Speed vs mass?

[nanotech14]

Dd was hitting the other day and as I was pitching to her, I began to think" I know that is dangerous ". But here is my thought. Dd loves a heavy bat, current bat is CF6 33" -8, so that puts it at a 25oz bat. She has a CF7 -9 too in her bag and a 2006 Easton synergy 33" -9. She hits really hard and batted well over .500 thru the winter and summer and only struck out 4 times, so she and I have been real happy. The only thing is she just can't seem to hit one out in a game, practice she has and in few games has had them hit the top of the fence. It bothers her, because team mates have hit them out with very flawed swings.

So here is my question. I have never been a big fan of the Xeno. But the girls hitting them out are using them, of course they have 32"-10. So I was thinking about buying one, 33"-8, or should I get one in a -10 for bat speed? Maybe with the less mass it will get her, her first home run. What do you guys think?

 

[Eric F]

I'm not sure this is one with a definitive answer. Is there -10 she can try?

 

[rdbass]

Not sure if this answers your question. My DD has an LXT 32'' -10 her teammate had a LXT 33'' -10. I put the bats side by side the only difference of the 2 LXT bats was the handle was longer on the LXT 33''. Sweet spots where the same. You might want to do that with the Xeno.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

She's batting over 0.500 swinging a -8 and hitting the top of the fence.

I tell my hitters to treat homeruns as accidents. The default objective of most swings is a line-drive double to the gap. When they sail over the fence, simply say "opps", then keep turning left every 60ft (... stop when you cross home plate).

 

[nanotech14]

FFS, it is funny you talk about doubles, she has become the double master. She has that down path really well. Emily is a big kid, she is 5'9" and goes about 185. She doesn't have a big belly or anything like that, heck she is running cross/ country again this year, lettered as a freshman last year, not the fastest out there, but finishes every race. So what I take is don't worry about the home runs, just keep doing what she is doing. Just was wondering about more bat speed.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Nano, it sounds to me like your daughter is performing quite well. Enjoy the moment.

I don't have a lot of info on the Xeno bats. I have seen them used and have seen big hits off of them.

I was of the opinion that Xeno's used different model numbers for each 'drop' category .... and by that I mean that they use a different model number for -10, another model number for -9, etc. If so, that gives them more freedom to optimize each 'drop' for performance.

 

[redhotcoach]

Of late, almost all the top D1 hitters are using -10....and the lastest trend is choking up an inch or two. My dd went from eastons that were 33/24 (probably closer to 33/26) to an lxt 33/24 (probably closer to a 23 oz xeno), and started choking an inch. Now she rarely swings and misses (like 0 in the last 2 tourneys), and still gets the same distance.

 

[MNDad]

DD is a big strong kid with good power and was swinging a Xeno 34/24. We thought a heavier bat would provide more pop so we switched to a Xeno 34/25. It had the opposite effect and HR’s became almost nonexistent. I don’t know if the differences were from the weight, bat speed, bat model, hitting technique, confidence or just dumb luck. Last Spring she went back to a 34/24 and her power returned. Whatever the reason she had far more HR’s with the lighter bats.

 

[Sweet Lou]

Generally speaking you'll get more bang for the buck by increasing bat speed over bat mass but I'd be tempted to join the chorus of, "If it ain't broke don't fix it." and it clearly sounds like your DD ain't broke!

 

[Carty]

Mass and speed should offset each other. But the lighter bat should allow more time to decide - therefore better choices. My DD has both a -10 an -8 in her bag, both Demarini. She used the -8 many times, but now uses the -10 more. There hasnt been big changes in BA or power but I think she does better with the -10. She did tell me that she used the end loaded Insane at school a few times (-10) and liked it a lot. I think she is just trying to get more lumber in her bat bag.

The one thing I think to stay away from is lighter than the -10. I feel that if you go too far there isnt enough mass to get through the ball regardless of bat speed. JMO