Bat Advice

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Jun 8, 2015
6
0
I know. The same question asked a million times. This will be my first though. My DD usually has it figured out. She's usually one of the top hitters on the team (sometimes top)... we always want more, but are usually pretty happy with her hitting success.

Then this year. (May-Aug)...

1) 03 birthday. 13u.
2) height: 5'7" & weight: 150 pounds
3) we gave up rec ball, so yes- hard to compare to playing 14u travel ball. I know. (she played travel plus rec last year). But she was REALLY bad. REALLY BAD! 3 extra base hits- all year long. THREE!!! Batting average was half her usual. These are stats we've never ever, ever thought we'd see. It was bad.

So we're ready to try some things differently.

Bats...

1) we settled on a Louisville LXT 33/23 after her demarini cf9 (-11) 33/22 (it's gone- never to return) just kept hitting fly balls straight to outfielders. It seemed to get her some more grounders for hits finally. But still not great results... a lot of groundouts to the shortstop from that one.
2) we do have a zepp & record swing speed (mid 50s) and hand speed (mid 20s). There wasn't loss of speed in any of the bats we tested... even up to the LXT (23 ounce). Should we keep going & increase weight maybe?
3) Is it time to make an even bigger change until we figure out what was so off this year? Try end-loaded bat? Last year in 12b travel ball- she had double the batting average.. 13 extra base hits (2 hr). More in rec, but won't count those. She was so off her usual this year, that it's hard not to want to scratch everything and start all over again. it was that bad.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
33/23 is a reasonable size for the size of your DD, and the LXT is an excellent bat. For comparison, my DD is almost 13yo, 5'-5", 140+ lbs, and swings a 33/23.

I would look at swing mechanics improvements as a fix to hitting issues WAY more than trying to solve it with a different bat. It's pretty likely that the improved pitching of 14U TB is now exposing issues in her swing that she was able to get away with against rec pitching (this is a very common story). If she's had a growth spurt recently, it can really mess with coordination and speed, as well.
 
Last edited:
Jun 21, 2015
201
0
My daughter is 5'7" 160 +. She has a -9 33/24 LXT. She didn't do well with it. I don't think she gave it enough chance. Doesn't like the feel. So, now she uses a 33/24 Xeno. Loves it. Likes the feel. Didn't like the CF9 much. Loves the Easton Ghost 34/24. So for her it's the Xeno or the Ghost.


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