Pitching philosophy

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RCR

Mar 8, 2019
8
3
So, we are a new 12u team. We had our first tournament last weekend. We did better than fair for our first outing... Here is where I need some advice: I have one pitcher who is pretty dominant. Pitched her the first game, won easily. started another girl for game 2, we spotted them 5 runs, put dominant pitcher back in and we finished (pool play) in a tie. Started dominant pitcher in 3rd game, but after the first inning she was gassed. She had been sick earlier in the week, so that could have played a part in her stamina. Would I have been better off to throw some of my lesser pitchers in pool play, risk a lower seed and save my intended starter for bracket play?
 
Oct 4, 2018
4,611
113
Yeah, I would not have pitched your #1 that much.

How many pitchers do you have? At some point, with most decent teams with only 2 solid pitchers, you're gonna have to rest them both in a pool game and possibly lose the game.

IMHO you always ensure one of your top pitchers is ready for the first bracket game (unless you somehow know that first game won't be a tough one).
 
Oct 4, 2018
4,611
113
... and then of course there are the times when you're hungover and/or the girls are just driving you crazy that day. In those cases, put your #1 in for every pool game and the first bracket game and get home early.
 

RCR

Mar 8, 2019
8
3
I have 1 very good pitcher, two pretty good pitchers and two girls who can throw sometimes.
 
Jul 16, 2008
1,520
48
Oregon
Was this a 1 day Tournament? How many innings did the #1 pitch? I've seen many timed pool games only go 4 innings.... if she was gassed after 6/7 innings pitched... well
 

RCR

Mar 8, 2019
8
3
3 in the first game, 3 in the second game. I really think her recent illness was a contributing factor. But I do believe that I should have pitched some of the others and let the Pool Play chips fall where they would have.
 
Apr 16, 2013
1,113
83
The answer comes down to your team and your girls. Our team is a pretty good 16/18u group of girls. In reality there are only 2 pitchers. The coach usually has one pitch half a game then swaps. Sometimes he'll do one a full game then the other a full game. If BOTH are off at the same time, then the game is pretty much over at the level we play at. That being said, we came from a team that had 4 pitchers. Only on their best of best days could they compete with my DD's current team. Every girl has good and bad days and every girl has a different level of stamina. You've got to know your girls and what each is capable of. And of course, every choice you make will probably be the wrong choice with half of your parents. :D
 
Oct 4, 2018
4,611
113
Was this a 1 day Tournament? How many innings did the #1 pitch? I've seen many timed pool games only go 4 innings.... if she was gassed after 6/7 innings pitched... well

Obviously and inning can be anywhere from 3 pitches to... I dunno, 50 perhaps?
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
There are a few different ways to look at this... When we first started out, our goal was to win as many games as possible in order to build confidence in the players (and to a certain extent with the parents). We spent our first 2 or 3 years trying to make it to game 2 or 3 on Sunday. Because of this, pool play games were important to us. So while we tried to rest our top pitchers as we could, we also wanted to focus on seeding for Sunday. However, as we gained experience and talent, we slowly began to expect to play late on Sundays. As a result, pool play started to become irrelevant. After all, if we felt we could compete to win the tournament, we had to trust that we had the ability to beat any team that was there. Therefore seeding no longer mattered.
 

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