Switch Pitching 101

Pitching to contact works! For switch pitcher, Henry Knight , pitching to contact worked well in the 14U Koufax league -- as long as the defense was ready to make the plays. The key strategy for the pitcher was to keep the ball down in the strike zone to induce ground balls or popups and let the fielders make the outs. The movement of two seam fastball worked well, along with a circle change-up -- to keep hitters off balance and induce easy outs. During the 2012 Dow Memorial Day Tournament, Knight threw 45 pitches over five innings -- to win a  ten-inning  championship game under the lights. That's an average of nine pitches per inning, thanks to the solid defense by the Columbia City Reds team. Knight pitched 11 innings in one game, throwing 94 strikes, and averaged 11 pitches per inning by pitching to contact. In college baseball, the #1 starting pitcher for the UW Huskies team -  Aaron West - said that he throws the ball low in the strike zo...