The perfect pitch

[SoCalDad]

Last night DD's team played a 9 inning scrimmage against an 18U team (she plays 16U) to allow each team extra practice to prepare for this weekend's qualifying tournament. The 9 inning format allowed each of the 3 starting pitchers to get 3 innings of circle time. DD had a great outing and retired the first 8 batters in order. The 9th batter is #5. This girls is a monster. 6'1" and was already 3 for 3 on the day. DD gets ahead of her 0-2 on an inside rise and change up. She was setting her up for her knock out pitch, her drop curve. DD throws a perfect drop curve for an 0 - 2 count, about a foot off the plate and almost in the dirt.

Perfect except that this was #5's perfect ball to hit. She extends fully and I swear hit the dirt. We were playing on an adult softball field and her hit cleared the 300' right field fence for a home run. After the game I learn that this girl has committed to a Pac-10 D1 and holds her high schools all time varsity home run record in 3 seasons.

DD learned a valuable lesson, no matter how perfect the pitch sometimes you will get hit.

 

[starsnuffer]

Valuable lesson! Every pitch his hittable, that said, I'd say this was a bit of a tactical mistake.

Don't throw drop curve against RH batters (assuming this was a right handed batter and your daughter is right handed) unless you use it as a backdoor drop curve. It breaks on the same plane as the bat head for low pitchers. Use a regular drop or a low curve ball instead and save the drop curve for lefties.

-W

 

[sluggers]

My DD got to pitch against Texas Tech in freshman year of college. She got behind 3-0 on the cleanup hitter. I don't think they've found the ball yet.

 

[halskinner]

Tell her congrats! She put two strikes by the best hitter around!

 

[Jojo]

Mine was in a scouting tournament and there was this girl that the scouts were all following around to watch her hit. She was taking the ball out the park, literally at every at bat.

We were in a tight game with them and she comes up to the plate, the coach instructed my DD to throw her WAY off the plate, walk her.
First pitch------WHAM! Out of the park! Coach was furious, asked the umpire where that pitch was. Umpire stood up held up his hands to show the coach the pitch was a good 12" off the plate.

This was the ONLY home run ever hit off my DD before she went to college, and it was 12" off the plate.

This hitter learned that everyone throws her there and she learned how to hit it there.