How to hit a rise ball?

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Apr 28, 2019
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Our 12U team came up against our first true rise ball pitcher and struck out 15 times. We lost 2-1 so if we could have gotten a few more hits it could have been a different game!

What is the consensus on how to approach a pitcher like this.

Thanks!
Bunt. Was ump giving her the high strike or where your girls swinging at pitches at eye level?
 
Sep 29, 2008
1,401
63
Northeast Ohio
It's pretty doable to hit a 12U rise. The hitter needs to:

1. Have the mentality that they can hit the rise
2. Know that this is a rise ball pitcher so expect it multiple times in the sequence
3. Be disciplined to lay off pitches higher than the armpits
4. Have a rotational swing with a deep (early) barrel turn
5. Practice a high tee (letters) and just rotate the barrel into the path of the ball and KABOOM!

ALL MUST ALSO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IF THE 12U PITCHER IS THROWING CLOSE TO 60 FROM 40 FEET SHE IS SPECIAL AND WILL OFTEN HAVE a SIGNIFICANT ADVANTAGE.
 
Apr 20, 2015
961
93
Hey there! I stumbled across this thread by accident. I wanted to jump in and say THANK YOU for your compliments regarding my daughter, Lexi, and her riseball and while I was tending to a large charity event that day for work in Nashville (and missed these games), she did have one heck of a day. She does throw a legit riseball and not a high fastball, although I do agree that most pitchers who claim to have one are throwing high FBs. She trains with Jonathan Hon in Chicago and also Abby Tincher in Alabama -- all under the Tincher Pitching program. She has a drill sequence for her riseball and screwball (and all her mechanics) that is extremely disciplined and exploits a female body's strengths---also helping us to identify when something is off -- we go back to a drill or fix a certain mechanic. Her RB is her most difficult pitch and honestly frustrates the crap out of us during training, but when it is on, it's definitely on. As a former player, I agree w/ the one dad that focusing on the top half of the ball is a great start -- however, in Tincher, their arm/release is different. It creates a nasty natural movement that is very difficult to hit - so combine that w/ the rise & it's spin, sometimes it cuts in or out and you just can't hit it. Someone once said it's like her ball "disappears" at the plate and that was the best compliment we could hear. Anyway -- 2-1 score is a GREAT SHOWING against her and her tough bolts squad. Y'all must be amazing and I wish I could have been there! God bless and again thank you! I'll share this w/ Lexi one day when she's exhausted and trying to find a place to keep on working hard! Also, yes, she's a deaf athlete with bilateral cochlear implants! thanks for the Songs for Sound shout out! It's what has helped to make her resilient to the pressures on that mound!
Hi there!

We just played bolts 06 in California...beat y all once and then you kicked our butts! Is this the team your daughter plays for?


Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 
Nov 18, 2013
2,255
113
There is a 12u pitcher pitching in the low 60s?

DD could get a rise ball to move at around 50. Just takes more spin.

As girls are starting earlier and earlier I find it believable that there are some 12u’s out there that can do it. To what I believe is your main point though, there’s a lot more high fastballs that Dads are calling riseballs than actual rise balls being thrown.
 
May 12, 2016
4,338
113
IMO the ability to throw above 60 mph is not most important component of a rise ball. Obviously the harder you throw the less the ball is going to drop, however it's all about what the hitter perceives. For instance, if a kid throws 40 mph with a natural drop on their fast ball and then comes back with a pitch that has a lot of backspin, then that pitch will be perceived differently by the hitter. That pitch will float more, it will appear to rise. And even though it might not have the hmpff to reach the plate without dropping at all, the hitter will be under the ball because it has a different trajectory manipulated by spin.

I coached a team in select (basically house league all star) and we had a picture who threw around 45 mph. She had a heavy fastball (a lot of downward motion). When sitting up high inside on the hitters they would sometimes tag a pitch and hit it a long way. I taught her how to throw screwball/rise. Anyway we were aiming for a riseball spin but the result was rise with screwball movement. That pitch became deadly for her, strikeout pitch. She didn't throw hard, but she manipulated spin to make the pitch float more compared to her hard sinking fastball.

The riseball does not jump last few feet.. but it can appear that way
 
Oct 4, 2016
176
18
Hey there! I stumbled across this thread by accident. I wanted to jump in and say THANK YOU for your compliments regarding my daughter, Lexi, and her riseball and while I was tending to a large charity event that day for work in Nashville (and missed these games), she did have one heck of a day. She does throw a legit riseball and not a high fastball, although I do agree that most pitchers who claim to have one are throwing high FBs. She trains with Jonathan Hon in Chicago and also Abby Tincher in Alabama -- all under the Tincher Pitching program. She has a drill sequence for her riseball and screwball (and all her mechanics) that is extremely disciplined and exploits a female body's strengths---also helping us to identify when something is off -- we go back to a drill or fix a certain mechanic. Her RB is her most difficult pitch and honestly frustrates the crap out of us during training, but when it is on, it's definitely on. As a former player, I agree w/ the one dad that focusing on the top half of the ball is a great start -- however, in Tincher, their arm/release is different. It creates a nasty natural movement that is very difficult to hit - so combine that w/ the rise & it's spin, sometimes it cuts in or out and you just can't hit it. Someone once said it's like her ball "disappears" at the plate and that was the best compliment we could hear. Anyway -- 2-1 score is a GREAT SHOWING against her and her tough bolts squad. Y'all must be amazing and I wish I could have been there! God bless and again thank you! I'll share this w/ Lexi one day when she's exhausted and trying to find a place to keep on working hard! Also, yes, she's a deaf athlete with bilateral cochlear implants! thanks for the Songs for Sound shout out! It's what has helped to make her resilient to the pressures on that mound!

Hi! So surprised and glad you found this thread! Your daughter is an inspiration! I hope she is having a great fall season so far!

My daughter's team was the Texas Glory and we played against Lexi in Panama City last year. Great pitching duel between our daughters! :)

Best of luck! I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more about Lexi in the future!!
 

BigSkyHi

All I know is I don't know
Jan 13, 2020
1,385
113
Found these for those that may like to crush the high one :D

- Softball Hitting Mechanics - Hitting the Rise Ball
- Can You Swing Up At Rise Ball?
- How to hit it the Softball Rise Ball
 
May 12, 2016
4,338
113
Like trying to catch lightning in a bottle ... very lucky to intercept a rise ball on some of those swings.
 

BigSkyHi

All I know is I don't know
Jan 13, 2020
1,385
113
Not if the pitcher likes to throw it and you are looking for it. Moon ball out of the yard. Watch some Florida State or Oklahoma.

Do believe this game is as much mental as physical.
 
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