Looking to upgrade DDs bat

DD has been swinging a DiMarini .375 32/23 (doublewall aluminum) and hitting well with it except for some troubles with faster pitching.
She also has a DiMarini CF3 32/22 that she uses against faster pitching.

One of the girls on her team got a used CF4 and now she and any other girl who uses that bat are really drilling some shots. I've seen the same thing with girls on other teams. Last season a few of these girls could occasionally hit the ball as far as DD but now many of them do. (DD still has a better eye, tho )

So I'm thinking I should get DD a new bat to stay ahead of the competition.
The first thing I need to do is have DD try her friend's CF4 and see how that works for her.

1) she uses two different sized bats (22 and 23oz) is this ok or should I just work her more with the heavier bat in the off-season so that pitch speed is not a factor? Her swing mechanics appear better with the heavier bat. When swinging the lighter bat, her swing uses more arms, gets wristy and sometimes I believe I might be seeing some bat drag (I know I'm seeing the lead elbow low and tight to the body)- but she's still hitting the ball well. Both bats are the same length and there is only a 1 oz difference, but one bat feels significantly heavier. Maybe it's slightly end-loaded?

2) When I'm looking at a new bat, I'm thinking she could handle an end-loaded bat but should I go that route or just have her focus on improving her mechanics with a balanced, lighter, composite bat like the others are using? I'm thinking if she can hit well with the lighter bat, it may be easier for her to correct the mechanics than it would be to swing a heavier (or end-loaded) bat faster.

I don't know.
What do you think? Should I be looking at a Rockettech or the new CF4 Insane edition or stick with the balanced models like the CF4 and the Easton Stealth? She is 5'-1", 140 lbs.

thanks.

(I apologize if this post sounds like an earlier post I made. I had posted a similar question but couldn't find it when I looked for it.)

How long has she been using her current bat?

If she's hitting well, how is that a problem? I'm not saying another bat might not be better for her, but I wouldn't put much stock into your reasoning as to why teammates are hitting as well as she now, as there could be any combination of factors giving that result.

I may not know softball, but I do know physics and that 1oz makes a huge difference.

Because she (nor you) is not already committed to her next bat, just select a few that you like and take them out for a trial. Using the friend's is good, and many of your better stores have demo equipment to loan out. I don't think you can fully evaluate a bat from the spec sheet, but it is good that you're doing your advance research.

I'm thinkin' if she needs to fall back to the -10 against the best pitching that is where she is comfortable (with the weight and feel). There is no reason for her to have to "handle" the end loaded bat. Every time she is late or misses good contact if she has that end loaded she will likely want to blame the bat and move to the -10 balanced. Take that crutch out of the equation and just use the -10. Every once in a while you'll get a wow factor with that endloaded and you'll have a bunch of "maybe" moments but just let it go. Plenty of players hit it over the 200' with balanced CF's, Stealths, Catalysts, Mikens and the rest. Some do well with the RT but you don't need the magic Rocketech to smash it. How many college kids swing it and they do fine.

I wonder why we don't see a lot of college kids with Rocket Techs?

Thanks for the advice!

She is in her 3rd season with the .375 (which is actually 24 not 23 oz) and although I got the CF3 -10 a little over a year ago, this is the first she's really started to use it (so it's just starting to get broken in). When she uses the lighter bat her swing is different - correctable but not good without that correction. I worked with her in the cage on Sunday, saw that she really needed to elevate that lead elbow, did some one handed swings off a tee then went back to the machine and the problem was gone. nothing but solid contact. Last night at pre-game bp she was doing it again, dropping that lead elbow and popping the ball up. Fortunately the game was rained out before she got to pop any up in the game.

true, I am the only one thinking about a new bat. It's because I saw how a couple girls on our teams went from mediocre hits to powerful drives as soon as they started using the CF4 (literally). In this case the arrow has made a couple Indians.

Anyhow, thanks again. I'll have her try her friend's CF4 and go from there.

Sounds like her teammates where using logs before they got their hands on the CF4. Don't buy a new bat, put your $300 towards hitting instruction. She already has a CF3, which is a really, really good bat. My guess is you won't see any difference in performance in comparing the CF3/CF4. It is not the bat that is making her teammates catch up to her. Some kids develop slower than others, and this sounds like a case of your daughter "getting it" earlier than her teammates. Let her swing the CF3 for a while. She will adjust to its weight and balance.

A few kids who play on my DD's team like the CF4, but most use vendetta's or Stealth Speed and Combat Virus. Our big hitter is using the Virus. We have two 2005 Rocketechs (the hot ones) and none of the girls like them, they stay in the dugout. My DD uses her CF3, which she loves. Her assistant coach, who played on the 16U national team last year, grabs the CF3 when hitting during the pre-game warmup.

@amanda_cake:

Interesting that you say that...you're right!

I mainly see Eastons, Mizuno, and Demarini

amanda_cake said:

I wonder why we don't see a lot of college kids with Rocket Techs?

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It is my understanding that the 04, 05 RTs are banned from NCAA, so why use an RT if you can't use the best one. Also most colleges have some type of sponsorship and therefore use their sponsors bats. It is also my understanding that Anderson does not sponser colleges because they refuse to give their bats away. Someone else may be more knowledgable of the situation.

Within most of our lifetimes, expect to see the NCAA's stranglehold on the kids broken which will open things up and allow student-athletes to negotiate their own deals. While specific, non-compliant equipment will still be banned, if a player wants to bring her Adidas bat to school where she'll play with her Nike glove and Reebok cleats, she'll have that freedom...and she'll even be able to have a local restaurant name emblazoned on her helmet.

They're trying to keep the genie in the bottle, but it won't last forever.

amanda_cake said:

I wonder why we don't see a lot of college kids with Rocket Techs?

Click to expand...

Because Anderson Bat Co. doesn't sponsor that many colleges. Wilson (Demarini), Easton, and Worth are the big players and have huge budgets.