Let's talk line-up

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My leadoff would be high OBO, with speed and usually wouldn't swing at a first pitch ;&.
2nd, someone who can execute and does not strike out too often.
3rd hitter is my best hitter, if I didn't have speed on my team this player may be my leadoff hitter.
4th- my power hitter
5th. Combination of 3rd and 4th but obviously she is not the player 3rd and 4th hitters are.
6-8th interchangeable, depending on who is hot and what type of pitcher we are facing.
9th speedy player.

of course this is luxury we would all love to have.

we resemble this layout and I like the philosophy.

 

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If I have a player with great speed, that can hit for average or above, I want her #1, #2, I typically go with a lefty, not for the bunting aspect as we typically will go straight steal with our #1 if she gets on. Also, being a lefty alot of people thing she's there to slap, so throw in a fake slap or walk through which holds that shortstop a split second longer to allow your lead off hitter to steal. With our summer team that's loaded with hitters, I typically do two split type line ups, 1. speed, 2. lefty/speed. 3. Best hitter, I want her up in the first inning, no one can pitch around her 4. probably second best hitter with power, 5. someone with power that maybe strikes out a little more than 3/4 6. a second lead off hitter, 7. similar to a 2 hitter, makes contact, some power, good hitter 8. my power hitter that's maybe struggling, acts as a second clean up, will likely see more fast balls and less movement because everyone goes, hey she's the 8 hitter. 9. Someone with speed, as I don't want her slowing down 9 on the bases.

 

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If you take good stats and keep them with you at all games, then you would also need to look at the pitcher you are facing. Do you have a great hitter, but just can't hit a screwball for nothing?

Also have to go with who is hot on that day...If a girl comes in and just has a bad day and is in a bad mood (teanage girls will get this way a lot) she needs to be dropped down in the order. Your top 3-4 batters will get the most at bats so use them wisely.

Like someone said before, you don't want to mess up the line-up too much for confidence, but if you educate your players on the reasons behind every move and line up, they will understand.

My DD is usually the lead off batter in high school, but if they play this one team-she has it in her head that she can't hit the pitcher. She reminds her coach to not waste her at bats up in the number one hole. They move her to 9 against that team.

 

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My leadoff would be high OBO, with speed and usually wouldn't swing at a first pitch ;&.
2nd, someone who can execute and does not strike out too often.
3rd hitter is my best hitter, if I didn't have speed on my team this player may be my leadoff hitter.
4th- my power hitter
5th. Combination of 3rd and 4th but obviously she is not the player 3rd and 4th hitters are.
6-8th interchangeable, depending on who is hot and what type of pitcher we are facing.
9th speedy player.

of course this is luxury we would all love to have.

This has been our lineup for years.

It is funny that both my daughters bat 5th but are different hitters.

My 14U is a power hitter and probably should be a 3 or 4. But she is slow and my wife is the coach so I think she puts her here to keep the parents at bay. She easily leads the team in RBIs. I really think #5 is a very important spot. She almost always has ducks on the pnd so to speak. And she can hit for power and does not strike out much. She is alos will take it to RF and hit the ground ball needed to get in the runner.

My 12U would normally be a #2 or 3 but the team she is on has a ton of speed (and she does not) so he bats her #5. She almost never strikes out. Can execute a bunt, slug bunt, pull back, and is a very good line drive hitter. She gets a ton of RBIs for her team in this spot.

Funny but my 14U daughter bats 3rd or 4th for her HS team. I tihnk if she was not so slow she would bat #2 just to get her more reps. Building a lineup for a team 12 deep and one 4 deep is way different.

On a poor team my wife does this often:

1- best hitter and OBP
2- fast and can bunt (but maybe not one that is considered good)
3- next best hitter
4- power if it exist
5- she prefers someone who can keep it in play......if you strike out a lot she does not like you much
6- and maybe the "4th best hitter"
7-9 what ever is left

The logic is that is that it really hard to have too much dead wood in a row. It can really put a damper on the team. So she tries to spread it out a bit and use the tools that the girls have to her advantage. The goal is to get runs and a further issue is that if your team is that poor it is likely the other teams are at the same level. So plan on some base stealing and such.

I do think after watching the last few years that the #5 hitter is crucial to scoring runs.

 

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I do think after watching the last few years that the #5 hitter is crucial to scoring runs.

I completely agree. My DD also bats 5 hole and she almost always has an opportunity for an RBI. I will admit that in the beginning, even I wasn't too thrilled with this. All I thought was, my DD is one of the Top 3 hitters on the team, why is she batting 5th. Until I sat back and really analyzed the situation and discovered that more often than not, she has a runner in scoring position when she gets up to bat. Alot of the more inexperienced coaches have that way of thinking that if they can just get past the 4 hole without any damage, then they are good. To which, they will make the mistake and pitch to your #5 and they usually make them pay. At the same time, even when they do figure out that your #5 can hit, they are then forced to not pitch around the #4.