Inside Pitch: It’s (Relatively) Quiet in Softball Right Now… & Here’s Why That’s a Good Thing 

At this time last year, in the Fall of 2020, there was still so much that was unknown in the softball world.

For example, when it came to college softball, it wasn’t even assured that we would have a 2021 season, much less be able to play all the way from February to May and have a Women’s College World Series.

Now, one year later, not only did all those things happen as scheduled, but many aspects of the sport are back to “normal” as the 2022 season dawns on the horizon.

The other day, as I was talking with a Division 1 coach, it was mentioned how different things are now than they were just one year ago and that set me on a trail of thought that took a while to fully wrap my brain around.

There’s not much going on in college softball right now: the transfer portal has slowed, coaching hires have nearly been completed, and a number of teams have not even begun fall team practice yet.

In high school, there are a half dozen or so states like Georgia and Oklahoma competing but the COVID shadow covering the prep scene isn’t nearly as daunting as it was last Fall.

On the pro side, Athletes Unlimited just this week completed Season 2 and, while a new pro league was announced on Thursday which is exciting for fastpitch fans, the Women’s Professional League (“WPF”) is not going to take the fields until next June.

And still, somehow, this feels nothing like that feeling of a year ago when so much was uncertain.

Call it retrospective, but the one thing that I believe has returned in the last 12 months— even if it’s in a smaller, slighter form—is a feeling of hope.

In 2020 or, as I like to call it, “the year that shall not be named,” a general feeling of despair dominated (at least for me and I feel pretty confident that I’m not alone in that).

Even as the college softball season went on during the spring months, there was always the question in the back of my mind of “Are we going to make it the rest of the way?”

Months later, though, a sense of hope and optimism is back.

We made it through the entire college season, for one, and, sure, there were bumps and some bruises, but we made it!

A full Summer of travel ball events including National Championships and a jam-packed Summer recruiting calendar are in the books, with several Fall weekends coming up in the next few months.

Fans are even in a lot of stadiums for Fall Ball exhibitions, something that many places didn’t see previously.

And now, here we are in October… just a few months away from the winter Holidays and then the start of the 2022 Spring season in college and high school for most of the country.

A year ago, the regular season seemed like it would never arrive; now, one year later, Opening Day already seems like it’s right around the corner with great confidence—and hope—for a brighter future.

Sometimes, it’s good when it’s quiet and there’s not much to report!

— Justin McLeod, Extra Inning Softball Correspondent