This year, it’s a game of (36) inches

If there’s one thing people have always said about high school softball, it’s that a dominating pitcher really dominates.It never got to the point where every game ended up at 1-0, but very often – and especially in the state tournament, with the better pitchers participating – runs have been precious, and extremely hard to come by.Not so this year. The state softball association has moved the pitching rubber back from 40 to 43 feet away from home plate, and that one little yard has made a difference.”I definitely think it’s made a difference,” said Saugus coach Bobbie Finocchio, who saw balls put in play all afternoon Monday as two of the area’s better pitchers – Courtney Colantuno and Ashlee Patterson – squared off against each other.”I wasn’t here last year, but from what I’ve been told, both pitchers were practically unhittable at times last season,” Finocchio said.Colantuno agrees. Even though her team only scored a run in that game, she said, “I think we actually had more hits than they did, but we couldn’t put enough of them together.”Colantuno has a unique perspective on the change, because – unlike a lot of pitchers – she’s arguably her team’s best hitter as well as one of the top pitchers in the Northeastern Conference.”There’s definitely a lot more hitting,” she said. “I looked in the paper today, and all of the scores are high. You’re not seeing any shutouts. There’s a lot more offense. The pitchers don’t dominate anymore.”Naturally, Colantuno thinks it’s great when she’s hitting. But how about when she’s pitching?”I’d rather be closer in,” she says.However, Colantuno also says that the change will help her in the long run.”If I want to pitch in college (where the distance is already 43 feet), it’s probably good that I do it now,” she says.Patterson seems unfazed by the change. She held Marblehead to one run Monday, but in two games last week, English scored four runs and Classical seven.Still, she says, “my pitches have more movement. My screwball and my drop curve are both moving better (at 43 feet).”St. Mary’s Katelyn Fanning also sees a difference in the movement of her pitches.”If anything, I’ve had to change my mechanics,” she said. “It’s not so much the release point, but I feel that I have to throw the ball harder to get it to the plate.”On the other hand, she says, “I’m definitely not a power pitcher. I’m tiny. I have to use a lot more finesse when I pitch. I have to fool them. In my first three games, I’m striking out as many hitters as I did last year.”For Fanning and Patterson, the adjustment hasn’t been as difficult as you might think.”I didn’t think it would make that much of a difference,” said Patterson. “I pitched at 43 feet last summer in the Bay State Games, so I got used to it there.”If there’s any real change, all three say, it may come with the rising fastball that so many softball pitchers use when they need a strikeout.”It could be that it’s just too high by the time it reaches the plate,” acknowledges Colantuno.”When it does reach the catcher, it’s a little higher than it used to be at 40 feet,” says Fanning. “But it’s not that bad. You have to let go of it a little differently now than before.”Whatever concerns the pitchers may have (or not have), the results are pretty obvious. Hitters are putting balls into play, fielders have to be on their toes more, and Colantuno – for one – thinks it makes for a better game.”I think it’s great,” she says. “I’m not worried (about more balls being put into play). I have a great team behind me.”