When it’s cold and wet outside and you can’t practice on the baseball and softball fields, you’ll be happy to know there is now a place in the area where people can go to hone their pitching and batting skills.
     Pitch and Hit an indoor pitching, hitting and fielding facility in Ledger opened on December 5th, providing area athletes a place to get out of the cold to improve their skills.“We want all kids to have a chance to play baseball and softball all year long,” said Larry Suiter, Mitchell High School JV baseball coach and part owner of the new 4000 foot training facility. “The whole idea is to raise the level of baseball and softball and make them relevant sports in this area,” Suiter said.
The facility, located across from the old Boyd’s Seafood building on South Hwy. 226, has two hitting and pitching cages and a portable regulation pitching mound for athletes to use year round.
     There are three pitching machines that can launch baseballs or softballs. The machines can be set up to pitch to a certain location and can fire pitches at up to 80 mph. One throws a mean curve ball, and one can pitch a changeup while another delivers a fastball.
     The Pitch and Hit offers instruction in hitting, pitching and, fielding training as well. “We’re a training center,” Suiter said. “We want people to come in and work on batting and pitching fundamentals.”
    Coach Suiter said the endeavor has been a dream of theirs for quite some time.
Suiter, and partners Trent Keller and Bo Thomas are all three Mitchell county residents, as well as coaches, and they run the operation.
     The training facility, which is open from 3 till 9p.m.weekdays and from 12 to 9 on Saturday, offers a place for team practice as well as birthday parties, and plans to offer speed and agility training in the future.
     Memberships start at $35 per month. To find out more, call 688-1661.


Mitchell High baseball player gets ready for the upcoming season with some batting practice at the New Pitch and Hit training facility in Ledger.