Middle school pitching advice.

[Steiner302]

Hey! I coach middle school softball so pretty much 13U. We are approaching our regionals and are about to see the same team for the fourth time. Not only that, we will most likely play them in the playoffs in a week. I have thrown my top pitcher for 10 innings so far out of the first three. Mixed in others. Do I show her to them again for a game prior to regionals? Does it matter? We have beaten them 3 in a row, but all right games. Any advice to seeing a pitcher multiple times. Good/bad.

 

[TwoPitcherFam]

If the next game is not elimination, mix it up. That is generally the basis of club pool play. If your ace is much faster than the others, then definitely best to save so they don’t get more comfortable timing her. If ace is only slightly better/faster then may not matter as she is also at that age where may benefit from the extra, consistent work. As I recall at that age, keeping pitchers in a groove is pretty important so the most important thing IMO is not to disrupt that dynamic.