[prekowski]

In some leagues, they play ASA rules with a mat and not a strike zone. I know ASA book was written with strike zone in mind, but mat ball fits in with it fairly well. For those of you that never heard of mat ball, it is an approximate 24 inch wide by 40 inch long mat that is put down to cover the plate with the front of the mat concentric with the front of the plate, and the center of the plate centered laterally with the center of the mat. And if the ball has the correct arc, 6 ft to 10 ft, and it hits the mat, it is a strike. The issue is related to the speed of the ball. Under R6CG, the umpire has discretion to call a pitch being too fast. The book also says under R6CH it has to have a perceptible arc and attain the height of 6 ft to 10 ft. By definition, an arc is something shaped like a curve. Therefore, an object that travels approximately 50 ft, is released from approximately 3 ft above ground surface (abgs), attains the height of 6 ft abgs, drops down to 0 ft abgs to hit an area that is 24 inch by 40 inch, by definition, has followed an arc. That is objectively indisputable. By the laws of physics, an object that is to travel a distance of approximately 50 ft to 53.33 ft and is to approximately follow an arc path from 3ft abgs, to 6 ft abgs to 0 ft abgs and hit that 2 ft by 3.33 ft area, it has to travel within a narrow range of speed. Any speed above or below that required range will result in the object hitting the ground either prior to or after the required distance. Now the only factors that can be variables that could affect this mechanical law of motion is wind speed and ball rotation (i.e. spin on the ball). First with regard to spin, at the speed the object is travelling, and the amount of spin that can be attained by the human hand, the amount the object will vary from that calculated path is negligible (i.e. a machine could put an amount of spin on the ball without changing the velocity of the ball and cause a significant variance from the calculated path from a human hand thrown ball). With regard to wind, more wind will require more speed to achieve that same path and less wind accordingly will require less speed.
So the issue is, if a ball is pitched under the scenario described above, released by the human hand from 3 ft abgs attains a height of 6 ft abgs, descends to hit the mat at a distance between 50 and 53.33 ft, is it possible for that pitch to have traveled too fast for slowpitch softball pitched under ASA requirements? Note, I did not ask is it possible for an umpire who has total discretion to call it too fast, I am asking about a pitch that has met all the specified requirements of a pitch by ASA, is it possible that the ball was pitched too fast. If the answer is yes, please elaborate on how that conclusion is reached. I will disregard an answer that says by ASA rule, it is totally up to ump to make that judgment.