The NCAA Softball Rules Committee and the International Softball Congress have approved the Gorilla Gold Grip Enhancer, a tackifying towel that serves as a clean alternative to pine tar for batters, for use on the mound by fast-pitch pitchers this spring. Gorilla Gold, which was introduced four years ago, is distributed in North America by Adams USA.
“While the NCAA does not endorse specific commercial products, a 2005 NCAA rules interpretation finds the use of Gorilla Gold to be compliant with the NCAA pitching rules, specifically 10-13, on page 115, ” said Dee Abrahamson, head of the NCAA Softball Rules Committee
Gorilla Gold is a formula thats delivered via a towel impregnated with a lightly tacky solution, so its extremely convenient to use and gives the user complete control over how much or how little they want to apply.
“Allowing a grip enhancer other than powdered rosin on the mound might be surprising to some,” said Pat Dugan, President and inventor of Gorilla Gold. “But this decision speaks more to what Gorilla Gold doesnt do — Gorilla Gold doesnt adversely affect the ball.”
Last summer the ISC, an allied member of the American Softball Association (ASA), outlawed pine tar for pitchers but granted approval for pitchers to use only Gorilla Gold or powdered rosin the mound.
“Pitchers were using pine tar for grip control, but because of the residue that remained on the ball, dirt stuck to it and made the ball too difficult for batters to see,” says Ken Hackmeister, the ISCs executive director. “Gorilla Gold only affects the pitchers hand so residue doesnt transfer to the ball.”
“Gorilla Gold will be the biggest help to pitchers by helping maintain control when its raining or when their hands are sweaty,” continues Dugan. “Pitchers will also find that they can grip the ball with less effort. Hand pain can be a real problem but with Gorilla Gold pitchers can back off on pressure and still get the results they want.”
