Latest news with #CheshireHighSchool
USA Today
22-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Does college softball have a pitch clock? Action clock length, rules explained
Does college softball have a pitch clock? Action clock length, rules explained Show Caption Hide Caption Legally blind pitcher Jenica Matos to play D1 softball The Cheshire High School star in Connecticut can't see home plate but threw three no-hitters last year and will play Division I for the Red Storm. Over the last few seasons, the pace of play in baseball has become more fan-favorable as the games have shortened due to the pitch clock. The same can be said about softball. Though the two sports have numerous differences — college softball is a seven-inning game and baseball is a nine-inning game, for example — both sports' efforts to speed up the game overall is perhaps one of their more notable similarities. REQUIRED READING: Who's in Super Regionals? Updated bracket, schedule for NCAA softball tournament Here's what you need to know about the pitch clock in softball leading into the super regional round of the NCAA softball tournament and the Women's College World Series: Is there a pitch clock in college softball? Yes, college softball does have a pitch clock. What is the pitch clock limit for college softball? As noted by the NCAA, college softball has a pitch clock length of 20 seconds. This means pitchers have 20 seconds to begin their delivery toward the plate after receiving the ball from their catcher. Prior to the 2024 season, the pitch clock in softball was set at 25 seconds. Here's what Rule 10.18 of the NCAA rule book says on the pitch clock, including the three possible violations that could come: The pitcher has 20 seconds from when they receive the ball from the catcher to separate their hands which indicates the beginning of the pitch. Violation of this results in a ball being awarded to the batter. The batter has 10 seconds to take their position in the batter's box. Violation of this results in strike being assessed to the batter. The catcher has 10 seconds to take their position in the catcher's box. Violation of this results in a ball being awarded to the batter. College softball action clock, explained The action clock is the visible pitch clock that is used to monitor the pace of play, and is often seen on the backstop at the field. It can also be seen on the scoreboard or perhaps a built-in box/riser stand in the outfield. However, if there is no action clock visible at a stadium, it becomes the umpire's responsibility to keep track of time. More from the NCAA rule book: Rule 6.7.1: For all games (media or non-media), teams are allowed a maximum of 90 seconds between half innings and at the start of the game for warmups. The time between half innings begins when the last defensive player crosses the foul line. For all games (media or non-media), teams are allowed a maximum of 90 seconds between half innings and at the start of the game for warmups. The time between half innings begins when the last defensive player crosses the foul line. Rule 10.18: The pitcher has 20 seconds from the time they receive the ball from the catcher to separate their hands and deliver the pitch. The catcher must be in the catcher's box and the batter in the batter's box within 10 seconds after the pitcher receives the ball in preparation to pitch or after the umpire calls, "Play ball." The pitcher has 20 seconds from the time they receive the ball from the catcher to separate their hands and deliver the pitch. The catcher must be in the catcher's box and the batter in the batter's box within 10 seconds after the pitcher receives the ball in preparation to pitch or after the umpire calls, "Play ball." Rule 11.2.1: The batter must be within the batter's box and the catcher within the catcher's box within 10 seconds after the pitcher receives the ball in preparation to pitch or after the umpire calls, "Play ball." Here's a look at the action clock from the SEC softball tournament in the upper corner of the backstop: Though the pick clock is continuous through the game, there are five instances where the clock should be stopped and won't result in a pitch clock violation:
USA Today
22-05-2025
- Climate
- USA Today
How long are NCAA softball tournament lightning delays? Weather update protocols
How long are NCAA softball tournament lightning delays? Weather update protocols Show Caption Hide Caption Legally blind pitcher Jenica Matos to play D1 softball The Cheshire High School star in Connecticut can't see home plate but threw three no-hitters last year and will play Division I for the Red Storm. Over the last handful of seasons, the NCAA softball tournament has delivered fireworks as 64 teams compete for one of the coveted eight spots in Oklahoma City and play for the eventual national championship. After all, it is called the "Greatest Show on Dirt" for a reason. But that isn't the only thing the NCAA softball tournament delivers over its near month-long run from regionals, super regionals and the Women's College World Series. As sure as softball will be played in the months of May and June, there also will be weather delays as the humid weather rolls in. REQUIRED READING: Who's in Super Regionals? Updated bracket, schedule for NCAA softball tournament Here's what you need to know about lightning delays and what they mean during the NCAA softball tournament: NCAA Softball lightning delay, explained NCAA rules state that if lightning strikes within at least six miles of the venue of the event, the game must be suspended. In addition, the NCAA uses the "Flash to Bang" method, meaning if lightning is observed, count the seconds until thunder is heard and divide the number of seconds by five to obtain the distance in miles. That means that if thunder is heard 30 seconds after the lightning strike, the storm is six miles away, therefore initiating a delay. "To resume athletics activities, lightning safety experts recommend waiting 30 minutes after both the last sound of thunder and after the last flash of lightning is at least six miles away, and moving away from the venue," the NCAA states. "If lightning is seen without hearing thunder, lightning may be out of range and therefore less likely to be a significant threat. At night, be aware that lightning can be visible at a much greater distance than during the day as clouds are being lit from the inside by lightning. This greater distance may mean that the lightning is no longer a significant threat. At night, use both the sound of thunder and seeing the lightning channel itself to decide on when to reset the 30-minute return-to-play clock before resuming outdoor athletics activities." NCAA Softball lightning delay proximity of strike Closest proximity: Six miles Six miles Farthest proximity: Eight miles The NCAA notes that for a lightning delay to be issued, a lightning strike needs to be seen and heard within at least six miles of the stadium and as far as eight miles. How long is a lightning delay in softball? Lightning delay length: 30 minutes Once lightning is detected in the area and the game goes into a lightning delay, it is either delayed or suspended for approximately 30 minutes. However, that 30-minute clock can be altered. For every lightning strike that follows the initial lightning strike, the 30-minute clock is reset. NCAA softball, WCWS weather policy Knowing the likelihood of a weather delay, especially in the spring/summer, the NCAA has a fully written-out weather policy on what should happen for a WCWS game. Here's a closer look at the NCAA's weather policy for the NCAA softball tournament and the NCAA's other outdoor sports:
USA Today
18-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Who's in Super Regionals? Updated bracket, schedule for NCAA softball tournament
Who's in Super Regionals? Updated bracket, schedule for NCAA softball tournament Show Caption Hide Caption Legally blind pitcher Jenica Matos to play D1 softball The Cheshire High School star in Connecticut can't see home plate but threw three no-hitters last year and will play Division I for the Red Storm. The 2025 NCAA Softball Tournament regional round is wrapping up. That means the field in contention for the Women's College World Series shrinks from 64 teams to 16 ahead of next weekend. The next round is the super regionals, a three-game series between two programs with the chance to advance to the WCWS in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The top eight seeds are in line to host the super regional round. However, one of the remaining top 16 seeds could be in line to host if one of the top eight seeds falters. The 2025 tournament has already provided upsets with No. 10 LSU falling ahead of Sunday's championship games. A handful of other ranked teams enter Sunday needing two wins to keep their seasons alive. Here's what you need to know about who is advancing to the Super Regionals, the hosts and when the games start: Who's in NCAA softball tournament Super Regionals? This list will be updated as programs clinch spots in the Super Regional round of the 2025 NCAA softball tournament. No. 7 Tennessee (Will host Knoxville Super Regional) Super Regional schedule, how to watch All times Eastern Schedule will be updated as it becomes available. When are the NCAA softball tournament Super Regionals? The 2025 NCAA softball tournament super regionals are scheduled to begin on Thursday, May 22, and run through Sunday, May 25. Across eight super regional sites, 16 teams will play three-game series to determine who advances to the WCWS.
USA Today
11-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
What is RPI? Explaining softball rankings system ahead of NCAA Tournament bracket reveal
What is RPI? Explaining softball rankings system ahead of NCAA Tournament bracket reveal Show Caption Hide Caption Legally blind pitcher Jenica Matos to play D1 softball The Cheshire High School star in Connecticut can't see home plate but threw three no-hitters last year and will play Division I for the Red Storm. It's here. Welcome to Selection Sunday for the 2025 NCAA Softball Tournament. With half of the field already completed by automatic bids from conference tournaments, the remainder of the 64-team field for the NCAA Softball Tournament will be announced at 7 p.m. ET, signaling the official start of the sport's marquee tournament. And for those that miss out on playing for a spot in the Greatest Show on Dirt, that is the Women's College World Series, one of the more notable questions that will be asked is, what was that team's RPI ranking? Not how that team did in their respective conference tournament. But instead, their respective RPI ranking. As it has for much of the season in the national polls, the SEC has a rather healthy showing in the top 10 of the RPI rankings going into Selection Sunday, as Greg Sankey's conference holds eight of those 10 spots — perhaps a foreshadowing of who will be having home field advantage until Oklahoma City and the WCWS. But what exactly is the RPI ranking system and how does it impact a softball team? Here's what you need to know about the NCAA's RPI rankings and more ahead of Selection Sunday for the NCAA Softball Tournament: What is RPI? Explaining NCAA softball ranking system The RPI ranking system in softball – Rating Percentage Index – is a data-driven sorting system used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee when considering the field. Similar to baseball, the RPI ranking system is based on a team's strength of schedule. The RPI ranking system is used for the majority of the NCAA's sports, such as volleyball, soccer and baseball, but not men's and women's basketball, which use a NET ranking system. There are three key factors that are used in RPI rankings: Team's own winning percentage Opponent's winning percentage Opponent's opponent's winning percentage Softball RPI rankings on Selection Sunday Here's a list of the top 16 teams in the country per the NCAA's RPI rankings, which theoretically would result in the top 16 regional host site locations: Ranking reflective of games through Thursday, May 8
USA Today
01-05-2025
- Health
- USA Today
She can't see home plate. But this softball pitcher just landed a D1 scholarship
CHESHIRE, Conn. – As a Cheshire High School sophomore, Jenica Matos threw three no-hitters last season before the Rams squared off against their archrival, Southington High School, in a Connecticut Class LL State Championship semifinal game last June. One of those no-hitters came at the expense of the Blue Knights, so they were focused heading into the game, but Matos nearly repeated her performance, yielded just one hit while striking out 13 to help Cheshire win 4-0. A few days later, Chesire lost the state championship game to Fairfield Ludlowe, 3-2 in 10 innings, but Matos sparkled again as she threw 191 pitches, allowed just three hits and recorded 16 strikeouts. Not bad for a young woman who is legally blind. A rare diagnosis In 2018, after her 10-year-old daughter complained that her vision was fuzzy, Becky Matos took Jenica to a local eye doctor to have her vision checked. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but the doctor felt the girl needed glasses and fit her for them. However, as days and weeks passed, Becky Matos noticed her daughter was striking out a lot, and her maternal intuition told her something was wrong. "We took her back to the eye doctor, and this time the doctor was like, 'Can I check the back of her eyes?'" Becky Matos said. "We're like, 'Yeah, sure, do what you've got to do.'" The local eye doctor ran tests, got the results and sent them to doctors at nearby Yale New Haven Hospital for a second opinion. Henri Matos, Jenica's father, got the call and immediately reached out to his wife. "He called me and said, 'I need to take her to Yale, like, now. Today,'" Becky Matos recalled. After a battery of tests, doctors determined that Jenica Matos has a rare genetic disorder called Stargardt disease. It is linked to a mutation in the ABCA4 gene, which is responsible for making proteins that remove toxic substances from the retina. In people with Stargardt disease, fatty deposits and material form over time on a small part of the retina called the macula, which is used for sharp, central vision. As the deposits enlarge or grow in number, central vision gets blurrier, sensitivity to bright light often develops, and dark areas form in a person's central vision. There is no treatment or cure for Stargardt disease, and while estimates on the number of people in the United States who have it vary, according to the Cleveland Clinic, the number is between 30,000 and 200,000. "We left after everything and I went to my mom's house and just broke down," Becky Matos said. "I was like, 'I don't know what to do.' I came home and talked to Henri, and we just cried." "It started getting blurrier when I was 11 or so," Jenica Matos said. "When I was maybe 13, I really couldn't see. Since I was 13, I think it got like a little bit worse, but right now, it's steady." Today, Matos is legally blind but does not see a world of black or total darkness. If you talk with her, she looks at you, but even faces across a kitchen table are somewhat blurry. She can't clearly see someone standing 5 or 6 feet away, and while contact lenses help, they don't fix the problem. "It just like, it goes from everything being blurry to being more clear, but if there is a sign somewhere, I can't really read it," she explained. "But without them, everything just looks like a big blur and the colors kind of blend." Overcoming challenges Matos turned 17 on April 17, but her vision will prevent her from ever having a driver's license, and she can't read the whiteboard at the front of the classroom. Her teachers often provide her with notes she can copy and study. While Matos can't see home plate when she is standing in the pitcher's circle, she can find the strike zone with her fastball, which reaches speeds up to 64 mph. For context, that translates to a baseball pitcher throwing in the low 90s. In addition to playing for Cheshire High School, Matos plays for a travel team, the Empire State Huskies 16U National, and has competed in events as far from New England as Colorado, Florida and Georgia. At 5 feet, 6 inches tall, she is not as physically imposing as some pitchers, but Matos is powerful and intense on the mound, with her sunglasses – which she wears rain or shine – giving her an imposing presence. "She's a competitor, and she's a thinking competitor," said Kristine Drust, Cheshire's head softball coach. "She truly does seek out the game within the game to beat her opponents. When you see her, you will see that she is a gritty, gritty competitor." Drust said that while she and her coaching staff could make defensive accommodations for Matos' vision, that hasn't been necessary. "She's a great defensive player, she really is, and I wish that we could all really understand what she sees and how she sees it. But she does, and she gets it done," Drust said. "We have never, ever found any holes in how she fields her position on the mound." Matos only needs two accommodations in order to pitch. First, her catcher needs to have a chest protector and glove that are in contrasting colors. To make sure that happens, the family bought a white chest protector and brings it to games because most catcher's gloves are black or dark brown. Last season, Cheshire's catcher had a white chest protector and a white glove, which necessitated some creativity. "We colored in the webbing of her glove with a black Sharpie," Matos said. The second thing Matos needs is a way to get pitching signals from her coaches. Ordinarily, catchers relay signals and information on what pitch to throw, but Matos can't tell how many fingers her catcher may be flashing, so once again, Matos's coaches have used some creativity. "Coach Kelly (Brenner-Hennessey, Cheshire's pitching coach) also wears a black coat or black clothes, and she wears a neon winter glove," Drust said. "That's how she signals the signs to the catcher and Jenica." Starting in January, when she plays for the Empire State Huskies, Matos and her coaches began using a high-tech watch. "It's got a white screen with black lettering, and it'll say like 'FB Out' for fastball outside," Jenica explained, gesturing that she needs to hold the watch close to her eyes to read the notes. "It's kind of simple." Recruiting and college commitment A high school sophomore who throws in the 60s, tosses three no-hitters and routinely collects double-digit strikeouts will get the attention of college softball coaches, but the Matos family was nervous about the recruiting process. "I was kind of concerned that, like, colleges wouldn't look at me or take me because of (my condition)," said Jenica Matos, who is now a junior. "At the same time, I kind of wanted them to know, rather than not know, because if they knew and they still contacted me, then I'd know that it wouldn't bother them as much." Drust, on the other hand, saw the challenges Matos faces and her track record of success as a positive—something that could attract coaches. "I had concerns, but it was super important to get out to the public just how much success, even with some adversity, she was obtaining," Drust said. "In my conversations with the coaches that were recruiting her, that was a huge plus. Yes, she does have a disability, but to know how much grit, resiliency and success she has found. That is a player that every coach wants." It turns out Drust's instincts were correct, and Matos had no reason to worry. At midnight on Sept. 1, the moment college coaches could contact her, Matos started receiving text messages and emails. "She went from 8 a.m. on Sept. 1 until like 8 or 9 at night talking to college coaches," Becky Matos said. After being contacted and visiting schools such as Seton Hall, the University of Massachusetts and other northeastern colleges, on Nov. 3, Matos announced her verbal commitment to play college softball at St. John's University on X. Located on Long Island in Jamaica, New York, the Red Storm's campus is less than 100 miles from Matos' house. "I want my parents to be able to come and see my games," she said. Looking ahead For the last four years, Matos' central vision has not deteriorated as quickly as it has for others diagnosed with Stargardt disease. She gets her eyes checked routinely, and while Stargardt disease typically does not lead to complete blindness, that does not provide much comfort. "I don't know if I'm going lose my vision or not," she said, sitting at her family's dinner table. "That's kind of hard." Many things about Jenica Matos's future are out of her control, but with the winter's snow gone and her high school team's season started, she is back in a place where she is in total control—the softball field. "I want to get the Gatorade Player of the Year award," she said, referring to an all-sport honor bestowed every year on one athlete in every state. As lofty as that goal may seem, it's attainable. Matos was named to the Connecticut Class LL All-State team and was the Pitcher of the Year last season after posting a record of 21-2 while compiling 318 strikeouts in 156 2/3 innings. As for her high school team, Matos wants the Rams to repeat as the Southern Connecticut Conference champions and win the state championship. Through April 29, the team was 11-1, with the lone loss to LaSalle Academy, a private school in Rhode Island. Cheshire is ranked No. 1 in the state. On Monday, Cheshire defeated No. 4 Amity 1-0 in 11 innings, behind Matos' two-hitter with 25 strikeouts. "Even though I have an eye disease, it doesn't really shape who I am as a player and a person," Matos said. "It's my talent and how hard I work. I don't get anything given to me because I have an eye disease. I actually work for it, and I love doing what I do, even if it's hard most of the time." Share your feedback to help improve our site!
