Hitting the high pitch - Suggestions?

[Goobie]

Does anyone have any suggestions on drills and / or swing modifications for hitting the high pitch?

By high pitch I mean a pitch at the top of the strike zone and perhaps even up to neck high.

We have played in a few games recently where the opposing pitcher is throwing rise balls. DD does a good job laying off the high pitches out of the zone and forcing the pitcher to bring ball down. However in a few games we have had an umpire that calls strikes shoulder and even neck high strikes.

We can only control what we can control and we can't control the umps zone. So, DD can either stand there and get struck out on high "strikes" or she needs to learn how to hit the high one.

DD's is basically following the Mike Epstein hitting method. This is what her coach teaches.

Here is what I have found on the Epstein site: "To hit it (the high rise ball), she must consciously level out her swing by staying more upright on the axis and leveling out her shoulders in order to be level to the ball."

Any other suggestions?

Thanks

 

[HYP]

Does anyone have any suggestions on drills and / or swing modifications for hitting the high pitch?

By high pitch I mean a pitch at the top of the strike zone and perhaps even up to neck high.

We have played in a few games recently where the opposing pitcher is throwing rise balls. DD does a good job laying off the high pitches out of the zone and forcing the pitcher to bring ball down. However in a few games we have had an umpire that calls strikes shoulder and even neck high strikes. So, DD can either stand there and get struck out on high strikes or we need to learn how to hit the high one.

We can only control what we can control and we can't control the umps zone. So, DD can either stand there and get struck out on high "strikes" or she needs to learn how to hit the high one.

DD's is basically following the Mike Epstein hitting method. This is what her coach teaches.

Here is what I have found on the Epstein site: "To hit it (the high rise ball), she must consciously level out her swing by staying more upright on the axis and leveling out her shoulders in order to be level to the ball."

Any other suggestions?

Thanks

High tee drill. Sit your tee on a chair and start chest high and go up from there. Balls hit should go down or straight out. NOT UP. I believe Bonds said he wants to feel his knuckles brush his cheek when they move out. When I do this drill the cues I use are, stay tall on the back side and see your hands go out eye level. It will be uncomfortably high. She must keep a vertical forearm. It is just a great all around drill for staying above the ball on all pitches.

 

[NoonTime]

It's baseball but here is one of my favorite GIFs of a high ball swing..

and a side by side comp with a slow curve

 

[rdbass]

I watched alot of hitters around me and they all seem to have the same problem. Their frst move is to drop their hands. If the hands drop the hitter can't get them back up. Second the high tee drill. I also like the higher back elbow to me this position helps to keep the hands from dropping as the first move.

 

[Goobie]

Just cut out a few swings from a BP session at a camp... so here are two of her swings. They were from some slow front toss so not true game swings, but the "High Pitch" swing is pretty close to what we see in games.

Down the middle: Middle Pitch - YouTube
High Pitch: High Pitch - YouTube

 

[NoonTime]

 

[GOINGDEEP]

To me the high pitch is the most incorrectly "swung" of all.

First obstacle is the decision, the milli second of hesitation to determine to swing or not ( because of the zone ). Most who decide "late" will swing under the ball or a pop up, because they try to force the bat to POC and lose mechanics.

Now this is what I do, works for us but it may or may not for the masses. Biggest thing is I have to get my hitters mind away from the first obstacle ^^^^^. You want to hit a high pitch further in front than its sister lower pitch. ( that goes for inside/mid/out ) I don't use a tee much besides setting my drink on it, but you could start off placing a tee on a bucket high and out front for the proper POC.

I set up a machine blocked for only high ( strike ) pitches to set their mind and senses only to interpret and process "moving early". I've got to eliminate the decision equation. ( the milli seconds ) It takes time to develop it, this won't happen overnite. I then tilt the machine for pitches out of the zone, all we do is take a few for the visual effects, to see the paths.

Live pitching comes next, working high pitches in and out of the zone letting them get a feel for when to attack and when to take for a ball.

Then we mix up my pitchers going low to high, low to out of the zone high. Again for mental processes.

High pitches are usually one of the pitchers fastest throws ( fastball / rise ). It's the hardest to adjust for, with the least amount of time to do so. When I would recruit, I could tell more how a batter processed pitch vs swing on high throws. Because most who can hit the high pitch consecutively posses great vision, coordination, mental processing speeds. And if they have those qualities, tuning those skills for other pitches is relatively easy.

 

[vdubya]

Just cut out a few swings from a BP session at a camp... so here are two of her swings. They were from some slow front toss so not true game swings, but the "High Pitch" swing is pretty close to what we see in games.

Down the middle: Middle Pitch - YouTube
High Pitch: High Pitch - YouTube

Goob, I see the soft toss coming in at a downward angle, not a rise. One way to soft toss and mimic a rise tracectory is by using tennis balls (eye protection!). You can sit on a bucket behind a screen as per usual front toss, but do this on concrete or a gym floor and bounce them toward the hitter so that they are coming in at an upward angle. You have to throw them fairly fast.

Otherwise, I see a slightly UPward swing. With an upward swing plane, it would be difficult to hit a ball coming in on an upward plane and have the bat and ball actually meet consistently. The answer of course is not a downward swing. However, I have seen girls have success on the high pitch with a high front elbow (more level with incoming ball) sort of like the on-deck batter shows.

Good luck!
VW

 

[RubberBiscuit]

There are some pitching machines out there that are single wheel that place a good backspin on the ball that simulate a rise ball.

I have one and when my DD and her team were 12U the girls would have a HUGE challenge hitting that spin. Back then I just put the machine aside because it would strike out and demoralize everyone but now I use it specifically for identifying the rise spin and making contact to it.

It's not perfect,...live riseball practice is better,...but it's something.

 

[Goobie]

Goob, I see the soft toss coming in at a downward angle, not a rise.

I see what you mean. Again, these swings were from some slow front toss just to show a sample swing at a high ball.

You are correct... when it is a true rise ball the trajectory is different and she is swinging up through the ball path. I think is like they said earlier she is deciding to swing late and thus trying to "wish" the bat to the correct spot.