Two-strike approach

Setup

1. A coach or pitcher throws from behind an L-screen at your competition's distance, mixing locations and speeds.
2. Catcher in full gear behind the plate; the batter in a helmet with a face guard. Waiting hitters stand well behind the backstop.
3. A fielder or bucket collector stands in the outfield, out of the line of the screen, to collect balls.
4. Every at-bat starts at 0-2. Strikes are called by the catcher or a coach standing behind the catcher.

How it runs

1. Each batter gets at-bats that start at 0-2 and run until they put the ball in play, walk, or strike out.
2. The thrower mixes pitches: about a third clear balls off the plate, a third on the edges, and a third hittable.
3. Batter's job: take the clear balls, foul off or put in play the edge pitches, and drive the hittable ones back up the middle or the other way.
4. Score each at-bat: ball in play hard 3 points, ball in play 2, walk 2, extra pitches seen 1 each after the third, strikeout 0.
5. Rotate after each at-bat. Run four or five rounds and keep a running total.

Coaching points

• Adjust before the at-bat, not during the swing: choke up a little, widen the stance a touch and stand slightly closer to the plate.
• The zone gets a ball wider for the batter: protect the edges, especially the outside corner and the rise ball at the letters.
• Shorter swing: hands straight to the ball, smaller stride, and still finish.
• Look middle, react to the edges. Do not guess pitch type.
• Fouling off a good pitcher's best pitch is a win; it buys the next pitch.
• Hunt contact up the middle; the middle of the field is the biggest target.

Common mistakes

• Keeping the full power swing at two strikes and missing the edge pitches.
• Becoming so defensive that the batter swings at everything, including rise balls above the shoulders.
• Guessing pitch type at 0-2 and getting frozen by the other one.
• Taking a borderline pitch on the outer edge that an umpire will call a strike.