[cksportsfan]

In softball, you must have pitching first.

Look at All-Area, (-District, -Region, -State) Teams. More often than not, a pitcher is in the top two spots.

You can get around a speedy centerfielder (bunt) or a slugging third baseman (walk her). A good pitcher is unavoidable.

Great pitchers make horrible teams respectable (in my area in the last 10 years or so, Whitney Valentine of Elizabethtown and Andrea "Andi" Whelan of North Hardin single-handedly made their teams respectable because they owned hitters (10Ks per game, ERAs less than 1).

Good luck finding a team that doesn't average more than 1 run per game.

Second would be defense. In the past few years, Green County and Meade County were always in the top 25. Neither team is great offensively 1-9.

Third is batting. I've seen teams, often several a year, win with fewer than four hits. However, I've seen FAR FAR FAR FAR more have 5-6-7-8 hits and still lose (because of errors they made, walks they allowed or the fact they have a worse pitcher or are facing a better-hitting team).