"Even When My Coach Told Me to Quit, I Never Gave Up— My Unique 'Depth Charge' Pitching Technique" Six years of pain. Six years of failure. Six years to master a pitch that shouldn't exist. They said it was impossible. They said I'd destroy my arm. They said I should quit. But I didn't. This is the story of Nozomi Ritsuko , the girl who invented the Depth Charge—a pitch that combines submarine and forkball mechanics to create 37 inches of vertical drop. A pitch that starts like a rising fastball, then plummets like a stone. A pitch that took my wrist, my shoulder, my high school career, and nearly my dream of playing baseball. But in the top of the 9th inning of the State Championship, with a one-run lead and three outs to go, I proved them all wrong. This is my story.