On the rise ball . . .
I didn't care if my daughter EVER threw one. She had one and, on occasion, it would be very effective but she never relied on it. She was a down pitcher. So down, in fact, she had exactly zero balls hit over the fence on her in high school and travel ball. Didn't happen until college and then rarely. A true 6-12 spin is almost impossible to master and you certainly can't do it at mph. The 12-6 for the drop is much easier and you can throw with the same spin. Virtually all rises you see today are corkscrew and, honestly, many are just high fast balls as the physics of the corkscrew/bullet spin isnot going to cause a ball to 'jump'. JMU certainly does have a pitching coach. I've seen Fleet pitch a lot. Some days she's effective but like many HS 'riseballers' she's just not good enough with it to fool collegiate batters out of the zone often enough. Being a collegiate pitching coach is tricky business since virtually all D1 prospects come to campus having been privately coached for many years. Knowing who the prospect's private coach was and how she was coached should be part of the recruiting process. If the collegiate is thinking "I'm going have to fix this kid" the best thing to do is not bring her to campus.
Thread Replies (19)
Kavan is best pitcher I have seen entire tourney! Surgical and 3 great
-- U2Hokie
Jun 03, 2026 at 09:17 PM ET
U2Hokie
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06/03/26 09:17 PM ET
Student of the late Bill Hillhouse. I've written here before the most . . .
-- MidloHokie
Jun 04, 2026 at 06:17 AM ET
MidloHokie
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06/04/26 06:17 AM ET
I believe he died recently. I used to follow him on
-- public knowledge
Jun 04, 2026 at 09:25 AM ET
public knowledge
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06/04/26 09:25 AM ET
Line Drive Media did a very nice tribute to him (linked)
-- VTChip
Jun 04, 2026 at 11:12 AM ET
VTChip
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06/04/26 11:12 AM ET
Where was Bill Hillhouse from?**
-- U2Hokie
Jun 04, 2026 at 08:28 AM ET
U2Hokie
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06/04/26 08:28 AM ET
I was impressed with Lincoln also on TT - but had to notice what the rise
-- U2Hokie
Jun 04, 2026 at 08:26 AM ET
U2Hokie
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06/04/26 08:26 AM ET
On the rise ball . . .
◄
-- MidloHokie
Jun 04, 2026 at 11:12 PM ET
MidloHokie
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06/04/26 11:12 PM ET
Per JMU, Sam Scruggs just got hired in 2025 as a pitching coach right out
-- U2Hokie
Jun 05, 2026 at 06:55 AM ET
U2Hokie
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06/05/26 06:55 AM ET
Look. You cannot say Scruggs is not a "real" pitching coach. Every . . .
-- MidloHokie
Jun 05, 2026 at 07:19 AM ET
MidloHokie
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06/05/26 07:19 AM ET
no burr really - but I dont view Herzig as one to coach pitchers or a pitch
-- U2Hokie
Jun 05, 2026 at 08:15 AM ET
U2Hokie
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06/05/26 08:15 AM ET
Well, how many non-P4 teams have three All-American pitchers in 8 years?
-- MidloHokie
Jun 05, 2026 at 05:38 PM ET
MidloHokie
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06/05/26 05:38 PM ET
Look - Libby Bowman was the JMU pitching coach when they beat Oklahoma and
-- U2Hokie
Jun 05, 2026 at 10:07 PM ET
U2Hokie
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06/05/26 10:07 PM ET
I never claimed she was a pitching coach, simply that she mentored . .
-- MidloHokie
Jun 05, 2026 at 10:39 PM ET
MidloHokie
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06/05/26 10:39 PM ET
Got it - so guilt by association = mentor. Go back and read what I said -
-- U2Hokie
Jun 06, 2026 at 06:07 AM ET
U2Hokie
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06/06/26 06:07 AM ET
Well there was Maddie Penta.
-- MidloHokie
Jun 06, 2026 at 07:38 AM ET
MidloHokie
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06/06/26 07:38 AM ET
Denny T says I cant argue with that! **
-- U2Hokie
Jun 04, 2026 at 08:19 AM ET
U2Hokie
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06/04/26 08:19 AM ET
She has recently been clutch in big games
-- VTChip
Jun 03, 2026 at 09:40 PM ET
VTChip
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06/03/26 09:40 PM ET
She does seem to lock in in the clutch
-- hokiepro
Jun 03, 2026 at 09:51 PM ET
hokiepro
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06/03/26 09:51 PM ET