From the desk of
Softball popularity surging with Olympics on the horizon
From the desk of
Rich Flowers
Sports Editor few years ago, my wife and I were bowling and noticed a teenage girl in the adjacent lane throwing the ball with such force that it flew almost to the pins before coming to earth. After the game, I asked her if she was a softball pitcher. She said she had pitched for her high school in Tyler. There was something about the speed of her underground delivery that looked as if she would be a terror for opposing batters.
With the Women’ s College World Series winding up this week, we have watched some amazing arms, making the ball rise up, spin down and sweep across the plate. Often they seem to be in total control, but sometimes one of the hitters makes full contact and plants one in the seats.
Fans have been treated to some high drama, unlikely outcomes and supercharged excitement from the WCWS site in Oklahoma City.
The popularity of fast pitch softball as a viewer sport has been on the ascent. We’ ve seen it first hand in Athens with the rise of the Trinity Valley Cardinals and the opening of the new on-campus Rip Drumgoole Field.
As for the major colleges, viewers have tuned in for more than 2 billion minutes of softball action. The championship series between Texas and Texas Tech, was expected to attract more than 2 million fans.
22 | Greater Athens Magazine | July 2026