April Boyd knew what she wanted to do when she finished up a career of playing slow-pitch softball at the high school level last spring. She wanted to play fast-pitch softball on the collegiate level.

But there was a problem.

Total experience playing fast-pitch softball? One measly game way back in junior high.

This, she and her dad Kenny thought, was going to be a challenge.

They started off by filming her hitting the ball, but that didn’t turn out well. She later turned to longtime friend Kristin Chaney from slow-pitch who was playing fast-pitch with East Central Community College, and Chaney introduced her to ECCC coach Scott Hill.

Hill gave her a chance. Boyd had dominated the slow-pitch game so much, he decided to give her a shot.

Now with 2005 season well into the books, no one has a regret to speak of. Boyd finished the regular season with a .403 batting average with 14 runs batted in and 19 steals while spending most of the season hitting leadoff.

&8220;I started off a lot better than what I expected to,&8221; the former Adams Christian standout said. &8220;I think I surprised a lot of people. Everybody expected me to get the hang of it pretty quick, but I didn’t think I was going to do that well.&8221;

Boyd’s story is one of substantial odds since you’d hardly find a college coach scouting a slow-pitch softball game. There’s a buzz in fast-pitch softball since it can be a girl’s ticket to a college scholarship, and a recent Sports Illustrated report lauded the sport for a popularity that’s bursting at the seams.

Boyd had to switch from the high-scoring, defensive-minded slow-pitch game to one where the pitcher, catcher and first baseman are some of the key positions. The biggest difference, though, is standing there in the batter’s box.

And, man, did that ball come to the plate quick.

&8220;I was getting frustrated (at first) because I couldn’t get it down,&8221; Boyd said. &8220;I was way behind the ball. After a few weeks, I got the hang of it. I know the girls up here, and all the high schools up here have fast-pitch. Most have played since the seventh grade. All of the other girls worked with me.&8221;

That was the challenge Boyd faced, but then she had to do it all over again when she went back to slow-pitch this summer to play with the Margo’s Cargo traveling team. It’s teams like hers that makes Boyd disagree with the notion that the rise of fast-pitch softball will make slow-pitch go the way of the dinosaur.

And she will also dispel the myth that slow-pitch girls can’t make it on the fast-pitch level.

&8220;If you’ve got the defense in slow-pitch, you’re not going to have any problems in fast-pitch,&8221; she said. &8220;All you’ve got to learn is hitting the ball in fast-pitch. If you really want to do it, you can do it. It took me a couple of weeks.

&8220;I kind of like it better now than slow-pitch. It’s more of a challenge.&8221;

She’s proof it can be done. It’s just a challenge you’ve got to meet.

Adam Daigle

is sports editor of The Natchez Democrat. Reach him at (601) 445-3632 or at

adam.daigle@natchezdemocrat.com

.