. He came into the contest as a reliever and so impressed the coach that he was in the starting rotation the next year.
``I had practiced for four years with a neighbor,'' he said. ``So I had good control if nothing else.''
With the Gwaltney club, Powell was the only pitcher on the team most of the year, and he pitched all but one game in the season-ending tournament. That was because he was out of town.
Powell is no stranger to big tournaments and enjoys a heavy workload.
As recently as last August, he was a player for a team that went to the National Softball Association's World Series in Salem.
The big time didn't intimidate him at all, and he won the opener and the third game of the tourney. Powell was used as a relief pitcher in two other games and earned two saves.
``Anyone who likes fast pitch softball should go to the World Series in Salem,'' he said. ``There are good teams (there), and it's well worth the trip.''
Powell has thrown several no-hitters in his career. This year, he threw two, including one in the tournament. But it was not the most memorable.
``The first night that I met my wife, I went out and threw a no-hitter,'' he said. ``So, that one stands out in my mind the most.''
The tall righthander averages about 10 strikeouts per seven-inning game over a season. His career high in one game is 17 strikeouts in a regulation contest. However, he once fanned 21 in a 14-inning game.
His longest game went 15 innings about 10 years ago. Against the same team in another season, he went 15 innings one time and 14 another.
In fast pitch, a pitcher can do more with a ball, according to Powell.
He relies on four pitches, but his best is a rising fast ball. Also in his arsenal is a curve, knuckler and a drop.
So how much longer can the big right arm of Ronnie Powell hold up?
``A lot of people ask that question,'' he said. ``I've had rotator cuff problems for the past three years, but I didn't tear it.
``I've missed one season due to this injury, but I've gotten smarter about how to take care of my arm.
``Barring any injuries, I'd say I have several years left. I guess it's a question of how long the Suffolk city teams last.'' MEMO: (Sun sports editor John Gordon contributed to this report). ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by MICHAEL KESTNER
Ronnie Powell, star pitcher for G.P. Gwaltney General Contractors,
winds up and fires the ball to the plate.
by CNB