Anyone use baseballs in practice?

[ANNASDAD]

Just wondering if any of you coaches use baseballs in practice. Thought about going to Play it Again and buying a used baseball bat and a dozen or so baseballs for my 12U girls. It should liven things up a little. Just thinking if they can focus on a smaller ball they should really be able to hit (and field) that that big yellow beach ball when it comes at them.

Have any of you tried this and had any success?

 

[James Smith]

Yes and yes. They can just use their softball bats no reason to buy baseball bats.

 

[Josh Greer]

I have my catcher do hand drills with a bucket of baseballs.

 

[ANNASDAD]

Yes and yes. They can just use their softball bats no reason to buy baseball bats.

I thought I had read or heard that baseballs will damage softball bats. I know that we're talking about 12yo girls but I don't think I want my DD hitting baseballs with her CF6. Am I wrong? Thanks for the fast replies.

 

[James Smith]

I do not know if you are wrong or right.

My DD hits baseballs with her CF6. She stays away from those really hard machine pitch balls otherwise she uses her bat. We bought the dang thing for her to use it.

 

[Sweet Lou]

I thought I had read or heard that baseballs will damage softball bats. I know that we're talking about 12yo girls but I don't think I want my DD hitting baseballs with her CF6. Am I wrong? Thanks for the fast replies.

my dd hits baseballs with a CF5 and hasn't had any issues.

 

[JAD]

Yes and yes. They can just use their softball bats no reason to buy baseball bats.

My understanding is that baseballs are harder than softballs and hitting baseballs with a softball bat can dent (aluminum) or break (composite) the bat. I am also 92.8% sure it would void the warranty of your softball bat.

 

[BretMan]

There might be the possibility of bat damage, so it might be best to use an old bat.

Something else to be aware of...if you are hitting a baseball with a softball bat, it can come off the bat at unexpectedly high speeds, higher than softballs are designed to. A few years ago around here a kid was hit in the head and killed while pitching baseballs to another kid using a softball bat to hit them. The extent of the injury was attributed to the extra speed of the baseball/softball bat combination.

 

[Cat5]

Simply put- baseballs can damage softball bats because they are denser. They may come off the bat faster, but in all likelihood will damage a fastpitch bat. Study about this here How are Baseball and Softball Bats Different?

 

[Cowdogz]

Buy a couple of youth-sized wood bats. Your girls will get immediate feedback on whether they hit the ball well, because the sweet spot isn't much bigger than the ball.