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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday May 12, 2007 - 23 HSSAA offering a slower alternative It's one of the oldest adages in baseball: good pitching stops good hitting. Conversely, mediocre pitching can make for a long day -- and a long season -- on the diamond, which is why the Halton Secondary School Athletic Association has opted this season to offer girls an alternative to softball. Five schools are competing in the newly-formed slo-pitch league, with Oakville's Abbey Park and St. Thomas Aquinas joining Burlington's M.M. Robinson, Robert Bateman and Lester B. Pearson. M.M. Robinson coach Craig Bradshaw, the driving force behind the addition of the new sport, said his main incentive in suggesting slo-pitch was to help schools that don't have quality pitching depth. "With any type of baseball, if you have pitching, you're fine," he said. "But if you don't have pitching, you're in a lot of trouble." Girls' softball rules limit pitchers to four innings, or 12 outs, per game. In a seven-inning contest, that means teams must use at least one other pitcher, which Bradshaw said creates the disparity. "It might be a relatively close game for four innings, but the team that has the strong second pitcher usually wins," he said. "For those teams that have pitching depth and are balanced throughout, you basically know who is going to make the semifinals and finals. For the other teams, (slo-pitch) is just a matter of getting some games in and playing some ball." The main difference between slo-pitch and softball is, of course, the velocity of the pitches. However, there are a few other dissimilarities. More balls are put in play in slo-pitch, which puts a premium on defence. Slo-pitch features a rover, or fourth outfielder, to counter that. However, slo-pitch does not allow runners to steal bases, eliminating some aspect of speed and minimizing the importance of the catcher. There is also a commitment line halfway between third base and home plate, and runners are to run past the plate -- not step on it -- when they attempt to score. "It is a little less intense," Bradshaw allowed. "I've got four or five rep girls on my team that are not happy that we're playing this, but I think there's a couple girls here that were happy and said `this is something I can hit'." Neither softball or slo-pitch are contested at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (provincial) level. -- Jon Kuiperij LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER HERE'S THE PITCH: Abbey Park's Elise Harrington prepares to lob a pitch to a St. Thomas Aquinas batter during Thursday's Halton high school girls' slo-pitch game at Glen Abbey Recreation Centre. This is the first season the Halton High School Athletic Association is contesting the sport, offering an alternative to softball for teams without pitching depth. Oakville Sports Council meeting Tuesday The Oakville Sports Council will hold a general meeting for members and non-members Tuesday at Town Hall. SPORTSBRIEFS The purpose of the meeting is to provide people with updates and details of what the council is involved with. Topics for discussion include the fee assistance policy/guidelines and resource template, updates on the master plan and north park development, and sport recognition awards. The meeting will run from 7:30-9:30 p.m. and will be held in the Oakville Room at Town Hall, 1225 Trafalgar Rd. Current and potential members are invited to attend, and are asked to confirm their attendnace by e-mailing Town recreation supervisor Louise Veres at lveres@oakville.ca. The Oakville Sports Council serves as a partnership of community organizations that work co-operatively to provide a collective voice for sport in Oakville. Brian Churchill-Smith and David Yi helped give OT the team lead with a score of 228, putting the Devils six shots in front of the Georgetown Rebels. Loyola is fifth with 242. The three-stop tour will continue May 14 at Wyldewood Golf Club and conclude May 22 at Glen Abbey. Shepley, Donati deadlocked after four games The Plymouth Whalers scored two unanswered goals to down the Sudbury Wolves 3-1 Wednesday, evening the best-ofseven Ontario Hockey League final at two games apiece. Plymouth defenceman Zack Shepley of Oakville was on the ice for two of Plymouth's three goals. Sudbury's Justin Donati set up the lone Sudbury goal by Nick Foligno. Game 5 of the series was played last night in Plymouth. Donati, also from Oakville, had given the Wolves a 2-1 lead in the series when he scored the overtime winner in Sudbury's 5-4 victory on Tuesday. The goal was Donati's second of the game and 12th of the playoffs. He also had an assist and, going into last night, had 23 points in 17 playoff games. Shepley had three assists and a plus-8 rating in his first 18 playoff games. New to the Community? Welcome to the neighbourhood. We have free information & gifts reserved for you. The free service is provided Th f dd by the civic-minded businesses of this community. Our representative visits as a guest in your home, with an aim to help and welcome, without obligation. For further information contact: OT claims opening round of golf season Led by a one-two finish by Mike Young and Brian Decker, Oakville Trafalgar High School claimed the opening round of the Halton golf season Monday. Young fired a one-over-par 73 at Glencairn Golf Course to take the early lead in the individual standings while Red Devils teammate Decker was just two shots back at 75. White Oaks' Brad Altenhoff tied for third, carding a 76. 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