[JellyMan]

I agree. It would seem to me that added backspin cannot come without added velocity of the ball.
Note that it also takes some energy to crush the ball. Our theory is that a flat plate hood (point contact) requires significant crush to pitch the ball. If the same heavy crush of the ball is used with a curved hood (longer travel), is it possible that this wastes enough energy to result in a shorter pitch?
We are hoping that a longer contact curved hood (with light ball crush) will still result in a long pitch.
Thanks for the discussion, we'll let you know how it goes on Monday.