Pitching and Pitchers Discussion Ball State Pitcher Hit at camp

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This past weekend our DD and another from her school were able to attend the Ball State Camp. During the hitting portion the BSU pitchers were "short" pitching from behind pitcher protector fences at about 25 feet. Right after our group went the through the hitting tunnel, a girl in the group after our daughters cam through that was a fantastic hitter!

She was hitting several hard/deep shots and was pretty impressive. Right at the end of one of her last at bats, I saw something that is worse than any I have seen in ten years of my dd's softball. The pitcher throws the pitch and does not get behind the fence quick enough and gets a laser hit back at her that hits her above her right eye!

The ball bounced all the way back towards the batter and the BSU pitcher was knocked off of her feet. Several coaches came running and the got the young lady stable and then put into a ambulance. She did lose a lot of blood, but thank God she was able to walk to stretcher on her own will.

Not to start an argument about game faces, or protection or anything, but I spoke with my pitchers when I got home Sunday...ladies, PLEASE wear a game face on the mound, or on the corners. This was a life changing moment for this young lady as well as the high school girl who hit her. It was also something that everyone will remember about an otherwise well-run, fun and exhausting camp.

 

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I hope all is OK with that young lady....scary.

 

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Hope she is okay. Sad thing is if girls wear the face protection they have a difficult time getting recruited. I have had several D1 coaches question the masks and tell me they will not recruit a girl who ears them.

 

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That is simply crazy not to recruit someone because they are trying to be safe. I think there should be a rule that any infield postion no matter what age needs to wear face/head protection. You have to wear a helmet to bat and the ball is slower coming from a pitcher than it is coming off the bat.

I would ask the recruiter if they would buy a car without a seatbelt.

 

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Who would want to play for a college coach with that attitude????

 

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When it came time for her to take the infield part of the camp she wore here game face (I had not said a word about it, but she knows how I feel). She was the ONLY high school girl there wearing one. (They had a couple of little girls that couldn't make the jr. division camp).

Not one negative word was said to her by any of the other campers, BSU players or coaches!

 

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My niece took a line shot playing 3rd base on a 16u team and was hit in the chin and she bruised her jaw. AND it broke her mask because she was wearing one but she would have lost some teeth and a broken jaw if she wasn't wearing one 100% or even worse. Trust me drinking milkshake food for 8 weeks through a straw why your jaw is wired shut is not fun. I know this first hand.

 

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Hope she is okay. Sad thing is if girls wear the face protection they have a difficult time getting recruited. I have had several D1 coaches question the masks and tell me they will not recruit a girl who ears them.

I've heard this as well, and the move to 43' doesn't make the pitchers and corners any safer either, just the opposite. Like someone else said, they have to wear a helmet to bat, they have to wear a helmet even to run bases, why is it OK for a girl playing 3rd base to stand 25' from the batter and not wear any protection? How many young ladies have to endure a disfiguring injury for the sake of impressing a college coach?

If the powers within the associations, ASA, NSA, OHSAA, who always seem to be making one useless change or another would make protection mandatory for infielders, the descrimination from college coaches would be a non-issue.

 

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I don't understand it either, but it's true regarding college coaches and masks. My friends daughter was recently recruited to a D1 and the coach told her flat out that she didn't want to see her wearing a mask on the mound!!! Her travel coach (a gold team) told her when she joined the team that most coaches -at all levels - don't want to see the masks unless you have a pre-existing injury (DUH).

I watched the replays last summer...I believe it was a batter from Baylor (?)... mishit a ball that bounced off the corner of the plate and smashed up into her face breaking the cheek and orbital bone. She wasn't wearing a mask on her helmet of course. The announcer (I may be wrong but I thought it was a former olympic player now coach) stated that she has made fun of new recruits coming in wearing facemasks on their helmets!!!!

I think that since helmet masks have been mandatory for under 18, most girls are now entering college and have always had to wear one. They are used to it. Same with pitchers and corners wearing a mask. If they are used to safety equipment and it isn't impeding their vision/playing ability, why would a coach ever discourage it?

 

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But that isn't macho!!! (sarcasm)

This is nothing more than a GAME, no matter how serious some people take it. I never want to see one of my players with a devastating injury over a silly game. This isn't football or baseball where there may be a career path in the sport, they've tried that and it didn't work.

Kind of funny that every sanctioning body requires you to have insurance to play, wear a helmet when you bat, wear gear when you catch or even wear a helmet if you're under 18 and coaching a base.

 

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Spoke to a D3 coach a few weeks ago who said the same thing. There are college coaches who will not even look at a player who uses a mask.

 

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It will be interesting to see if this changes in the future with more younger players growing up wearing the masks.

My DD took hers off her batting helmet when she got to college and I am not real happy about that. Fouls ball get a lot of batters

 

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I don't understand it either, but it's true regarding college coaches and masks. My friends daughter was recently recruited to a D1 and the coach told her flat out that she didn't want to see her wearing a mask on the mound!!! Her travel coach (a gold team) told her when she joined the team that most coaches -at all levels - don't want to see the masks unless you have a pre-existing injury (DUH).

I watched the replays last summer...I believe it was a batter from Baylor (?)... mishit a ball that bounced off the corner of the plate and smashed up into her face breaking the cheek and orbital bone. She wasn't wearing a mask on her helmet of course. The announcer (I may be wrong but I thought it was a former olympic player now coach) stated that she has made fun of new recruits coming in wearing facemasks on their helmets!!!!

I think that since helmet masks have been mandatory for under 18, most girls are now entering college and have always had to wear one. They are used to it. Same with pitchers and corners wearing a mask. If they are used to safety equipment and it isn't impeding their vision/playing ability, why would a coach ever discourage it?

The announcer was Stacey Nuveman and yes she did say that. Also, Ms. Nuveman had to be one of the worst announcers for the sport of fastpitch and I hope ESPN dropped her and found someone else for 2012. As far as masks go....it is what it is. College coaches will feel much different about masks than parents and some travel coaches.

Why do college coaches not like the idea of masks? Four words: FEAR OF THE BALL. That is what college coaches perceive when they see kids wearing protection. Why do batters get to wear a helmet? The batter does not have a glove to help defend themself like a fielder does. Sorry guys, but that's just how it is. Maybe some day the rules will change.

Len

 

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I have to agree, talk to several DI coaches and they will tell you they frown on players wearing face masks. If your a middle infielder and you wear one, you need to go play outfield, no reason for you to be wearing one, unless playing on gravel. Sorry, but I totally don't like middle infielders wearing them.

The quote I get from numerous DI coaches and DII's is learn how to play the position and you won't need one.

 

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What surprises me is how many parents that are willing to whore their daughter for the sake of a college scholarship. My DD will never not wear a mask trying to get a scholarship. First off my DD priorities with college is her education and what she wants to do after college. IF THAT fits with a sport scholarship great but we will not risk life and limp for that scholarship.

If my DD was a pitcher when she contacted college coaches she would spell out she obtained the success she has with a mask on and will continue wearing one in college. Then only those sensible colleges would be interested. The ones that won't look at a girl wearing a mask can go to ~~~~!

 

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I agree with Lenski, Ms. Nuveman sukks....they couldn't find anyone that could do better than her????

I'm with Musty...if my dd's wants to wear a mask and the college coach doesn't like masks, looks like it is on to the next school. I'm not a mask advocate and I never wore one when I played, but if my dd feels more comfortable with it on than I want her to feel free to wear one.

 

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What surprises me is how many parents that are willing to whore their daughter for the sake of a college scholarship. My DD will never not wear a mask trying to get a scholarship. First off my DD priorities with college is her education and what she wants to do after college. IF THAT fits with a sport scholarship great but we will not risk life and limp for that scholarship.

If my DD was a pitcher when she contacted college coaches she would spell out she obtained the success she has with a mask on and will continue wearing one in college. Then only those sensible colleges would be interested. The ones that won't look at a girl wearing a mask can go to ~~~~!

Amen

 

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When I played back in the 80s and 90s BA was common in mens. Actually, these guys were called the Crazy XXXXXX XXXXXX because they would creep in or charge in at the pitch delivery even the pitchers would attack the batter.
A few years later rule changes outlawed some of the equipment and changed how some players played.
Actually these guys were probably the safest ones on the field...

Used effectively BA or BP can change how the game is played...

 

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Funny how we have D1 HS requiring masks .... and now your saying that colleges discourage them. WOW...you can't win. My DD is younger (11U) but last summer before a tournament she went outside in the hotels parking lot to practice pitching and after her practice the rest of the team began throwing the softball. Normally, she wears her mask during practice but of course this evening she didn't have it on. One throw and the ball hit the top of her glove...line drive to the face, breaking her nose. After the drive to the ER, she did play the tournament but was in lots of pain. It made all the girls believers of the mask. Hopefully, by the time my DD gets to HS and college there will be no "non-believers". I bet if the coaches kids were playing they would change their thoughts!!
Just sayin..........

 

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Funny how we have D1 HS requiring masks .... and now your saying that colleges discourage them. WOW...you can't win. My DD is younger (11U) but last summer before a tournament she went outside in the hotels parking lot to practice pitching and after her practice the rest of the team began throwing the softball. Normally, she wears her mask during practice but of course this evening she didn't have it on. One throw and the ball hit the top of her glove...line drive to the face, breaking her nose. After the drive to the ER, she did play the tournament but was in lots of pain. It made all the girls believers of the mask. Hopefully, by the time my DD gets to HS and college there will be no "non-believers". I bet if the coaches kids were playing they would change their thoughts!!
Just sayin..........

While this experience may make your DD always want to wear a mask, it is kind of the reason coaches dont like. Mask isn't for not catching a thrown ball. It is for all the modern bats & the fact that this girls are so close to a batted ball. I don't care how good your reflexes - It is not worth the chance.

I heard a former college coach/hall of fame player making fun of masks & how she never used one. Well, for most of her career they were using wooden bats!!! Many top level slo-pitch men's pitchers will wear masks, because of the risk of injury or death. There were several deaths a few years back. WHY TAKE THE CHANCE??? If you are a true college coach, you should be able to know who is afraid of the ball at that level..........