Starting Travel Ball (bat recommendations)

[CoreSoftball20]

Are there major differences in the way a one piece feels vs a 2 piece bat?

The diff between 1 and 2 piece is mostly about feel. 2 piece bats tend to take the sting out of mishits while 1 piece
you usually feel way more feedback. Now at 9, does she care...maybe not. But you also dont know if she never swung
a multi piece bat to compare it to for her. She may really like them...never know.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

Yeah, I typically go used on my kids bats. With my son, I bought one used bat and have pretty much sold and bought them for almost even money every year. Like you said, one season shouldn't beat a bat up that badly at this age. And you are right about lessons. Between catching and pitching, and her getting beyond my level with hitting, those things are going to run me in the ground

Except for a few sentimental bats my daughters have, I donated or sold all the other ones they've used. I would guess that those sentimental bats still have plenty of pop because they were their first composite bats. I'd get a resounding no if I asked them if I could sell them: Demarini CF4 Hope and a CF7 USSSA Pride bat.

I have a catcher and pitcher, so I feel your pain about lessons.

 

[kpats]

Her current bat is a one-piece -11. Most other composites are at least two pieces. There are plenty of -11 bats out there from every manufacturer, but not many are one piece.

The bat I would say is closest to the feel of her current bat would be a Marucci Echo DMND in a -11 size. It's a one-piece bat designed for youth and smaller teens, but it will have considerably more pop than the current bat.

My daughter was in the same boat and that's the bat we went with. As a matter of fact I think I bought it from LEsoftballdad. Got a great deal, highly recommended! But anyway, she's still working on breaking it in, but she has seamlessly transitioned from her Rocketech alloy bat to the Echo Dmnd.

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[Chad504boy]

I'd stick w a 2 piece bat. My daughter swung a mizuno pwr carbon at that age, enjoyed it. You can't really go wrong with many bats at that age. Prisms, CF's, Echo Connect, Ghost lines etc. I worked my kids hard with hitting so i enjoyed buying them nice bats. Bats do help and at 9 and 10 yrs old, any help is needed. I'd keep it light for now, -11 or -12. Don't put too much bat in her hands, that's the biggest mistake parents learn from.

 

[uncdrew]

I'm a firm believer in letting her choose the bat. I've stuck with that my DD's entire journey, from 8U Rec to 14U travel. They need to have confidence in the bat. And that can be from one good hit when trying a friend's, to it being her favorite shade of pink.

 

[PJR202]

The Demarini CF is a bat I've been recommending lately. The thing I really like about it is, the response from it is very consistent. An Amethyst is obviously a turd compared to the higher end stuff, but you get out of it what you put it into it. There are no surprises with an aluminum bat. That's how the CF feels to me. Of course, it'll have a lot more pop than the Amethyst. I really like it for hitting IF/OF. There's a lot of control so I don't jack one over the fence by accident, or line drive a shortstop in the face if my ground ball swing isn't on-point that day (honestly, my ground ball game is NEVER on-point). I absolutely HATE hitting IF/OF with an LXT, Ghost, etc. If it's not a short CF I steal from one of our 5th graders, I go with a 31" Xeno with a ton of miles on it. It's got a similar feel to the CF.

I'd get her in a 29-30 at this point. Those should be fairly plentiful used. Kids grow out of those, whereas with a 32-33 they may get a new one but aren't getting rid of the old one.

 

[UKCATSFAN76]

Not sure of your DDs height, weight or strength.

If smaller, Mizuno makes a drop 13 one piece that runs around $250 new.

But Demarini CF is probably the best overall choice for younger kids. Just a great balanced bat. Easy to buy used, easy to resale if needed to move up.


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[jbpick86]

Update: This is a new travel team they are getting together of girls in my daughter's class to start them playing together. Several of the new travel players stayed after and tried several of the more experienced teammates bats a couple practices ago. We ended up settling on the 29" drop -11 Prism. I got a really good deal on sidelineswap and picked ome up for 130. Those of us that went to buy new bats about split evenly between the Echo or the Prism. There are a couple LXTs with the bigger really strong girls, one Ghost Advanced, and one Meta. We did not have a Mantra+, Pwr Crbn, or CF to try so I can't speak to them but the Prism has been working out well. Her first at bat the next practice she put an absolute laser in the gap at right center and she is now hooked on the bat, confidence through the roof. Thank you all.

 

[PJR202]

Update: This is a new travel team they are getting together of girls in my daughter's class to start them playing together. Several of the new travel players stayed after and tried several of the more experienced teammates bats a couple practices ago. We ended up settling on the 29" drop -11 Prism. I got a really good deal on sidelineswap and picked ome up for 130. Those of us that went to buy new bats about split evenly between the Echo or the Prism. There are a couple LXTs with the bigger really strong girls, one Ghost Advanced, and one Meta. We did not have a Mantra+, Pwr Crbn, or CF to try so I can't speak to them but the Prism has been working out well. Her first at bat the next practice she put an absolute laser in the gap at right center and she is now hooked on the bat, confidence through the roof. Thank you all.

There's a kid with a Prism on our middle school team. I'm gonna steal it one day. I have a feeling it'll hit similar to the CF. Nice deal you got on that.

 

[Rolling Hard]

Get a in the wrapper warranty returned ghost. $200.
Best bang for your buck. At her age you don't need a warranty.