Thread: Hitting the Rise Ball?

Have your girls stand towards the front of the batters box. Maybe they can get onto it before it really starts to rise.

I didn't see game 1 of the CWS, but the comentators said Danielle Lawrie struck out most of the batters on that high rise. The Florida Gators had there batters move to the back of the box in game 2 to help them recognize, and lay off the out of the zone riseball. It seemed to work pretty well. But somebody will correct me if I am wrong.

Mike

If a pitcher has a good rise - it is most times not a strike. Your players have to be able to recognize the rise and lay off. Easy advice - hard to execute, but that is best course of action.

The other easy advice is to not drop the hands. Once the hands drop - even just a hair - you are beat.

A little push disconnection down and you are toast on any high pitch. As for this weekend, I recommend telling, reemphasizing and telling again and again, the girls to plan on looking for pitches below the waist with less than two strikes. They will end up hacking two balls above whatever you tell them so you tell them the waist. Move the mental target lower if you have to. Unless the ump has a high zone, you will likely find them getting walks till the pitcher brings it down. Then they will hit it. Walks and extra base hits is what you want from anyone except the slappers. Most good pitchers don't throw it above the waist for called strikes very often. Make her prove she can get the call on the up pitch consistently. Otherwise, take the ball.

You DON'T tell them to lay off the high pitch. My theory is the only thing their brain remembers under stress is the last two words-"high pitch" . Instead of harping on what not to do, repeat what you want them "to do". Look down. Look low. Look below the waist. I have seen this approach work almost every time it's followed. If the ump likes them at the armpits though, it's not going to be fun.

Teach them how to hit it and don't move in the box. It will mess up the timing on other pitches. Learn how to hit it. Set the T as high as it goes, or put in up on a bucket. Then teach you kids to get the hands above the ball, with less bat angle. Bustos will tell you this is the hardest pitch to learn to hit, but you can still hit it over the fence if you are trained how to hit it.

When I first started playing men's fastpitch, no joke I would foul back riseballs all day. I couldn't lay off of them. I moved up in the box and forced myself to try to top the ball. You are not going to train you girls to hit the raise in two days.

I like starting with the hands at about armpit level similar to Bonds, Williams, Ruth and many other great MLB players. Williams said that the hands didn't have to be any higher than the highest strike, which is generally at the letters. On pitches at the letters the lead elbow/forearm simply levels out to stay on top of the ball.

IMO as long as the fastpitch community continues to teach hitters to start with their hands at ear level or higher, hitters will continue to struggle with the rise ball. It is much more efficient to start with the hands at armpit level because the hands are already on plane for a pitch at the letters. Of course this approach goes against years and years of entrenced fastpitch thinking.

I haven't seen BM here much lately, he's been too busy battling it out with JoeBad/Richard/"Teacher"man over on BeeMax's new board in a classic thread that's sure to go down in history as one of the longest arguments ever

IMHO, he's handing JoeBad's drawers to him, but the majority of that crowd over there is HI guys, so Captain Cool-aid has had lots of support.