The transition from aluminum to wooden bats is an important challenge college baseball players must adjust to.
Collegiate Summer Baseball Leagues are becoming increasingly important for scouts to watch the development of the players. Adjusting to wooden bats will be vital for a player's future beyond college.
Southern Ohio players have seen their statistics jump both positively and negatively because of the switch in bats this summer.
From September through May, while the players are at school, they practice with aluminum and wooden bats, but all collegiate games are played with aluminum bats, making the shift in the summer difficult.Longtime Ohio baseball coach Joe Carbone said strength, agility, quickness, patience and recognizing pitches are major elements players must have to succeed with the adjustments
In order to get the barrel on the ball with a wooden bat you need to stay short with the bat
with aluminum bats players can have negative reinforcement with their long swings and still get away with it Carbone said.
Copperheads' coach Ted Tom, who also coaches Shawnee State University, knows firsthand the challenges and adjustments the players face.
The biggest challenge is with an aluminum bat you can have less than efficient swing and still be effective but with wooden bats you must be efficient hitting the ball on the sweet spot of the barrel
Tom said. They have to shorten their swing because the sweet spot is much smaller leaving little room for error.
Southern Ohio first baseman Jake Goebbert has seen his power numbers dwindle this summer.
Goebbert, a junior at Northwestern University and second team All-Big Ten last season, hit 22 doubles, totaled 10 home run and collected 115 total bases with a slugging percentage of .665 in 173 at-bats.
With the Copperheads Goebbert has recorded six doubles, zero home runs, 36 total bases and a slugging percentage of .429 over 84 at-bats.
Goebbert realizes his decline in power, but knows the importance of staying true to his natural swing.
It's important to become a pure hitter with aluminum bats
because there is more room for error and bad habits can form from that
Goebbert said. With aluminum bats I can pull outside pitches for doubles and home runs
but with wooden bats you need to be smart about each pitch and realize what you're capable of doing on that pitch.
Not all players are continuing to hit for a good average like Goebbert. Ohio sophomore Zach Keen has struggled with this transition and after hitting .299 this past season with the Bobcats, the infielder has seen his average plummet this summer to .132.
The weight is spread differently between the bats and with the wooden bats my swing needs more upper-cut in order to get that power you get with the aluminum bats
Keen said. It's important to not make radical changes to your natural swing or bad habits will begin to form.
Not all players are struggling with the transition though.
Copperhead Mike Vaughn, a junior at North Carolina-Asheville, struggled in his collegiate season from the plate, batting .180, recording zero home runs and slugging just .220 in 50 at-bats.
But this summer, while using the wooden bats for Southern Ohio, Vaughn's numbers have skyrocketed, batting .298, with three home runs and slugging .429 in 84 at-bats.
Vaughn is one of the few players bettering his power numbers and he attributed his improvement to improved mechanics.
If you're hitting the ball square with either bat
they will go just as far. But the wood bat makes you hit it purer with minimal room for error
Vaughn said. I'm just going out there trying to hit every ball on the sweet spot and put myself on base.
