EASTON OMEN YOUTH BATS MEET LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL STANDARDS OMEN XLB -12 & OMEN XLB -10 bats are approved for 2011 Little League season VAN NUYS, Calif. (Jan. 21, 2011) – Little League Baseball today announced a waiver, effective immediately, for several Easton Baseball bats after placing a moratorium on all composite bats in September [...]

Robert Detwiler, a construction worker from Forest Knolls, Calif., raised his son to be tough. When Fresno State sophomore outfielder Steve Detwiler tore a ligament in his thumb on a head-first slide April 1 against Long Beach State, doctors told him he had a choice. If Detwiler had sustained just a partial tear, he would [...]

Warren Morris will forever be linked to Rosenblatt Stadium. In 1996, he delivered the most indelible, unforgettable moment in College World Series history, hitting the only championship-winning walk-off home run in the history of the CWS. Louisiana State trailed Miami 8-7 with two outs and a runner on base in the bottom of the ninth [...]

Robin Ventura might have garnered even more attention for college baseball than The Grand Illusion did. The Oklahoma State third baseman carried an NCAA-record 56-game hitting streak into the 1987 CWS, drawing comparisons to Joe DiMaggio and focusing national interest on Omaha. Ventura extended the streak to 58 before meeting Stanford and two future major [...]

A number of years ago I came across a Progressive Pitching Program that a number of successful college coaches were using.  Like any pre-season throwing program it had two distinct phases.  Phase 1 was primarily an “interval throwing program” with a specific number of tosses at set distances (45-60-90-105-120 ft.) and very much mirrored the [...]

THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES By: Eric Sorenson I do this column every year once I finally get back from Omaha and it always seems to be a hit with you college baseball freaks out there. So while we are now just 14 or 15 games away from the CWS turning from the College World Series [...]

THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES By: Eric Sorenson And it’s Coach Paul Mainieri and his LSU Tigers! As the great Beano Cook once said, as you get older you start to cheer for people more than you do teams. No statement could be more true for Paul Mainieri, the head coach of LSU. In his third [...]

  Quote:  “A bat at its widest is 3 ¾ inches in diameter; some pitchers throw the ball more than 90mph; and the distance from the pitching rubber to home plate is 60ft 6in.  This means the batter has 2/3 of a second in which to uncoil and get good wood and full body into [...]

How many catchers “actually” throw 1.90 to 2b?  The true answer is NOT MANY! With that in mind, I am going to attempt to give you some hints on right-handed pitchers shutting down runners at 1b. In actuality, very few catchers have the physical ability to throw 2.00 to 2b, let alone 1.90.  Granted, there [...]

By Pat McMahon, University of Florida Head Coach Through our conditioning plan in the off-season, we are laying the foundation for the upcoming campaign. It is comprised of strength and conditioning, nutritional guidance, speed training and agility work for both the entire team and the individual. Our goal is to be as sport-specific and individual-specific [...]

Most hitting coaches agree that practicing with a wood bat is the single best teaching tool in the game to help a young player improve his swing and become a better hitter. At the University of Kansas, all of our drill work in the cages is done with Easton Pro Model wood bats. I highly [...]

By: Assistant Coach Nick Mingione and Head Coach John Cohen (Miss. St.) One of our themes for drillwork at Mississippi State is that “Simple is Always Better”.  The following hitting drills may seem elementary but we use them almost every day and all of these drills have a specific purpose.  The other characteristic that all [...]

Mike Trapasso Head Baseball Coach University of Hawaii We all strive to prepare our teams to execute certain aspects of the game when called upon.  Executing the short-game, in particular, is something we all must do.  Whether we are a team built on power, speed or both…executing the short game, on command, is essential to [...]

Quote:  “A bat at its widest is 3 ¾ inches in diameter; some pitchers throw the ball more than 90mph; and the distance from the pitching rubber to home plate is 60ft 6in.  This means the batter has 2/3 of a second in which to uncoil and get good wood and full body into the [...]

How many catchers “actually” throw 1.90 to 2b?  The true answer is NOT MANY! With that in mind, I am going to attempt to give you some hints on right-handed pitchers shutting down runners at 1b. In actuality, very few catchers have the physical ability to throw 2.00 to 2b, let alone 1.90.  Granted, there [...]

Through our conditioning plan in the off-season, we are laying the foundation for the upcoming campaign. It is comprised of strength and conditioning, nutritional guidance, speed training and agility work for both the entire team and the individual. Our goal is to be as sport-specific and individual-specific as we possibly can. While all of the [...]

BY: James Vilade / Head Baseball Coach – The University of Texas at Tyler James Vilade is the Head Baseball Coach and Director of Athletics at The University of Texas at Tyler.  Coach Vilade has coached NCAA Baseball for over ten years and has compiled a record of (273-93 as a head coach).  His experience [...]

By: John Savage (UCLA Head Coach) 1) HIT THE GLOVE (PREFER THE POCKET) 2) THROW THE BALL ON A DOWN ANGLE 3) FIRST 2 OUT OF 3 PITCHES MUST BE GLOVE STRIKES 4) TURN NEGATIVES INTO POSITIVES (NP) 5) HAVE AS GOOD AS STUFF IN STRETCH AS IN WIND-UP 6) CONTROL THE VARIABLES (MECHANICAL, MENTAL, [...]

By: Eric Sorenson FULLERTON REGIONAL Champion: Cal State Fullerton 1- Cal State Fullerton (3-0): Incomplete Can’t really give a grade to the Titans yet as they haven’t found themselves with their backs against it yet in the Big Dance (and I’m sure the Titan fans would be perfectly fine with it staying an “incomplete” grade [...]

By: Eric Sorenson Ahhh the best weekend of the entire college baseball season has now come and gone. Sad, I know, but the endorphin rush was worth it. So with the field of 64 whittled down to the lucky 16, let’s go ahead and don our tweed jackets with the leather patches on the elbows [...]

With guest Coach Todd Raleigh Head Baseball Coach, University of Tennessee Angle Batting Practice This drill is a great for entry-level hitters. All great hitters have the ability to let the ball travel or get deep. Conversely, one of the biggest problems that hitters of all ages have is the inability to stay back and [...]

This is the second part of a two-part article from Georgia Southern University baseball Coach Rodney Hennon, discussing the importance of a consistent routine and keeping it simple during batting practice. In the first part, Coach Hennon covers “Round 1: The Short Game” and “Round 2: Hit & Runs.” Round 3: Hitting Behind the Runner [...]

Coach Rodney Hennon Georgia Southern University We have been very fortunate over the years to have some quality offensive clubs at Georgia Southern. Our 2008 team set numerous school hitting records and finished ranked among the best nationally in many offensive categories, finishing the season with a .345 batting average that included 751 hits, 114 [...]