Stephanie Comeaux has been the subject of many discussions in NCAA Division I softball circles.

The sophomore pitcher for Mississippi State University was mentioned prominently at the Softball Rules Committee meeting last July. She is also somebody who is becoming familiar with umpires, who are on the lookout for the pitcher who sometimes has a unique delivery that was deemed legal because there is nothing in the softball rules book that says it shouldn't be.

And to think all of this came about almost by accident one day when Comeaux was playing catch with her father when she was in junior high school.

On that day, the younger Comeaux returned a throw to her father by tossing the softball behind her back.

"I threw it to him once, and he said, 'Let's make that a pitch,' " Comeaux said. "I've been practicing it ever since."

It took her a couple of years to master the pitch, which she uses as a change-up, and she unveiled it on the mound during her sophomore year of high school. Needless to say. it took everyone by surprise.

The umpire ruled it illegal, mainly because no one had seen it done in a game before.

"I made sure no one was on base, because if they call it illegal, then someone could advance a base," Comeaux said. "When I was ahead in the count in high school, I would just throw it for fun."

Comeaux, who says she throws the pitch only around three times per game, has taken it into intercollegiate competition, but she met the same resistance from umpires who called it illegal on the spot.

That prompted Mississippi State softball coach Jay Miller to ask the NCAA what rule she was breaking by pitching the ball behind her back.

"When I asked why it was illegal they couldn't tell me," Miller said. "They just said it didn't look right."

No one could find a reason why the pitch was illegal, and Dee Abrahamson, the secretary-rules editor for softball, issued a letter to Miller stating that Comeaux's unique pitch shouldn't be ruled illegal on the basis that she threw it behind her back.

Abrahamson said while she can't dictate to an umpire what he or she calls at a particular moment, her letter dealt only with what basis an umpire uses to deem the pitch legal or illegal.

"There was nothing in the rules to preclude someone from throwing that pitch," said Abrahamson, the senior woman administrator at Northern Illinois University. "If an umpire were to call an illegal pitch, and the coach were to ask why, if the answer is, 'She threw it behind her back,' then the coach can say it's not a valid reason to call an illegal pitch. If you're going to call it for jumping off the mound or anything that would be illegal, then that's different."

Miller, who says Comeaux's behind-the-back pitch is about 15 miles per hour slower than her normal delivery, keeps the letter in his possession and communicates with the umpires beforehand that she may use the pitch at some point during that game.

The only other time anyone recalls seeing a pitcher deliver the ball behind the back was during exhibitions put on by the barnstorming team known as The King and His Court.

Jeff Hansen, the NCAA coordinator of softball umpires, recently saw Comeaux pitch in tournaments in Atlanta and Palm Springs, California.

"It seemed that the question about illegal or legal came from the release point of her hand," Hansen said. "If it's released below the hip, which she is evidently flexible enough to accomplish, there is nothing in the rules book saying it has to be released on the same side of the hip. She definitely releases it below the hip. You couldn't throw it sidearm like a basketball pass."

While the pitch is a novelty, Comeaux's game is more than that. As of March 8, she was 6-1 with a 1.96 earned-run average. Teams are hitting only .182 against her this season.

"It's funny now, because the teams we play against and the people in the stands will be asking, 'Is this the pitcher who throws it behind her back?' Miller said. "Everybody is watching for it. We'll go along two or three innings, then all of a sudden she throws one, and sure enough everybody missed it. Then they are waiting to see if she'll throw another one."

Comeaux also has heard teams have it on their scouting reports now. Most of the hitters take the pitch, although she gave up a hit on her specialty pitch in the tournament in Atlanta.

"Once it got to that point where she could throw it consistently for a strike, I told her this is something we can use," Miller said. "It's not something you can use a lot. But it is a much different look for the batter. The big thing was that she got control over it. If you can't throw it for a strike, it's not going to be of use for you. Most people freeze and take it, so you want it to be a strike."

On March 8 against the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Comeaux struck out a career-high 12 batters. She has grown more confident after adjusting to the college game during her freshman season.

"The batters are a lot more advanced in college," said Comeaux, who has struck out 47 and only walked 12 this season. "They have more experience, and they have good coaching. They know what they are looking for at this level."

And now with Comeaux, they're looking for it from behind her back.