A little short........

[derwil]

Middle school game last night at a park 2 miles from my house. Great grounds crew - a city park that hosts travel and school tournaments - fields always look great. Game starts and both pitchers strike out the sides in the first. Top of second, one hit but that's it. Thinking to myself "man these pitchers are killin' 'em". Coach comes out - "can we check the pither's plate distance? We think it may be short." Call over the grounds crew who says they haven't moved it since the tournament the previous weekend. Measuring tape comes out.... 37 1/2 ft. Ummm....wow. OK get it to 43 feet. 10 minutes later we're playing again with a new circle and compacted dirt. Apparently someone moved the rubber during an unauthorized practice.

The pitchers weren't nearly as dominating the rest of the game..........

[Duke]

Ok have to ask...Did you walk and check the field before the game? By siting the line between 1st and 3rd you can confirm the distance of the pitcher's plate.

[dilligaf]

That was an issue waiting ti happen. Glad nothing came up. I had a similar issue that happened when I was doing my pre-game field inspection. Coaches were informed and they said they would play at 40'. I informed them that we could not start the game untill it was at 43'. They both got ticked and whined for a few minutes. They finally moved they rubber back with the help of the ground crew. On parent came to me after the game and thanked me for making sure it was correct. He stated they had the same issue last week and no corrections had been made. I took it with a gain of salt and moved on.

NFHS is California is very specific about the rubber being at 43'. If it is not corrected the game will not be played. IMO it is the first thing that should be checked before every game that is played that we umpire. Just takes on ball on a batters nogging or a catcher gets injured before we are saying, No you honor...I forgot to check the distance. Please dont let them sue me for my house.

[CecilOne]

Was part of the problem using a rubber instead of a pitching plate?

[Stat-Man]

Here in the Mitten state, I believe MS softball is being left at 40 feet (~12.2 m ).