Defending ITB, no outs, only 1 outfield cannon

riseball said:

All too often situations come up in games which are never addressed in practice. I get a kick out of coaches and parents who will tell a hitter who is deep in the count to foul off pitches or expect players to routinely lay out for a ball. Then you find out that the team has never practiced such basic skills.

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I posted seeking suggestions on managing ITB and came away with something I'd never even thought of before. I don't think we've ever practiced fouling off pitches, even though we see 2-strike counts multiple times every game. Thanks, Riseball!

You're right about most teams not having a plan for ITB, because they happen so rarely. In this scenario, with no outs, I agree with CJ D that the best play for the offense is to make the defense execute a tag against the suicide squeeze. The worst case for the offense would then be runners at 1st and 3rd with 1 out. Defensively, after loading the bases, I'm going to want infield in with outfielders no deeper than they can throw a dart from to keep the runner at 3rd.

Note: This particular scenario was the result of a miscue in the bunt defense. They knew the 1st batter was bunting, but 3B was playing too deep and she and the pitcher arrived at the ball at the same time, resulting in a late throw.

1. With less than two outs every outfielder has to be at the depth they can catch a fly ball and beat the runner with a throw to home.

2. Ask yourself if it is a well hit ball to the infield what are you going to tell your fielders to do? If you are going to hold the ball and not try for the first then home double play you might as well walk her unless you feel good about a strikeout.

3. On the other hand I really hate putting that kind of pressure on a pitcher...if she gets down in the count she has no options but to pitch a strike down the middle and give her fielders at least a chance. Let her try and get the strikeout or maybe a line shot, comebacker something that can record an easy out without the risk of letting the run score on the girl at bat and if she walks her she still has a chance with the next batter.

4. There is no right or wrong answer, besides keeping the outfield deep, these situations are game dependent and most of the time you just go with your gut as a coach and hope for the best.

Momo'sDad said:

I posted seeking suggestions on managing ITB and came away with something I'd never even thought of before. I don't think we've ever practiced fouling off pitches, even though we see 2-strike counts multiple times every game. Thanks, Riseball!

You're right about most teams not having a plan for ITB, because they happen so rarely....

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True the ITB's are a rare occurrence. But the skills required on both offense and defense for the ITB are pretty common. If you work the ITB you work many other areas and the competition it brings to the practice gets the blood pumping.

Depends on the hitter you have up, and what they have done in the game. But I would not hesitate to load the bases.

We actually had this scenario three times last summer, and in each we came out with the win. In two of the cases we loaded the bases with no outs and in the other there was one down. In each no out situation we got a combination of one strike out and two force outs. In the one out situation we turned a double play home to first on a hit right back to the pitcher.

I think this situation really calls for you to have an infield that will not a let a ball through no matter what. I agree with the other poster here, if you have an outfielder with a weak arm you might try placing her in an area where your pitch calling is going to dictate ball placement.

These are tough situations definitely, worth practicing a time or two so that if it comes up you are facing it for the first time.

My teams practice squeeze bunts an awful lot. With that, we also practice very aggressive base running. We do this because if I have a runner on third and less than 2 outs, and we're down by less than 3, or not up by more than 5, you're getting a squeeze out of me no matter who is batting. It just so happens that it is an effective means of getting a run across when you MUST have it, and this works for the ITB. But it simply won't work for the team who does 10 bunts before they swing away every practice. It is imperative that they put the bunt down the first pitch, every time, no matter where it is throw. It must be away from the plate, and not straight to the defenders. And she has to show the bunt only after the ball is in the air. If it isn't done correctly, everyone on the field is standing 12 feet from home plate the next pitch and the girl will get thrown out at home. But the base runner shares much of the responsibility in this as well. Simply taking leads and reacting is no good. I like to use a different strategy with my base running than some, especially in the 12-14 ages around here. We employ a steal every base mentality, every pitch. When the catcher catches the ball, we are no longer stealing. And I fully expect that the girl will be far enough from the bag that she will get thrown at A LOT. But we also practice that every lead will have to be a dive back to the bag. There are some variances in when we actually start our lead based on the girls quickness or the pitchers speed. Not every one of them is striding off at release by pitcher. But all should be in full motion heading to next bag when the catcher catches or bobbles it. We play too many teams that take the standard 3 steps off and shuffle to see what happens. They get thrown out a lot when they try to take off when the catcher has to block a ball.

I agree with those saying depends on the hitter- also my pitcher do I have a pitch to contact girl going or power pitcher who may get the strikeout but could walk that run across if we load the bases. I feel strongly that of has to be where they can catch and throw home, if not what's the point?? At 14u more than not I'm loading bases and bringing them in shallow. If you square one up we get ya next time

When you look at the math behind the scenarios:

• Runners on 2nd and 3rd, 0 outs. Expect to score one run 87% of the time.
• Bases loaded, 0 outs. Expect to score one run 88% of the time.

So we are pretty indifferent here, the odds are against us holding them aren't good. As others have pointed out the decision to walk is dictated by the batters skill.

• Runners on 2nd and 3rd, 1 out. Expect to score one run 70% of the time.
• Bases loaded, 1 out. Expect to score one run 68% of the time.

Surprising but not if you think it through. Clearly you are better off walking bases loaded with one out. This gives your defense more options to end the inning. I don't care what batter is here she is getting walked (unless the on deck batter is an outlier, someone that I can't get out). Remember the goal is to end the inning as quick as possible with the fewest number of batters faced.

• Runners on 2nd and 3rd, 2 outs. Expect to score one run 28% of the time.
• Bases loaded, 2 outs. Expect to score one run 33% of the time.

Not walking someone here, regardless of how I got in this scenario. I feel pretty good about my chances.

The summary above gives you the best chance to win when repeated. Don't over think it with your gut instinct.