Hitting Machine

[socalirishfan]

Looking to get a Louisville Slugger Blue Flame piching machine for my granddaughter anyone got good feed back on it dont want to waste my money if its crap. Thanks for your input

[NumeroUno]

How old is she?

[socalirishfan]

she is 9 years old with 3 years of rec ball

[DonnieS]

Looking to get a Louisville Slugger Blue Flame piching machine for my granddaughter anyone got good feed back on it dont want to waste my money if its crap. Thanks for your input

Socal, those have been sold under several names. I bought one when they first came out, and I still have the thing. It was used for 2 teams for about 3 years on a daily basis. I saw your kid is 10u, what i did with mine was doubled the band that powers it. It tells you not to obviously, but thats what I did to get the speed up a little. Fortunately at that age, you wont get killed with linebackers, just maimed, so be careful. Also, once I had to call service, and the service was excellent.

[socalirishfan]

thanks for the help

[CrushersDad]

I got that exact machine (different name) for an 11YO rec team and it worked beautifully! I would highly recommend it for 9YO's.

I also tightened the spring a bit for a little bit more speed but for a 10U team, probably not necessary.

[DonnieS]

I got that exact machine (different name) for an 11YO rec team and it worked beautifully! I would highly recommend it for 9YO's.

I also tightened the spring a bit for a little bit more speed but for a 10U team, probably not necessary.

Crush, is that how they come now, with springs? Mine came with bands - large rubber straps - I doubled them up to get the speed up to what we were seeing at the time. I asked for some extras, think I still have a couple.

Also, we put a 2x4 about 3 feet across to the bottom cross bar to keep the thing from moving to much with each shot.

[CrushersDad]

Yes, a big heavy spring that is not easy to bend and tighten. I wish I would have thought about the big rubber band, I would have increased the pressure by adding a vacuum cleaner band or something along those lines.

As for it not moving, the machine came with big spikes that screw into the ends of the cross bar that really work well on the dirt, but indoors or on concrete was a problem.

[N2DFIRE]

Save your money and pitch to her yourself from behind a screen from half the distance to the plate. You can change location and speeds every pitch unlike most machines. Makes a better hitter.

[Dugout Dad]

Save your money and pitch to her yourself from behind a screen from half the distance to the plate. You can change location and speeds every pitch unlike most machines. Makes a better hitter.

Absolutely agree. I sit on a bucket behind a net and pitch from about 15-20 feet away. Made a big difference. The machine comes out once in a while, but not too often.