Tess Sito is the REAL DEAL!

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Up & in in college BETTER be close to chin music, or it'll be hit 200+ feet! DD learned her lesson freshman year, and now knows exactly where it has to be. If your kid is gonna pitch college ball, being afraid to throw pitches will get you bench time. Better learn to throw them without fear.

Exactly...Down and away and down and in are the hot spots for college pitchers. A killer rise thrown at 65 plus is also a great pitch, but dont miss a little low with a rise in college.

 

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Some of the longest HR 's I have seen in college ball were high in inside rise balls that missed. I think CB stated the easiest pitch to hit is the inside pitch for most players. Howard can correct me, her longest HR was a high and inside rise ball. I agree with Punchout on the down and in or away. College with 43 feet makes the breaking ball even a better pitch. Still trying to teach the dd the drop , curve. Now in her case we see many high and inside , because she is a slapper and they are trying to jam her hands. She also gets hit in the helmet a bunch.

 

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Hilliarddad3

I can still see the pitchers and catchers laughing!

 

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Best High school Hitter I had seen. Even with that she does have a weak spot that our pitchers capitalized on in the last game against us, in which she didn't do damage hitting, but pitching yeow.....

Pitchout;&

 

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You're right CCD if it's foul, it's just a long strike and they do go loooong.........

 

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Exactly...Down and away and down and in are the hot spots for college pitchers. A killer rise thrown at 65 plus is also a great pitch, but dont miss a little low with a rise in college.

If you miss on any pitch a good hitter will rope it. But I guarantee you that a great up and in pitch is much harder to hit (especially fair) than a great down and away pitch. It is harder to get the barrel on a pitch up and in. You can extend and get the barrel of the bat on an outside pitch.


Addition:
Here is Crystl Bustos on YouTube. She hits shots pitched low and out, low and in, outside, inside, up, but not one clip is a shot from an up and in pitch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XcLqUAVVoA

Len

 

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Have to disagree with you, Len. In college, some of the hardest hit balls are high and inside, just over the inside edge of the plate - pitches that usually didn't get in to jamb the batter quite enough. I witnessed a Wright State batter (one of Howard's girls ) take a pitch that literally would have hit her, over the left field fence - with room to spare. The particular pitcher that threw the pitch could not believe how she did that! But she DOES NOW! She just rotated earlier, and got the sweet spot of the bat on the ball. Now, does this particular pitcher still throw those pitches? Not to Howard's girls!!! Yes she does, but having book helps to know who can hit those and who struggles.

A typical batter (Bustos is NOT your typical batter) will lose most of their power extending their arms (losing connection) to reach an outside pitch. Please correct me if I misunderstood what you are saying. But I cringe every time I hear a coach say "get extended". Arm extension to reach an outside pitch should only be done in a last ditch effort to stay alive.

 

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forum,
Ms.Sito was the best player of summer 2009 and will most likely be the best of summer 2010... With all this lady has proven on the field and in the classroom, I couldn't second guess her ... She has few peers...
Ron Poole

 

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Have to disagree with you, Len. In college, some of the hardest hit balls are high and inside, just over the inside edge of the plate - pitches that usually didn't get in to jamb the batter quite enough. I witnessed a Wright State batter (one of Howard's girls ) take a pitch that literally would have hit her, over the left field fence - with room to spare. The particular pitcher that threw the pitch could not believe how she did that! But she DOES NOW! She just rotated earlier, and got the sweet spot of the bat on the ball. Now, does this particular pitcher still throw those pitches? Not to Howard's girls!!! Yes she does, but having book helps to know who can hit those and who struggles.

A typical batter (Bustos is NOT your typical batter) will lose most of their power extending their arms (losing connection) to reach an outside pitch. Please correct me if I misunderstood what you are saying. But I cringe every time I hear a coach say "get extended". Arm extension to reach an outside pitch should only be done in a last ditch effort to stay alive.

I think you misunderstand what I am saying. If you watch the first pitch Bustos hit in the above YouTube clip, it is way off the outside edge and way low. Bustos was still able to get the barrel of the bat on that pitch even though it was thrown in a great location. It was a great pitch about 7 inches off the plate and about 8 inches off the ground. Now, take a pitch shoulder high about 8 inches off the inside edge of the plate. It is much harder to hit that pitch with the barrel of the bat. I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm just saying it's a tougher pitch to hit, and that type of high and inside pitch is a great pitch to throw when ahead in the count.

A pitch on the edges of the plate are good pitches, not great pitches. Pitches down the middle of the plate are bad pitches. Great pitches are the pitches off the plate the batters are forced to swing at, and in my opinion this type of pitch is tougher to hit if it is inside rather than outside.

Most pitchers and coaches in every level of fastpitch are just too afraid to throw inside because of the small margin for error, not because it is a less effective pitch. Also, throwing high and in helps set up the low and out pitch.

Len

 

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I already posted the exact rules for college softball and transferring. To not sit, you must transfer out of your conference, and you must get a release from the school(coach). It is very rare that a college softball coach will not give an unhappy player a release.

Not exactly.. you see it is an actuall NCAA rule that you will have to sit out a year of eligibility if you transfer, however, in softball and most other sports, their are exceptions to that rule.. The most common one being the 1 time transfer rule! This is where you get that the school has to agree. It actually does not say anything about going outside of the conference, I imagine that it is just an unwritten rule that the player is not going to get a release to then go play gainst their former team, but it can happen!! Here is verbage from the NCAA Transfer guide

One-time transfer exception ? You may
be immediately able to play a sport at your
new school if you:
■ Do not transfer to a Division I school for
football,Baseball, basketball or men?s ice hockey;
■ Have never transferred before from a four
year school;
■ Are both academically and athletically
eligible; and
■ Receive a release agreement from the
school from which you are transferring

 

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Since Tess is from our area, I have heard that she wanted to stay close to home. The CSU coach is an Elyria High alum, as Tess is, and is probably an old family friend who played with her older sisters. Plus a fair amount of Elyria High players have gone to CSU as well, including some who played with Tess when she was an underclassman. Personally, I would have loved to see her at OSU.

 

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I kind of think its time to get off this kids back about attending CSU, she has her reasons, this has been a topic for a year now. She's enrolled and playing, time to just root her on

 

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Every kid (and family) has their reasons why they choose a certain university. My DD's choice was the perfect one for her, and she has absolutely no regrets. Once you go through the process, you understand why. You could pose the question "Why don't we all live in Hawaii?" or "Why don't we all live in Alaska?" Different strokes...

 

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Every kid (and family) has their reasons why they choose a certain university. My DD's choice was the perfect one for her, and she has absolutely no regrets. Once you go through the process, you understand why. You could pose the question "Why don't we all live in Hawaii?" or "Why don't we all live in Alaska?" Different strokes...

Sammy your not suggesting that some kids and parents look at schools for things outside of softball are you?

 

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I kind of think its time to get off this kids back about attending CSU, she has her reasons, this has been a topic for a year now. She's enrolled and playing, time to just root her on

You are absolutly correct .People like to ask why a kid like her dosent go to the big 10 or SEC ... give these kids the credit their due, their smart enough to know the right fit, A mid major D1 may make it so she has 0 debt when leaving college, she gets her degree in 4 not 5 Years , Her major may require a lot of lab time and the mid major is a better fit that way, She willl not have to claw for start time as a freshman. Tons of reasons............. Congrats for making the decision she did, enjoy your college experience

 

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Tess is a great player and I think it's great she stayed in state, and could be a huge part of getting Cleveland State some National attention. That being said would have rather seen her in Scarlet and Grey

 

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You are absolutly correct .People like to ask why a kid like her dosent go to the big 10 or SEC ... give these kids the credit their due, their smart enough to know the right fit, A mid major D1 may make it so she has 0 debt when leaving college, she gets her degree in 4 not 5 Years , Her major may require a lot of lab time and the mid major is a better fit that way, She willl not have to claw for start time as a freshman. Tons of reasons............. Congrats for making the decision she did, enjoy your college experience

Hmmmm... has a nice ring to it.... :yahoo:

 

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If you miss on any pitch a good hitter will rope it. But I guarantee you that a great up and in pitch is much harder to hit (especially fair) than a great down and away pitch. It is harder to get the barrel on a pitch up and in. You can extend and get the barrel of the bat on an outside pitch.


Addition:
Here is Crystl Bustos on YouTube. She hits shots pitched low and out, low and in, outside, inside, up, but not one clip is a shot from an up and in pitch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XcLqUAVVoA

Len

While I agree,any pitch missed is a potential hit, (and even some that are pitched well are hit) but an up and in pitch in college is the easiest pitch to lay off for a good hitter. I guess I will just have to trust my DD who pitched in the Big Ten and what she experienced over a four year period.
She batted against several All Americans and was never pitched up and in. In College it is a waste pitch. Just watch the best pitchers, Cat Abbott etc. You will RARELY see an up and in pitch. But you will see low and outside more than any pitch. A very fast rise is what Finch lives on but she likes low and away also. The low screwball to the inside has become so popular they actually added the "pitchers lane" to keep pitchers legal while throwing it. Up and in , in college is chin music, there for a reason.

 

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I kind of think its time to get off this kids back about attending CSU, she has her reasons, this has been a topic for a year now. She's enrolled and playing, time to just root her on

I am happy for any kid who gets to live her dream of getting an education and playing softball. I just hope she doesnt become bored with the level of play she will face. She was an All American in high school right? A HUGE catch for any school in the Horizon league. She has at least Big Ten talent. Not slamming the Horizon League, it is what it is.

 

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I think you misunderstand what I am saying. If you watch the first pitch Bustos hit in the above YouTube clip, it is way off the outside edge and way low. Bustos was still able to get the barrel of the bat on that pitch even though it was thrown in a great location. It was a great pitch about 7 inches off the plate and about 8 inches off the ground. Now, take a pitch shoulder high about 8 inches off the inside edge of the plate. It is much harder to hit that pitch with the barrel of the bat. I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm just saying it's a tougher pitch to hit, and that type of high and inside pitch is a great pitch to throw when ahead in the count.

A pitch on the edges of the plate are good pitches, not great pitches. Pitches down the middle of the plate are bad pitches. Great pitches are the pitches off the plate the batters are forced to swing at, and in my opinion this type of pitch is tougher to hit if it is inside rather than outside.

Most pitchers and coaches in every level of fastpitch are just too afraid to throw inside because of the small margin for error, not because it is a less effective pitch. Also, throwing high and in helps set up the low and out pitch.

Len

Len, let me try again... (great example pics, by the way!) The first pic above is a great example of a jamb pitch. The fact that the kid didn't turn away or bail tells me the pitch probably started a little more over the plate and moved in on him - fooled him. However, looking at the height of the pitch, had the batter recognized the pitch sooner, he could have rotated early enough (good timing is key) and got his hands through - maintaining connection AND keeping his hands inside the pitch - to meet the ball with the bat squarely on the sweet spot. I'm sure there's pics somewhere of that.

Pic #2 looks like a classic "got fooled on an offspeed". Over-rotated, arms extended - WAY out front on contact. He's 90% finished with his swing, but the ball just got there. Looks like it was a ball anyway, way up out of the zone.

Again, Bustos is NOT a good example of your TYPICAL hitter. She has the ability to golf a pitch over the fence that is 6" off the outside edge of the plate, 3" high! Very few hitters - male or female - can do that.

"A pitch on the edges of the plate are good pitches, not great pitches. Pitches down the middle of the plate are bad pitches. Great pitches are the pitches off the plate the batters are forced to swing at, and in my opinion this type of pitch is tougher to hit if it is inside rather than outside."

I agree with you on all but the "inside vs outside". - and I'll explain WHY I feel that way. Until a kid learns proper hand path and "staying connected" through the swing, they'll NEVER be able to effectively hit "slightly" inside (possibly called strikes) pitches. Pitching high school, my DD lived on these because so many high school girls use a cast type swing. Across the knuckles was a high percentage K in high school. However, the college hitters are a different animal. A much higher percentage have developed a good "connected" swing and hand path, and therefore are far better prepared to hit "less than perfect" pitches. Keeping the hands inside the pitch is key.

--- This "hijack" shold be moved to a hitting thread... apologies to Ms Sito fans.