Bat Weight advice

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

Oct 7, 2014
38
0
My daughter made it on a 18u team although she hasnt played in year and a half. She injured her right knee but opted to not have surgery.
Anyways shes a small girl
5' 2"..105 lbs..but very fast and quite strong. She has never played 16u and has only played 14u tourney ball so jumping to 18u may be overwhelming for her.

Anyways shes swinging a 32/22 Miken Freak Black.
She I be moving her up in weight and or length?
Drop 9 or up to a 33/23 -10?
What do you think about a demarini slapper?

She has very quick hands and can often pull the ball down the line. Honestly, I am very surprised she made it on this team. I was worried that a 22oz bat may be too light at this level. Just want to give her any advantage.
1st tourney for her next weekend.

What do the expert think?

Thanks in advance.
 
Last edited:
Oct 3, 2011
3,478
113
Right Here For Now
The most common length and weight bats that college players swing are a 33 drop 10 and a 32 drop 10. If it's good enough for players at the next level, I'm sure it's fine for your DD as well. That said, the standard answer is to have your DD swing the longest heaviest bat that doesn't compromise her mechanics or lessen her swing speed. If your DD can move up without compromising either of those, then get her into a 33.
 
Oct 7, 2014
38
0
I am not familiar with college softball bats etc.
Really great feedback
He last bats was a 31/21 when playing in a 14u team
Guess she will sick with her 32/22 and she can try her teammates bats at practice
Thanks
 
Apr 20, 2015
961
93
Bat size isn't based on the age team she's playing with. Keep her swinging the right bat for her. If she's smaller than her teammates she shouldn't be swinging the same bat as them anyway.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
 

Strike2

Allergic to BS
Nov 14, 2014
2,044
113
The most common length and weight bats that college players swing are a 33 drop 10 and a 32 drop 10. If it's good enough for players at the next level, I'm sure it's fine for your DD as well. That said, the standard answer is to have your DD swing the longest heaviest bat that doesn't compromise her mechanics or lessen her swing speed. If your DD can move up without compromising either of those, then get her into a 33.

32 inches is a common bat size in college? I'd like to know where you got that from.
 
Jul 6, 2013
371
0
I'm not so sure about 33/23 and 32/22 being the most popular college bats either. Lol. We don't even have a girl on our 16U team swinging a 32.

But to your question, my daughter had been swinging a 33/23 freak. It swings heavier to her than a xeno or lxt. She is swinging a 33/24 lxt now, and will be swinging a 34/25 ghost next. My point is that the 33/23 freak felt the same, to her, as the 33/24 lxt. So it will depend on which bat you go back with. They are all balanced differently. Put a model in her hand that you are looking to buy her and let her feel it.
 
Oct 3, 2011
3,478
113
Right Here For Now
32 inches is a common bat size in college? I'd like to know where you got that from.
I got that from the majority of the girls playing anything from lower D1 through D3. Granted a lot of the "bigger" girls playing high to mid-level D1 will be swinging a 33 or 34 inch bat. However, there are many more smaller girls that won't or can't compete at that level that are swinging the smaller bats. 33 is by far the most popular but 32 still comes in second especially at the lower levels where you find girls of small stature playing.

ETA: Think about how many D1 colleges there are versus D2 and D3 combined.
 
Last edited:
Feb 17, 2015
318
18
USA
I've always recommended that the player standing up straight that the knob of the bat should come to their wrist. This is the appropriate length they should be swinging, I would then start with a -10 bat.
 
Last edited:
Dec 11, 2010
4,713
113
Width of the shoulders, multiply by two. That's your bat size. Start with -10, move up when it doesn't affect bat speed.
 
Last edited:
Jul 29, 2013
6,782
113
North Carolina
Width of the shoulders, multiply by two. That's your bat size. Start with -10, move up when it doesn't affect bat speed.

Good info right here^^^^. For reference my DD just turned 16, she's 5'0" and weighs 115 lbs. She's using a 33/23 LXT, She's very strong for her size and has fast hands. We played in a 18U showcase this weekend and the HC had her in the 3 and 4 hole all weekend, she's the smallest on the team and had 2 HR's this weekend. I was hesitant to move her up to a 33/23, I thought it was too heavy for her. But after one round of BP, we both knew it was the right bat size.

OP, try to borrow a few different bats from teammates and hit a few rounds of BP with them. For her size I would probably stay with a -10 balanced bat. If you want to move up to a 33" bat, check out Eric's bat weight database to get a reference of actual weights on the bats you're looking at. I've wanted to try a Rawlings Quatro but my DD ain't having any of it, LXT for her! Remember, bats like the LXT, and the Demarini CF series are going to be closest to actual weight. Easton's generally run over weight, not sure about Rawlings, I've only seen a few of them around here. On my DD's 16U team, probably 90% of the bats are 33/23, that's a guess but I bet it's pretty close.
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,478
Members
21,445
Latest member
Bmac81802
Top