Regular Season Nov 21, 2009
|
|
|
|
In high school softball, pitchers are the aggressors at 40 feet from home plate. With so little reaction time from such a close distance, hitters nearly have to guess where the ball is going to end up. A pitcher that can truly dominate is one of the greatest assets a softball team can have. Softball pitchers' arms do not tire nearly as fast as baseball pitchers because of the underhand technique. As a result, a team usually needs only one or two dominant pitchers as opposed to a four- to five-man rotation in baseball.
How much impact does one dominant pitcher have on the success of your softball team? And how do you teach your hitters to be successful against dominant pitchers?
|
Jason Wilson
Halstead Softball |
 | Having one dominant pitcher truly helps our defense out by laying the foundation for our success on the defensive side of the ball. The infielders and outfielders believe in her
throwing strikes and forcing the batters to put the ball into play. The pitcher seldomly walks batters so her confidence is even stronger when she knows the defense behind her believes in her pitching.
We work each day in practice with our hitting stations and batting against live pitching or the machine. We work fundamentals on hitting each day in practice so the girls are adequately prepared for anything that they may see coming at them each visit to the plate. |
|
Ray Aguirre
Augusta Softball |
 | A dominant pitcher is the one player who has the largest impact on what you have to do for your team to win. It allows your team the confidence to know that she will come up with big pitches in crucial situations that gives your team the best chance to win.
Offensively, against a dominant pitcher, I believe you have to be aggressive at the plate. You can't allow her to get ahead in the count, so that you have to try to hit her best pitch. You must swing at the first good pitch to take advantage of the pitcher trying to get ahead in the count. |
|
J.R. Rodriguez
Nickerson Softball |
 | One dominant pitcher can help control the entire game, as well as the entire season for a team. If the pitcher has speed plus movement on the ball, it is difficult for the batter to pick the ball up. A dominant pitcher helps control the game by controlling the hits. The more hits, the more chance there is of committing errors, which could lead to runs scored.
If my hitters are having trouble picking up the ball, we make the switch from long ball to small ball in order for them to get the feel for it. Once they have their timing down for small ball, it usually gets easier for them to start hitting the long ball. Also, moving up in the front of the batter's box allows them to take the breaking pitches away. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
