A look at pitching in Chillicothe area high schools

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — When analyzing teams for local baseball and softball, it is hard not to start on the mound or in the circle since the pitcher has so much control over the game. A pitcher’s ability to throw the ball with velocity, movement, and control are all key factors which could impact which team has the best chance of winning.

There certainly is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach to pitching. Some pitchers are overpowering and simply use their velocity to dominate the opposing batting order. Other pitchers rely on their off-speed pitches and overall command to keep the opposing hitters off balance.

On the surface, it would appear there is not much difference in terms of pitching from baseball to softball. Other than the difference in distance and the method in which pitchers throw, the same importance is placed on the position for both sports; however, there is a major difference which greatly impacts these two sports. This is the baseball pitch count. For years, the “count” referred to how many balls and strikes were on a hitter, but in today’s high school baseball, the word “count” can more often refer to how many pitches a pitcher has thrown.

In 2017, the Ohio High School Athletic Association adopted a pitch-count rule for high school baseball. This rule replaced the previous rule of allowing a pitcher to throw a maximum of 10 innings inside a three-day span. In an attempt to better protect the arms of the high school pitchers, the new rule provided a chart that tells coaches a relationship between how many pitches a pitcher may throw to the number of days of rest the pitcher must have before pitching again.

The following table shows the rule:

Baseball coaches are required to keep record of pitch counts and give them to the OHSAA upon request. Any violation of this rule will result in an ineligible player, which would then result in a forfeit of any wins in which the ineligible pitcher threw a pitch. The one exception to the 125-pitch limit would be a pitch being allowed to finish a batter if the 125 limit is hit during an at-bat.

For softball, the motion is a more natural motion which does not show much evidence of being dangerous to the athlete’s arm. This allows the same girl to pitch every inning of every game throughout the year. This takes the level of importance of this position to an even greater extent. This allows one elite pitcher to carry a softball team throughout the entire schedule; whereas in baseball, it takes at least two (and in most cases three or four) to legitimately compete for a league championship.

“We do keep an eye on pitch count in softball, but it’s not the same as baseball because of the arm motion,” said Paint Valley softball head coach Ryan Smith. Coach Smith usually gives the ball to senior Abbi Stanforth, but has also used junior Bella Stauffer in the circle when needed. “I have seen girls in summer tournaments pitch multiple games in one day. I think it just depends on the individual. I always ask my pitchers how they feel between innings and to be honest with me. They know their own bodies. They know what they can handle and how they feel. I think a pitcher can become mentally tired.

“For example, there might be a night when they are frustrated with an umpire’s strike zone or if the team is struggling with errors. I think extreme heat or cold can cause them to be tired as well, because they are obviously involved in every play of the game and extreme temps are uncomfortable.”

Hannah Hull of Unioto and Greenlee Bossert of Adena are two pitchers who shouldered a lot of responsibility for two of our area’s best softball teams this spring. Erin Richendollar of Southeastern and Zane Trace’s Gracey McCullough have done the same for their respective teams. Softball teams will sometimes continue to develop a second pitcher in the non-leagues or on the weekends just in case they would need an extra pitcher at some point.

For baseball, a key arm for the Chillicothe Cavaliers has been Mason Siberell. Siberell and the other CHS pitchers share a workload that head coach Tom Barr is trying to constantly manage.

“Safety needs to be the top priority for all youth coaches and the move from 10 innings in three days to the current pitch count rules was the best decision. The old rule did not account for those long and bad innings we don’t want to remember – those 30-plus pitch innings which unfortunately will happen to the majority of high school pitchers.”

In the Scioto Valley Conference, Zane Trace has had an outstanding spring spending time in the top ten of the state rankings. A major reason why is the pitching depth Trey Edler has offered to complement Ben Nichols and the rest of the Zane Trace pitching staff.

“We have always kept a pitch count to prevent injuries,” said ZT head coach Ron Allen. “I will say that the 10 innings in three days was easier to track.”

Another above-average team familiar with state rankings is Unioto, and the nucleus of their success is incredible pitching depth. This comes with the overall number of players in Unioto’s program and their ability to constantly field teams at the junior high and junior varsity levels.

“I believe the pitch count rule has been a good thing so far,” said John Bruce who coaches the JV squad at Unioto. “Overall, I think it is better for the kid’s arm to have limits. With the 10-inning rule, a kid could throw upwards of 175 pitches in that time. That is unhealthy for most, if not all, high school arms. Ultimately, it is about the long-term health of the athletes, so I’m good with the rule change.”

The reason Coach Bruce is such a good resource is because of his link throughout the entire program.

“I think the communication that we have between our junior high, junior varsity, and varsity programs has been huge for our pitching depth,” said Bruce. “We have been fortunate to have quality coaches in junior high to help build up arms. Coach (Nick) Rose also implemented an off-season arm conditioning program that has helped our depth greatly. The kids who were able to go through it have been healthy throughout the season and upped their velocity as well.”

As you continue to look around the area, David Magill gets the ball for Adena when available and rested, but the Warriors, like many other teams, can have their pitching plans disrupted when rain starts to force more games into a shorter time span. Huntington, another team with more depth on the mound than most teams, is able to use a variety of pitchers. D.J. Crocker plays a role in this depth. He has thrown the ball well this year, but he also is an outstanding catcher, which can play into a coach’s decision of when and how long to throw someone. With one of the league’s top arms in Dax Estep not being available this year due to injury, it increased the workload for Paint Valley’s Connor Free and Cadyn Norman. Travis Chenault and the Southeastern pitching staff has worked hard as well through the SVC grind.

All of these talented throwers give their teams a great chance to win every time they take the ball. This ability to impact winning puts a lot of pressure on local coaches to balance using them enough to keep them strong and help their teams be competitive versus not using them too much and possibly hurting their arm. This is where the pitch count certainly comes into play to help set some guidelines, but like any athlete in any sport, every player is different in terms of their capabilities and durability.

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