The riseball has been killed

RubberBiscuit · Mar 15, 2016

Is it me or is the riseball being driven out of college softball? (or maybe I am just now noticing...?)

My 2 cents is that as a whole, college softball coaches are effectively teaching batters to watch riseballs. Umpires give no high zone. Therefore riseballers that can kill it prior to college due to more swings get tagged as a riseballer and then become ineffective due to all the walks.

Thoughts?

riseball · Mar 15, 2016

RubberBiscuit said:
Is it me or is the riseball being driven out of college softball? (or maybe I am just now noticing...?)

My 2 cents is that as a whole, college softball coaches are effectively teaching batters to watch riseballs. Umpires give no high zone. Therefore riseballers that can kill it prior to college due to more swings get tagged as a riseballer and then become ineffective due to all the walks.

Thoughts?

I would say that there are some college teams that do very well laying off the rise. However, if you define "as a whole" to also include the vast majority of teams that you rarely if ever see on TV, most teams still swing quite freely at the pitch.

JAD · Mar 15, 2016

I think there are more pitchers who can throw an effective riseball, and therefore, batters are making the adjustment and learning to lay off balls and drive strikes. A riseball is deadly against a team who rarely sees one, but good teams face them regularly in D1.

sluggers · Mar 15, 2016

In the old days, if a batter mishit a riseball, it was an popup. With the hot bats of 2016, mishit riseballs are getting out of the park.

These days, people are hitting 250 or 300 feet home runs. The only time I saw one of those 15 years ago was the first time my DD pitched to the #4 batter on a D1 team.

Cannonball · Mar 15, 2016

Well, you have Riseball's dd and if you care to check her out, Hannah Perryman from UMSL. She's riseball most of the time and it is very hard to hit even when you know it is coming.

Rick Pauly · Mar 15, 2016

Check out the success James Madison's Jalyn Ford is having....knocking of a lot of top teams....she has a killer rise....best I saw last year.....legit "hop factor".

corlay · Mar 15, 2016

Wilkinson (Georgia) sure seems to have figured it out.
Gosh, she is fun to watch...

slingnit · Mar 15, 2016

Hawkins lived on the rise her first two years and since added a couple of pitches to give more looks.

Sparky Guy · Mar 15, 2016

Back in 2008 the NCAA made a change. The did not "Change" the strike zone, but they did. In 2008 and beyond the entire ball must be IN the strike zone for it to be called a strike at the top and bottom of the strike zone. Prior to that it was only part of the ball had to be in. My DD was a riseball pitcher. Her senior year she had to work her screw more than she wanted to.

While the alphabets have not changed the strike zone rules the NCAA zone has trickled down into the lower levels of the game with the umpires. The better hitters are learning to lay off of the pitch at/above the hands because they know it will not be called a strike.

sluggers · Mar 15, 2016

GEORGIA:
Chelsea Wilkinson..............IP: 67 ABs: 244 HRs: 7
All other Georgia pitchers....IP: 90 ABs: 350 HRs: 4

JMU:
Jailyn Ford....................IP: 69 ABs: 246 HRs: 6
Megan Good..................IP: 84 ABs: 294 HRs: 4

OREGON:
Cheridian Hawkins..........IP: 58 ABs: 207 HRs: 9
Rest of Oregon Pitchers..IP: 93 ABs: 345 HRs: 0

The riseball has been killed

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