Softball Today - The Nation's Leading Fast and Slow Pitch Publication

Softball Today - The Nation's Leading Fast and Slow Pitch Publication

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Impressive Turnaround Season Leads Bandits to a NPF Championship

By Joe Lacdan

Chicago, - They ditched their egos just as they left their lives for three months to play a game they love.

In an already short National Pro Fastpitch season with no spring training or exhibition, they had to scramble to find the right equation with a revamped roster on a new home field.

While their superstar settled for silver in Beijing, the Chicago Bandits formed one of the best late season runs in the league's short history, catapulting themselves from a last-place finish in 2007 to the 2008 NPF Championship Aug. 24.

This summer's Bandits, a mix of steady veterans and talented newcomers, used a different formula than in years past. The Bandits relied on balance and patience, instead of riding a talent loaded-roster as they did in Chicago's inaugural 2005 campaign, when a 41-7 regular season ended with a championship game upset.

Perhaps it was fitting after their 6-4 win over the Washington Glory on a damp August night in Kimberly, Wisc., they took a victory dip into the Fox River as a team, because so many made contributions. An unsung player all season, Nicole Trimboli took home the Championship MVP award , while catcher Rachel Folden won Rookie of the Year honors. Stacy May remained one of the team's biggest offensive weapons, leading the league with 13 home runs and ranked second with a .391 batting average.

Early Struggles
But the season didn't begin so easily. A multi-player trade sent power pitcher Amy Harre, Autumn Champion and Peaches James to Philadelphia for 2007 Rookie of the Year Kristina Thorson, giving Chicago a marquee player on the mound while Jennie Finch spent the summer with the U.S. National team at the 2008 Olympics.

The three new players, coupled with some rookies and free agent signings led to new look for Chicago. The team also moved from Lisle to Judson University in the western Chicago suburb, Elgin.
"We really didn't have any superstars," said Bandits owner Bill Conroy. "We had See full story in this issue of Softball Today Magazine

2008 Long Haul Bombers Announced

The 2008 WSL Stadium Power Tour featuring the Long Haul Bombers is ready to launch its MLB Stadium Power Tour on April 27th in Tampa Bay.

The Tour again features softball’s biggest sluggers competing all summer long in big league parks to be crowned the National WSL Home Run Champion.

A complete Tour schedule will be released soon and will feature traditional Bomber stadium events. The first event will be prior to the Red Sox taking on the Devil Rays at Tropicana Field.

Defending national champion, Easton’s Brett Helmer, is back to defend his individual title. The defending Manufacturer’s Cup Champions, Jeff Hall and BJ Fulk are sponsored by a new team this year as Team Elite jumps into the fold to compete this season.

The entire line-up for this season is as follows in alphabetical order:

Geno Buck, Team Miken, Red Wing, MN

Rusty Bumgardner, Team Mizuno, Gastonia, NC

Denny Crine, Team Miken, Las Vegas, NV

BJ Fulk, Team Elite, King, NC

Jeff Hall, Team Elite, Gastonia, NC

Brett Helmer, Team Easton, Cicero, NY

Brandon Murray, Team Mizuno, Picayune, MS

Brian Wegman, Team Easton, Cincinnati, OH,

Again this season the Bombers will be featured on Softball 360’s syndicated television show and online at Softball360.com. The site should also soon feature the entire season’s schedule, local airtimes and additional online videos of the crew.

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Tips on Bunting: Sacrifice vs. Drag

By: Olympic Gold Medalist Jessica Mendoza
Sacrifice vs. Drag

Although there are many different variations in bunting, the two main ways to bunt are the sacrifice and the drag. The difference between these two methods can be substantial. In a sacrifice bunt situation, the main objective is to sacrifice your at bat to move the runner forward a base. The objective with a drag bunt is to test the defense with a goal of getting a base hit. At all levels with both a sacrifice and a drag bunt, the main purpose is to get the ball down.

At the more advanced level, however, the objectives of both a sacrifice and a drag become more similar. Once a hitter has confidence that they are a good bunter (successfully bunting the ball 80-100 percent of the time), they may not have to fully sacrifice their at-bat in a sacrifice situation. What they can do, is now make the defense work, similar to a drag bunt situation. For example, instead of the batter fully squaring around and letting the defense know early they are bunting, either square around later or (if the batter is confident in their drag as well) use the drag bunt as their sacrifice. In this case, their first priority is still to advance the runner, but now they are making the defense work to get both the runner advancing, and themselves, out.

No matter how fast or slow you are, the skill of bunting is essential in the game of softball; so take pride in your bunting skills and practice it everyday -- it will make a difference!!!

Hitting Home Runs versus Base Hits

By Rusty Bumgardner,
World Softball League/LongHaul Bombers

When trying to hit base hits instead of home runs a number of things change. You need to be conscious of where you are hitting the ball and where you are standing in the box -- but regardless if you are trying to get on base or hit it out of the park you need to focus on driving the ball.

For base hits, focus on hitting the middle to top third of the ball and following down and through the ball.

For the Home Run, focus on the bottom third of the ball and driving it out of the park. Make sure you don't lift it out (dropping the shoulder), but drive it out.

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