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How about a high outside corner pitch. If there is contact, it will probably be popped up.
How about a high outside corner pitch. If there is contact, it will probably be popped up.
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Had this happen this year at the Stellar Clarric. 9th inning. Girl on 2nd to start the inning. First batter up was 3 for 3 against the pitcher. 2 doubles and a triple. I chose to have her hit. She popped up to 1st base. Looking back I would not change it. Now, if the 1st batter was 0-3 I would have had her bunt. It should be noted that the girl on 2nd had speed. Any ball hit in the outfield would have scored her.
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but if you bunt because none of your batters have had much success against the pitcher, you've just given up a chance to score the run and are now left with only 2 chances. Guess what? you still need to have one of your batters do something against that good pitcher to get the run in. A wild pitch is a possiblity but those are rare, especially if the pitcher is doing soooo good. And the last chance(with 2 outs) would require she reach base safely. How many times have you seen Albert Pujols, David Ortiz, or Arod, etc, bunt in a similar situation? I know thats baseball, but the situation is not much different. Same needs, same rules, same situation, just with everyone on a much higher level there. If you're so convinced your next batter up cannot even put the ball in play then of course bunt. But if she is 0-3 with a couple of groundouts or a flyout I give her a chance to win the game or move the runner up anyways possibly by just putting the ball in play. By having her bunt, you are absolutely giving up one of your chances to win the game right there. I believe its not as cut and dry as simply calling for the bunt every single time in that situation, but we're all different. Sometimes being too conservative is not a good idea.
as for defensively, again it depends on alot of factors. Who is up for them? How have they done? How fast is runner on second? Hows our pitcher doing against these batters? This game would be boring if the same thing is done in every similar situation. Thats what makes the game fun. There are multiple ways to go about it and none of them guarantee anything.
as for defensively, again it depends on alot of factors. Who is up for them? How have they done? How fast is runner on second? Hows our pitcher doing against these batters? This game would be boring if the same thing is done in every similar situation. Thats what makes the game fun. There are multiple ways to go about it and none of them guarantee anything.
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Let me see if I have this correct; Extra innings and you said the opposing pitcher has been dominating and your lead-off hits a double.
We'll if you're in extra innings I guess your pitching staff has been pretty good itself. That lead-off hitter just put a **** load of pressure on that pitcher and she most assuredly doesn't want to serve up another hit, maybe getting a bit tired, defense has been very comfortable since the pitcher has been dominating,...
Do something unexpected is what I say. I would be sitting on the bunt and most likely would hold that runner on 2 unless she is a jack rabbit if I was running the D. If you're confident your batter can make contact, I would have her drive it hard into the ground and make the D make the play.
We'll if you're in extra innings I guess your pitching staff has been pretty good itself. That lead-off hitter just put a **** load of pressure on that pitcher and she most assuredly doesn't want to serve up another hit, maybe getting a bit tired, defense has been very comfortable since the pitcher has been dominating,...
Do something unexpected is what I say. I would be sitting on the bunt and most likely would hold that runner on 2 unless she is a jack rabbit if I was running the D. If you're confident your batter can make contact, I would have her drive it hard into the ground and make the D make the play.
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I'm thinking tired as well, so I'd intentionally hit the next batter to have a force out at each base. Then I'd call time out and go out to the mound and pull the corners in and prepare for the bunt. I'd get my first out with runners now at 2nd and 3rd, so I'd hit the next batter to create a force out anywhere. I would then pull my infield in and get my 2nd out at home. Then I'd call time out, conference with the pitcher and catcher and give them the motivation needed to get the strike out for my 3rd out. Once again it would depend on where opposing team is in their line up and the speed on the bases and if my pitcher is getting tired or not, and am I home team or visitors?
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I assume by saying hit the next batter you mean an intentional walk or you are trying to be funny. If you try to hit her and she gets out of the way, I would say it increases the odds of a passed ball and advances the runner, not to mention the issues of class and sportsmanship. If you want to walk someone, then intentionally walk them on 4 pitches you do not need to risk injuring a player by throwing at them on purpose.
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The first thing I would do is check my reserves for a faster and better baserunner than I have at second. If I have one, I am definitely making that substitution.
You also have to factor in what the defense is going to do. If my number 3 hitter is up, the girl that I would want up if there were 2 outs in the bottom of the last inning and the winning run in scoring position, I am going to give her a chance to win the game even with no outs.
I don't think you can automatically say bunt until you see which batter the defense is going to pitch to. As others have mentioned, if my best hitter is up next, she is probably going to get walked.
You also have to factor in what the defense is going to do. If my number 3 hitter is up, the girl that I would want up if there were 2 outs in the bottom of the last inning and the winning run in scoring position, I am going to give her a chance to win the game even with no outs.
I don't think you can automatically say bunt until you see which batter the defense is going to pitch to. As others have mentioned, if my best hitter is up next, she is probably going to get walked.
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NO outs!!! Good pitcher!!! Play the % sac bunt move runner with the pitch if both players have running speed. Less chance of a strike out putting the ball on the ground.
If your batter has a record of hitting for RBIS and can hit this pitcher have her take it deep to right field 50/50 sac fly.
I agree with many of the above posts made, it depends on who is up and who is on deck and keeping the... No outs in your favor.
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As we are in the bottom of the inning, we are home so we can be a little more conservative assuming this is at our home field, not a tourney. Personally I want to really mess with the opposing pitcher's head and get the runner to third. Billy is right, if this is H.S. and we have problems bunting, then we also have problems coaching. Bunt her to third and have the next batter run through fake bunts/slap for two pitches to try to intice mistake. If you have the luxury of a conditioned batter at the plate and one out, lay the sacrifice down to score.
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Intentional walk is what I mean!
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The 2nd trip to the circle, you'd have to pull your pitcher. Do you want to do that? Overall I agree with your assessment. Just watch out for the looping fly ball. That is exactly what took us out of the tournament yesterday. Bases loaded, I believe it was still 0-0. Looper to the shortstop, who made a phenomenal catch, getting to it, catching it while being pulled into left field. Runner on 3rd tags and they score. We end up losing 3-0. That was the only inning that there was a score.
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****, i forgot about the 2 trip rule! I will now bring in a relief pitcher and deal with my mistake and hope my #2 can get the job done. lol
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wgman21 & rdelawder - there is no 2 trip rule in fastpitch (baseball yes). You get 3 trips to the circle before you must make a change in fastpitch ... just an FYI.
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Are you sure?? If so, that's interesting to me.
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If the pitcher has truly been that dominating, it is even more important to get the runner to 3rd. That puts pressure on ECERYBODY, ... and may even limit the pitch choices, depending on the catcher, distance to back stop, pitcher's ability to cover the plate, etc.
I totally get looking at the situation, but unless the next hitter of 2 has been hitting the ball hard, I would bunt. And if the next hitter has ben hitting the ball hard, she is going to get walked anyways. Still going to be a chore getting her home though, unless there is a mistake in the field because the next 2 hitters are getting walked (unless they are strong SO candidates).
Get the runner to 3rd, then hope God is on your side, ... a lot can happen. No grounder or pitch in the dirt (or riseball) is "routine" when the winning run is on 3rd!
I totally get looking at the situation, but unless the next hitter of 2 has been hitting the ball hard, I would bunt. And if the next hitter has ben hitting the ball hard, she is going to get walked anyways. Still going to be a chore getting her home though, unless there is a mistake in the field because the next 2 hitters are getting walked (unless they are strong SO candidates).
Get the runner to 3rd, then hope God is on your side, ... a lot can happen. No grounder or pitch in the dirt (or riseball) is "routine" when the winning run is on 3rd!
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Don't have time to "look it up" & copy the rule from the book but the reader's digest version is, "You get 3 defensive conferences per game before you must make a change". Put another way, you must make a change on the 3rd trip (per game) - note: fastpitch is not tied to "per inning" ... hope that helps.
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Without knowing any more than what was in the initial post, I would have my girl hit away... swing for the fences. :yahoo: Even if she pops up to the pitcher, there's still only one out. Keep in mind, a ground ball should move her over, a fly ball to right field should move her over.. if she swings away, many things can happen that will result in getting the runner to 3rd. Plus, if it's a good power hitter, that run on 2nd is coming home on a hit in the gap. And game over.
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Any time the ball is put into play in a typical high school game, there is a very high percentage chance of an error, both fielding and throwing. I wouldn't count on the pitcher being tired. Most experienced 14u+ pitchers can breeze through a 100+ pitch count, and still be going strong. Swinging away against a competent pitcher will most likely yield no more than you've got already. Laying down a bunt forces a clean fielding effort and a good throw. Can the defense do that three times in a row WITHOUT allowing that runner to score?
If this scenario was with two high level travel teams, I think you'd be up the creek trying that.
On a side note, this shows how important "on demand bunting" is! There simply isn't enough emphasis put on it. How many times have you seen a girl start with a level bat behind the plate, then drop the barrel to go after a low pitch? Instant out from a pop-up, and a wasted opportunity.
If this scenario was with two high level travel teams, I think you'd be up the creek trying that.
On a side note, this shows how important "on demand bunting" is! There simply isn't enough emphasis put on it. How many times have you seen a girl start with a level bat behind the plate, then drop the barrel to go after a low pitch? Instant out from a pop-up, and a wasted opportunity.
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I'm thinking that once extra innings hit, you get only one trip per inning. I could be wrong about that, and might be confusing NFHS and ASA, but I know one of the two (or both) have a provision on defensive conferences for extra innings.
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Sammy, my thinking on this then, is why hasn't the team been trying to bunt all game? If the only way they got a runner on was swinging away, and she made it to second, I'd be curious to give the next batter a shot at driving her in. It's just as easy to pop a bunt attempt up, especially if it's not your team's best bunter against a very tough pitcher who knows what to throw when expecting a bunt. IMHO, bunting here is not a bad idea, it's just the predictable/expected play if I'm the defense. Sometimes we coaches need to put "the book" on coaching away and be a little more inventive. 
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