DD's new 2014 Xeno

[Westwind]

Just bought a 33/23 Xeno from Coresoftball. Fast ship, easy to deal with, highly recommend him.

Very happy with it. DD is 115# if she is soaking wet hs sophomore. Last spring she swung a 33RT, coaches didn't like the end load for a skinny kid, last summer she was swinging a 33/23 Miken Freak and it just didn't seem like the ball was coming off the bat. A buddy of mine told me "brother get that kid a different bat. Anything but that Miken!". More on that in a second.

I borrowed a well used grey 33/23 Xeno from another buddy. It has the old stamp so it won't work for us next summer, we play some usssa around here. His dd really never hit well with that Xeno. Lots of mishits and grounders to ss. She went to a one piece drop 9 Easton and started hitting shots again. My dd loved that grey Xeno. Seemed nice and hot and she ended the season hitting very well with it.

Sold the Miken to another buddy. His dd hits absolutely nasty line drive after line drive with it. Bat works for her, no doubt.

What is my point about all this bat swapping? I'm a big believer that kids that can hit can hit with anything. Still, if you can match the right bat to the right kid it seems like even better things can happen. DD really prefers the softer feel of the two piece bats, other kids need that one piece stiff feel.

Okay- so the 2014 Xeno is as hot or hotter than the grey one. We think it did take a little break in, we did tee work and as she hit more balls the sound changed and it seemed to get better. In front toss I could see the ball was really coming off the bat and she was really happy with her hitting. She went to a college recruiting evaluation camp last weekend and one of the stations was the coach doing front toss from behind a screen. Dd smoked one of the first pitches back and hit the corner of the frame hard above the coach, he turned to one of his players and said "Whoa." Next pitch hit frame in same place. I think it got his attention, while she has pretty good mechanics and all, that bat helped too. Bat paid for itself right there. Keep in mind as I brag a little here that because of her smaller size and speed, coaches tend to want to switch her to lefty and have her slap.... Seems to me that hitting the ball hard from right side and then running fast is preferable.

We'll see about the durability. The grey one hit a lot of balls before and after dd swung it and was holding up well. I don't have any reason to believe it won't be good. WW.

 

[Little Angels Softball]

Thanks for the report.

I'm hearing great things about the 2014 Xeno. Good reports on pop and girls really dig the color. I just hope it holds up well.

I think your story illustrates quite well that all these high-end bats are good. It also illustrates that you need to do some homework and have your DD actually hit with different bats to find out what works the absolute best for her. It also means you may have to spend a little money (OK, a lot) in the process.

 

[#10]

+1 on the 2014 Xeno. DD outgrew her 30/20 Xeno and has been using a Combat Avaritia - decent bat for cheap, but doesn't have the pop of her Louisville. She's been swinging a teammate's 2014 model and it's hot, for sure. At least with my DD, as much as the pop of the bat has to do with her success at the plate, psychologically she feels more confident with a Xeno in her hands.

That teammate just got a new Mako last week, and DD's manager said to me last night, "you need to buy that Xeno from them." Yep, that's the plan!

 

[murphdog]

DD got a 2014 Xeno 31/21 in Sept and did well with it. She just switched to lefty and we got her a 32/22 Xeno for Christmas as her coach thought she'd do better with a longer bat. She loves this one and hasn't touched the 31/21 since. She tried a 32/22 CF5 before we got the new Xeno but didn't like it at all.

 

[softball88]

My oldest used the 2013 32/22 at 13u last...hit her first homerun along with 5 more. New confidence. Bought her the 2014...hotter than last yr.

 

[29dad]

One girl on DD's team hit two homeruns all season with her 2013 Xeno, and then in the Fall hit 4 homeruns in two tournaments with her 2014 Xeno. I wandered around the ball park this Fall at a tournament and with my own eyes saw homer after homer by girls who were using the brand new 2014 purple Xeno. I got my DD one for Christmas, and she positively loves it (has not used it in a game yet). I know that this type of anecdotal evidence is fairly meaningless, but all through our org the consensus is that the 2014 Xeno is a keeper (girls seem to be less impressed with the LXT). There are those that say that the Xeno is not for power hitters because it is a two piece bat. Well.. then my eyes are deceiving me.