Where do Lawrence girls turn to find competitive softball during the summer without leaving town?

Increasingly, the answer is the Lawrence Girls Fast Pitch Assn., a league for girls between the ages of 8 and 15. Now in its third year of existence, the LGFPA has had a steady increase in enrollment. More than 250 players will suit up this year, up from 220 last year and 130 in the summer of 2003.

Athletics player Jake Mather swings at a pitch during a 12-U Douglas County Amateur Baseball Association game on Tuesday May 31.

In an encouraging sign for the league’s future, many of this season’s newcomers are in the younger divisions.

“There are fewer older teams, but now more younger teams coming into the league,” said LGFPA Board Member and Registration Manager Janice Keller.

The LGFPA has found a niche with girls who don’t want to play baseball or in the less competitive Parks and Recreation League, but aren’t ready make the leap to a traveling team with its time-intensive schedule.

“The Parks and Rec is more social, then there’s the Phenix league which is highly competitive,” Keller said. “With our league we find that we have more competition but we stay in Lawrence.”

The league features four divisions based on ages, and the divisions have separate rules governing pitching. Coaches pitch in the 8-and-under division while girls start pitching in the 10-and-under division, with an adult coming in to pitch after four balls to discourage walks. Starting with the 12-and-under division, the players do all their own pitching.

With three seasons of solid growth, Keller even envisions the possibility of two LGFPA leagues down the road, one more competitive than the other. With an active network of supporters, the LGFPA has its sights set on the future.

“When this league started out, it was only a couple people,” she said. “People in the community have really stepped up and helped the league coordinate things. That’s how the league succeeds, through people volunteering.”