Tips for hitting riseball pitcher

[riseball]

From what I have seen if you are facing an accomplished, legitimate riseball pitcher and you lack experience hitting the pitch you are in a world of hurt. Once the hands come down there is no way to recover. I have seen few players outside the college ranks and elite TB that are regularly successful.

 

[Lenski]

Honestly, how many riseball pitchers are capable of throwing it for a strike? Get as deep in the box as possible and for God's sake don't swing at it. Force the riseball pitcher to throw strikes. In order for her to do that she will have to throw something other than a riseball. The trick to being successful against a riseball pitcher is to be disciplined at the plate.

 

[Doug Romrell]

Honestly, how many riseball pitchers are capable of throwing it for a strike? Get as deep in the box as possible and for God's sake don't swing at it. Force the riseball pitcher to throw strikes. In order for her to do that she will have to throw something other than a riseball. The trick to being successful against a riseball pitcher is to be disciplined at the plate.

Just this past Sunday (yup, Father's Day) I had a pitching session with one of my pitching students. Guess what we were working on.... Throwing the low rise for a called strike. As I caught it, i think a batter will conclude that the ball in coming in too low, but it ends up not dropping nearly as much as you would think it should. Thus the batter probably lays off the pitch, but it ends up coming in as a low strike. My point is that riseball pitches don't necessarily end up high.

 

[riseball]

I have a few that can put the ball at the top of the zone. Although it does become challenging with the college zone and stronger players. The problem with the back of the box approach is that most accomplished riseball pitchers also have strong screws. If you are up on the plate there is a good possibility you will wear some dead ball strikes. Move off the plate and you become vulnerable to a breaking ball outside.

 

[Lenski]

Low rise?? Where does the pitch start? How does the pitch start below the strikezone and end up in the strikezone? Does the pitcher release the ball about 3 or 4 inches off the ground? I'm not sure I understand.

As for screwballs, I'm still in the back of the box. If the outside corner of the plate gets knicked by that screwball I'm letting it get deep and pounding the crap out of it. If the screwball knicks the inside corner I'm making contact out front and wasting the pitch. If you have pitchers that can put the riseball at the top of the zone, being back in the box is beneficial because the ball is back on its way down at that point, getting it more in the zone, thus no longer being a riseball.

 

[SBFAMILY]

That is because some old school coaches still think it goes up Rocketech1. We faced a high school coach a few years back and our pitcher had a good riseball. She had 15 K's in the game.

 

[sb03dad]

Low rise?? Where does the pitch start? How does the pitch start below the strikezone and end up in the strikezone? Does the pitcher release the ball about 3 or 4 inches off the ground? I'm not sure I understand.

As for screwballs, I'm still in the back of the box. If the outside corner of the plate gets knicked by that screwball I'm letting it get deep and pounding the crap out of it. If the screwball knicks the inside corner I'm making contact out front and wasting the pitch. If you have pitchers that can put the riseball at the top of the zone, being back in the box is beneficial because the ball is back on its way down at that point, getting it more in the zone, thus no longer being a riseball.

Hmmm, interesting.

 

[riseball]

Low rise?? Where does the pitch start? How does the pitch start below the strikezone and end up in the strikezone? Does the pitcher release the ball about 3 or 4 inches off the ground? I'm not sure I understand.

As for screwballs, I'm still in the back of the box. If the outside corner of the plate gets knicked by that screwball I'm letting it get deep and pounding the crap out of it. If the screwball knicks the inside corner I'm making contact out front and wasting the pitch. If you have pitchers that can put the riseball at the top of the zone, being back in the box is beneficial because the ball is back on its way down at that point, getting it more in the zone, thus no longer being a riseball.

If you are on the plate at the back of the box you better be a damn good hitter because that screw or cutter on the inside will impact on the back leg for a called strike right in front of where the catcher has her glove.

Low rise starts very low. To practice we put a rag several feet in front of home plate and use it as a target.

Do what you think is best and I wish you luck. But as I have said before I would prefer all hitters at the back of the box. Makes our job much easier.

 

[Rocketech1]

That is because some old school coaches still think it goes up Rocketech1. We faced a high school coach a few years back and our pitcher had a good riseball. She had 15 K's in the game.

Yep. If Sarah Pauly's rise ball flattens out 15 feet before home plate as shown by Ricks video proof, I'm sure the 12u pitchers we face throwing low 50's ain't "rising" as the ball reaches home plate.

Lenski- a low rise ball can be achieved because it doesn't drop as much as other pitches thereby fooling the batter that the pitch will be a ball as it reaches home plate. But I would only throw a low rise ball of you have great command of the pitch. You leave it up in the zone and it will get pounded.

 

[riseball]

That is because some old school coaches still think it goes up Rocketech1. We faced a high school coach a few years back and our pitcher had a good riseball. She had 15 K's in the game.

Similar scenario happened to a local team facing a pretty good riseball pitcher when they assumed the position in the back of the box.

Jessica Elliott - Olympia Softball - Orlando Sentinel