help me choose my next weapon of destruction?

[softballninja]

a.k.a my softball bat

Right now I have a 32/22 DeMarini Phenix. I've had it for two years now and it is SO broken in!!! I hit a double, 2 singles, and a homer (inside the park :/) today with it! However, I know it'll probably not last too much longer, like probably not much into the spring. I'm 5'7" and about 145 lbs. I wonder if when I need a new bat, should I move up in sizes?
Which is better, a 32/23 or a 33/23?
Also, after you tell me the size, what bat should I get? I love DeMarinis, and I really wish that they made Phenixs in -9!! I tried a 33/23 in a couple games, and it felt too long and I couldn't control it.

I was looking at the new DeMarini CF4 ST (basically because I love DeMarini)

Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated!

 

[mudbug]

The right bat for you is the one you hit the best with. (Duh!)

You are clearly big enough to swing a 33/23 and that is what Id recommend moving up to next. That is the next length up. It is different and you will have to get used to it if you are used to the lighter 32/22. Practice a lot off a tee with it to get used to it.

The heavier -9 and -8 bats are really for very strong girls. The first thing colleges do to recruits is get them on weights and get them up to swinging a -8.

Beware, bat weights are nominal somehow. It may truly be more than 1oz difference. Could be a couple of oz.

My DD went from 32/22 which she hit many HRs with, to 33/23 when it was time. It was easy to tell when she needed too, the 32 bat looked small compared to her height at 5-6, and limited her reach.

She struggled with the new one first, and kept going back to the "little" bat, said she couldnt hit with the new one, she couldnt control it, the bat didnt hit good like her old one, etc. Of course it wasnt broke in either.

Finally she stuck with it because I took the little bat away, it wasnt in her batbag anymore. When she went to hitting instruction or practice she only had the 33. I didnt pay $400 for a bat she wasnt going to use! (it was a hot 2008 model)

All of a sudden she learned how to swing it, the new bat broke in, and she began hitting HRs effortlessly at practice off of softoss, even with dimpled pitching machine balls (that dont fly as far as real balls). She hit a bomb one day that went about 250. She never asked for the little bat again, but I put it back in her batbag anyway to keep its big sibling company.

 

[softballninja]

i do weight training normally 3-4 times a week, however I'm still working on the upper body and rotational and hitting strength and all that

well, I did find in one store a 33/23 Phenix and I was just shocked because It's IMPOSSIBLE to find them. It was normal retail price too! (279.99!!!)
I also remember picking up the DeMarini 2010 CF4 (the blue one) in a 33/23 and thinking, Is this really a 33/23? It doesn't feel that heavy!

So I guess different bats can feel heavier or lighter, even though they are "technically" both 23 oz.

And if your daughter's 32 looked small when she was 5'6", mine probably looks really small, because I'm like 5' 6.5" pushing 5-7.

 

[Softball_2]

Get a 33" bat, for sure. And if you can handle a 34", take a look at those, too. The Demarini CF4 is a better bat than your Phenix. As I posted in another thread, though, I think the best bat on the market right now is the TPS Xeno. Haven't loved TPS for the past few years, but really impressed with this one.

 

[Coach JV]

my dd started using a 2011 CF4 this fall and is killing the ball with it.
Her last bat was an Easton Clarity

 

[lkgrge17]

My oldest DD is also exactly 5'7" and 143 lbs. She is using the Demarini CF4 32/22. She kills the ball and loves the bat. She is in 8th grade. I sized the bat from the ground to her wrist, and this bat fits her perfect. Her wingspan is longer than her height. {a trait she gets from me..long arms}. The method I use for my dd's bats size is from ground to wrist. When they were young and first starting I would get them light bats -12. Now they get balanced bats. I guess they will use balanced bats until they start some sort of weight training, then we can consider end loaded bats.

 

[obbay]

My DD is 5'-0" and swings a 32/24, I think at 5'-7" you better move to the 33. She uses a DiMarini 357 (doublewall aluminum) she has a 32/22 CF3 and has tried a 32/22 or 23 CF4, but she hits noticeably better/farther with the Aluminum bat.

See if there are any indoor facilities with pro shops where you can try out bats. DiMarini usually has dealers around that have facilities to try out their bats.
The feel of the bat is very important and varies with the individual.

Di Marini has two CF4s out now, one is end-loaded. have you considered that one? try 'em out then decide.