Can a composite softball bat be used for BP?

Question

My 13 yr old girl plays competitive fast pitch and I got her a new Easton Stealth composite bat for this fall. I've been told that it shouldn't be used at the cages w/ the dimpled balls or against our pitching machine because it could ruin it. Is this true? Could we put a sleeve on it to protect it? I'm a carpenter and this purchase was expensive for us and couldn't be replaced easily.

Answer 1

You are correct.  Your new bat should never be used for batting practice.  Even with normal usage, bats need to be replaced every couple of seasons anyway.  By using it for batting practice, you'll take the *pop* out of the bat a lot sooner.  My suggestion is to go to a store that specializes in used sporting equipment any buy a bat with the same dimensions for batting practice.  My daughters pitching/hitting coach gave a tip that the US National team uses.  You can place the end of the bat in boiling water and take the end cap off.  From there you can put 2 or 3 racquetballs inside the barrel, and put the end cap back on.  This is the bat that you can use in the cage.  Good luck