Cage bat?

Bought DD a 2016 Xeno (Thanks Core!)...so, I decided to get her a bat for the batting cage. I sold her CF6 to get a 2014 or 2015 Xeno. I lucked up on a brand new 2015 Xeno (in the wrapper) where (when you include the money from the CF6 sell) it only cost me $30....now my DD doesn't want to put that bat in the cage either. Haha. She said the 2015 will be her back up/ emergency bat. So, my question is...are cage balls really that bad on bats? Can she take the 2015 in there?

I found a 1 piece bat for $30. It's an LS TPS FP37. I know the 1 piece will sting her hands in the cage though on miss hits.

DD warms up with a wood bat, then takes a few swings with her new game bat before finishing the rest of her time with last year's game bat. The wood bat has become popular with her teammates as well.

Is she hitting regular softballs or dimple balls in the cages? An old aluminum Rocketech makes a good beater and can be used in cold weather too.

Why is it that college teams have no reservations about using their game bats in a cage but somehow it is an issue for a 10U TB player? Unless the balls are water logged resulting in a higher mass it will not be an issue.

My 9 year old practices with her game bat (CF8).

riseball said:

Why is it that college teams have no reservations about using their game bats in a cage but somehow it is an issue for a 10U TB player? Unless the balls are water logged resulting in a higher mass it will not be an issue.

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Two reasons RB. 1) At least around here, many of our public cages leave the dimpled balls outdoors in their baskets year round and only replace them if they split in half or are damaged beyond use. When they become old and weathered, it's like pitching a softball size rock at XX mph. The composites are not designed for these types of stresses. Heck, many can barely handle not breaking hitting the regular softball density when it's below 50 degrees outside. 2) More importantly, many colleges are sponsored by bat manufacturers and get X number of bats for free or, at a minimum, at cost. Their player breaks one, they send it back for a new replacement and get it, no questions asked. Yet, if found that we used those same bats in a cage or below 60 degrees F the warranty is void. Hard to prove but still... Most people (who don't know about coresoftball20) pay retail or discounted retail for a bat. Why take the chance when they pay that kind of money?

grcsftbll said:

My 9 year old practices with her game bat (CF8).

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Yeah, 16YO DD does too. Of course I found 8 of last years model of the unpopular bat manufacturer and unpopular size that she loves for $80 a piece and bought them all. If she breaks one and it isn't covered under warranty, for $80, I really wouldn't care.

I like to have players use a cheap bat that is the same length and weight as their game bat while in the cage. These high end composites have a limited life span, and I don't want the peak performance of that particular bat ehausted in a cage.

My DD has always used last years game bat as this years cage bat, but we hit regular softballs in the cages and do not use pitching machines.

I figure my daughter will probably outgrow her bat before she kills it, at her age. I could see having a practice bat once they reach full size, to extend the life of the game bat.