What you are describing is basically true for a crow hop, which is illegal and should continue to be illegal because it involves the use of leverage (and, yes, that ultimately leads to higher mph).

But….leaping….is just having your right foot up in the air instead of on the ground. It’s not the all-important replant of the foot in order to gain leverage with body weight moving forward.

Leaping is actually the natural motion you should expect in fast pitch softball. It is not natural to drag a foot along the ground when the foot wants to be off the ground due to the mechanics of throwing. Pitchers drag the foot because they think they have to, to avoid being called for a crow hop. In reality, if they just did what their bodies naturally wanted to do, most would leap but would not crow hop. Crow hopping is a learned/taught technique in order to gain advantage. Leaping is MUCH different than crow hopping. There is zero reason for it to be illegal. For VT or anyone else.

But leaping does not affect the release point or speed. If I drag my foot six inches on the floor or pick it up and put it down again six inches later, I still end up in the same place. But if I push off with that foot while also moving my other foot forward, I will end up more than six inches from where I started. Basic math/physics. Can’t really be debated.

Emma is leaping, which, yes, currently is illegal in the NCAA but probably won’t be next year. This is why most reasonable umpires are not calling it or are only calling it when it’s obvious and extreme. The rule is idiotic and they know it. For a guy to just stop the game by calling it on every pitch is beyond the pale.