Tell on a rise

DD got bested by a nasty rise every at bat the other day. The pitcher really had nothing but a natural rise, but it was very effective in shutting down our batters. I'm wondering if there's anything we could look for. This pitcher only plays HS ball, no travel, so it's not like she's used to camouflaging her pitches. DD will have to really study her next go 'round.

Shelbylynn said:

DD got bested by a nasty rise every at bat the other day. The pitcher really had nothing but a natural rise, but it was very effective in shutting down our batters. I'm wondering if there's anything we could look for. This pitcher only plays HS ball, no travel, so it's not like she's used to camouflaging her pitches. DD will have to really study her next go 'round.

Click to expand...

Sometimes a pitcher will give it away in the grip. Pay attention to the index finger on the ball if pitcher doesn't hide it well and you might be able to pick. The normal rise grip, the index finger is pointing into the ball and the finger is bent, instead of laying flat on the ball like a drop or fast. Also, if you watch the arm circle, some rise ball pitchers will cup the ball more when throwing the rise.

If we know that's her bread and butter pitch, then I'd play the odds and move to the front of the box and expect to see it...

coach james said:

If we know that's her bread and butter pitch, then I'd play the odds and move to the front of the box and expect to see it...

Click to expand...

can you explain this a bit more? why move to the front? DD's team will be facing a known riseballer next week and they have not been successful in the past.
TIA!

FastPitchCat said:

can you explain this a bit more? why move to the front? DD's team will be facing a known riseballer next week and they have not been successful in the past.
TIA!

Click to expand...

Pitching is all about the movement and placement... by having a batter move to the front of the box, you will have taken away approx. 4' of that balls flight and potential movement. Have the batters thinking about hitting the top half of the ball. Since the rise doesn't drop like a fastball, seeing the top half will usually yield the barrel finding the center of the ball and not the bottom half thus producing pop ups!

Our approach is different to others described so far.

Most riseballs are balls, so if the batters have the patience to not swing at pitches that look like high strikes you can get into counts where you force the pitcher to throw something else (and in the zone). You get a mid-zone rise ball and it is a pitch you can really get into.

marriard said:

Our approach is different to others described so far.

Most riseballs are balls, so if the batters have the patience to not swing at pitches that look like high strikes you can get into counts where you force the pitcher to throw something else (and in the zone). You get a mid-zone rise ball and it is a pitch you can really get into.

Click to expand...

^^^ The above is what we have used with some success. Basically, telling the kids that if it looks belt-high, don't swing.

marriard said:

Our approach is different to others described so far.

Most riseballs are balls, so if the batters have the patience to not swing at pitches that look like high strikes you can get into counts where you force the pitcher to throw something else (and in the zone). You get a mid-zone rise ball and it is a pitch you can really get into.

Click to expand...

marriard is right on the money here! We have a pitcher in our conference who has a NASTY riseball, pretty much unhittable! We beat her in our conference tournament championship game by simply not swinging. We made her come down in the zone and then we got to her. This girl averages 15/16 strikeouts per game and was a ACC D1 commit as a 9th grader. Fantastic pitcher! And with her, us not swinging at balls out of the zone was our ONLY strategy, made us look like coaching geniuses

This girl is without a doubt the best setup pitcher we face, if she gets two strikes on you, bet the house on her riseball coming, and you can bet with 100% certainty.....but here's the thing, if I had a riseball that was that devastating, I'd be working day and night on developing a drop and a change to go with it.......but what do I know, she has 15/16 strikeouts per game! Shelbylynn, tell your DD to not swing!?