Choosing bat length and weight.

[DaveWI]

Hi all,

Great sight, I really enjoy reading all the posts. My DD is 11 and playing 12U for the first time this year. She is 5'1" and 95 lbs. She has a very athletic build and is strong for her size. She is currently using a 31/18 bat. She hit very well with it last year but was usually way ahead of the pitch and fouled a lot of balls off to the left field. She can easily hold a 32/23 bat with her lead batting arm (LEFT ARM) fully extended for over 30 seconds. I'm thinking of a 32/21 bat. Her current bat is a balanced bat not end loaded. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[blatour]

The Demarini CF4 is a balanced bat and has alot of pop, comes in-10

 

[redhotcoach]

Hi all,

Great sight, I really enjoy reading all the posts. My DD is 11 and playing 12U for the first time this year. She is 5'1" and 95 lbs. She has a very athletic build and is strong for her size. She is currently using a 31/18 bat. She hit very well with it last year but was usually way ahead of the pitch and fouled a lot of balls off to the left field. She can easily hold a 32/23 bat with her lead batting arm (LEFT ARM) fully extended for over 30 seconds. I'm thinking of a 32/21 bat. Her current bat is a balanced bat not end loaded. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Dave

Probably about right. My 10yr uses a 32/20 she has the quickest swing on the team. We have a stronger girl on the team with your daughters build, she uses a 32/22. The rest of the ten year olds use the same 30/18. Make sure it is balanced. We have a 31/19 in the bag that is a little more end loaded and dd can't swing it as fast as the balanced 32/20. As far as ahead of the pitch, that is a problem with most girls, but an 18 oz does sound light for a girl her size.

 

[jinjet95]

My DD is 13 and about your daughter's size. Has good upper body strength as she's also a gymnast. She swings a 31/21 in the DeMarini CF4.

 

[Ken B]

Does anyone suggest keeping two bats in the bag? I have a couple girls who use two bats of different weights depending on the speed of the pitcher. Seems to make some sense, but I wonder if it adds too many variables?

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Two bats are fine with me, as long as the girl is hitting the ball.

 

[DaveWI]

To those of you who responded thanks. I was looking at her current bat and it's actually 32/19 not 31/18. The older I get the worse my memory gets. We're thinking of going with a 32/22. We live in Wisconsin and like the idea of a Anderson bat but we're a bit afraid of a end loaded bat. I've heard that the Anderson Nano is not end loaded but is pretty expensive. Not sure what to do. If money where no issue I'd just go and buy a couple of bats. Is the Anderson Techzilla a balanced bat? Do all composite bats need a breakin period?

 

[MVLA Softball]

The Clarity models are advertised as not needing a break-in period, but I'm skeptical. The tell-tale technology may allow them to start a little hotter, but they still can't start at maximum efficiency.
I recommend the use of the bat wizard. It provides a range of recommendations based upon the user's input and includes user reviews for most of the bats. The launch point is:

 

[softballphreak]

To those of you who responded thanks. I was looking at her current bat and it's actually 32/19 not 31/18. The older I get the worse my memory gets. We're thinking of going with a 32/22. We live in Wisconsin and like the idea of a Anderson bat but we're a bit afraid of a end loaded bat. I've heard that the Anderson Nano is not end loaded but is pretty expensive. Not sure what to do. If money where no issue I'd just go and buy a couple of bats. Is the Anderson Techzilla a balanced bat? Do all composite bats need a breakin period?

The purple and white Stealth is one of the best out of the wrapper. It has noticeable pop from the first time you hit the ball; you will see visible difference. The Stealth is a two-piece style bat; no break-in needed. It's hot!

Unfortunately, it is one of the most expensive--around $300 around here.

What I recommend is to borrow a teammate's bat for a hit or two and find out what bat works well.

There are some older bats, such as the Synergy that have good pop, also. My favorite there is the blue one; I forget the model number. It's in one of these recent threads.

Just because a bat has a "break-in" period doesn't mean it won't hit well to begin with; it just gets better the more it's used.

 

[redhotcoach]

I think 11 year old still need lots of drop in weight. Imo the Miken Halo Light is the best big drop bat -12 made. If you go with less drop, the CF4 is the bomb!