Bat Choice

My DD is about 5' and 88 lbs, 11 y/o. I bought her a Demarini CF-6 Sprite 30/19 in the fall and she loved it. She had a growth spurt this winter and the 30" seems to be a bit too short for her. We are looking at the WTDXCFS CF-7 or CF-7 Hope. I want to prepare for the future and get her a 32/21. What are some thoughts on the weight/ length jump She gets her current bat around very well and pulls the ball a lot. looking for some feedback / thoughts on.

If you're truly going to think about the future, first, go with a drop 10. Second, be prepared to buy a new bat every year until the time your DD's 15 or so. Third, Since you will be buying a new one every year anyway, buy last years model and save money. Often times this year's model of bat is last years model with an updated paint job. Fourth, many people say that for every inch you add, it is equivalent to an ounce of weight when it comes to swing speed and mechanics. Add the extra 2 inches of a 32" bat plus moving to a drop 10 bat and you're looking at roughly a 5 ounce difference from what she is swinging now. This is an absolutely huge jump and I would never recommend it. Even a 3 ounce jump (31/21) is going to be tough for her to maintain both good swing mechanics and swing speed. Most jumps are by an inch and an ounce or the equivalent of 2 ounces at a time.

If you want to jump to a 31 inch bat, look at a CF6 in a 31/21 as opposed to a CF7. Many places have them on clearance now for very reasonable prices. That being said, If you're intent upon buying a drop 11, go that route but in a 31 inch and then over the next 6 months, move into a 31/21.


Edit to Add: In the CF series, the Insane model is an end-load bat and the Hope is the evenly balanced bat.

Unfortunately, you are involved in a sport where you will hurt your daughters improvement if you buy bats for her to grow into to save some money. Fact of the matter is, kids grow fast and bats need to fit her now for her to benefit the best and she will continue to outgrow bats.

Thank you both for your input, it helped me a lot in my decision.

Some people do not like them, but when my DD was outgrowing her bat every 6 months (12U-14U) I would put a Grip-N-Rip on the end of her bat, which allowed her to choke up and use a longer bat until she grew into it. They come in different colors, cost @ $5 and can be reused.

JAD said:

Some people do not like them, but when my DD was outgrowing her bat every 6 months (12U-14U) I would put a Grip-N-Rip on the end of her bat, which allowed her to choke up and use a longer bat until she grew into it. They come in different colors, cost @ $5 and can be reused.

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At Pony Nationals a few years ago the Umps would not allow any foreign item on the bat. It might come off. Geez, as hard as it was to put on.

To the OP, I concur that it's a big jump for a 5' kid. 31"/21 is where DD hit until about 5'3 or so and at 5'7 she moved to 33". FWIW, that last jump took a while to get used to. Ms Fast hands was not so fast with that size club.

You should never buy a bat that a girl needs to "grow into" and have it be her game bat. All that means is it is too big for her now.

When they're growing, you just have to bite the bullet and realize you may be getting something new every six months. If you buy well (top-of-the-line Louisville Slugger, DeMarini, Easton), you almost always have the ability to recover some of your costs by selling the outgrown bat for at least 50% of what you paid for it. It takes the sting out a little bit.

I'd go with a 31" bat right now. Drop -10 or -11 ... whatever she likes best. And if that happens to be a -11, it better be either a CF or a Xeno. No other -11 on the market is worth owning, IMHO.

I completely agree on a jump from 30/19 to 32/21 being a bad idea and that in terms of looking to the future, you want to be trying to get her into a drop 10.

My DD went from a 32/22 to a 33/24 (due to her bat breaking). She was a lot bigger then than your DD and that was still an enormous jump that took her a while to get accustomed to. See if you can find a decent 31" bat now (you'll have more options at 31/21 than 31/20--like Little Angels implied) and then the next bat after that should definitely be a 32/22 IMO.

Monday madness deal at closeout bats cf6 sprite for 179.99 free delivery

Thanks all for the comments / advice. We went tonight and she swung a 32/21 and a 31/21. I told her to be honest and she said the 31/21 felt the best and her form was not compromised. CF-7 31/21 is where we will go. Thanks again all!!