Izzy Dino Finishes Strong at Diamond 9
Izzy Dino Finishes Strong at Diamond 9
Izzy Dino, a 2018 pitcher from Vancouver, Canada, is in Orlando, Florida, this weekend to find out if playing college softball in the U.S. is a reality. She writes about her experience competing at the Diamond 9 Sun Classic Fall Showcase.
Izzy Dino, a 2018 pitcher from Vancouver, Canada, is in Orlando, Florida, this weekend to find out if playing college softball in the U.S. is a reality. She writes about her experience competing at the Diamond 9 Sun Classic Fall Showcase.
The 6-foot-2 junior plays locally in Canada for the Richmond Islanders and recently joined the Firecrackers-Barry 18U team in California.
Izzy throws a 64 mph fastball, an offspeed dropball, a dropball, a curve and change-up and is developing a riseball. With her size, levers and armspan, she is starting to getting noticed by colleges everywhere.
Here is her recap of Saturday's action where the talented hurler had another perfect day... especially in the circle!
***
Yesterday was a lighter day for our schedule as we only had two games. I had time to check out the Seminole sports complex and I realized how huge this tournament really is. The complex has 4 sections with 15 fields altogether and this is just one of 4 locations being used! D9 really is a big and amazing tournament. We had another early start this morning and started our pre game warmup just as the sun was coming up.
Our first game today was against the Colorado Warriors U18 and we won 4-2. I got the start. I pitched 3 innings, giving up no hits or runs, 1 walk, and had 4 strikeouts. It was a good game and our team had lots of hits. I played well.
All my pitches were on, especially my change up and curveball. I practice pitching with my Dad at home in our indoor facility (our basement!) and the first thing I always do to warm up is spin all my pitches for over 20 mins. Just spins. I have found that focusing on spinning all my pitches has helped me develop as a pitcher. When I practice, I make sure the spin of each pitch is correct. I focus on the rotation moving in the right direction.
Lots of spin work helped make my change up and curveball more effective. I've also learned to use my height as a tool to make my pitching strong. I'm 6-foot-2 and my legs are pretty long so I can drive out to the top of the pitching circle. That helps me a lot because when I'm pitching I can hit the top of the circle and reduce the distance by eight feet. That way the batter has less time to see the ball after I release it. It's an advantage to be so tall, and It has helped me become an effective pitcher.
I didn't pitch in the second game yesterday and unfortunately our team lost to the Mass Drifters Gold -1 Savino. Our team had a good team meeting afterwards with Coach Barry about getting prepared for tomorrow, and I know we'll be ready.
We had the afternoon off, so this was my day to visit Orlando and get caught up on my homework.
Yesterday was a lighter day for me. I leave Florida today and I feel great. I've pitched a total of 12 innings, and I still have not given up a single hit or run in 12 innings!
Izzy Dino
The 6-foot-2 junior plays locally in Canada for the Richmond Islanders and recently joined the Firecrackers-Barry 18U team in California.
Izzy throws a 64 mph fastball, an offspeed dropball, a dropball, a curve and change-up and is developing a riseball. With her size, levers and armspan, she is starting to getting noticed by colleges everywhere.
Here is her recap of Saturday's action where the talented hurler had another perfect day... especially in the circle!
***
Yesterday was a lighter day for our schedule as we only had two games. I had time to check out the Seminole sports complex and I realized how huge this tournament really is. The complex has 4 sections with 15 fields altogether and this is just one of 4 locations being used! D9 really is a big and amazing tournament. We had another early start this morning and started our pre game warmup just as the sun was coming up.
Our first game today was against the Colorado Warriors U18 and we won 4-2. I got the start. I pitched 3 innings, giving up no hits or runs, 1 walk, and had 4 strikeouts. It was a good game and our team had lots of hits. I played well.
All my pitches were on, especially my change up and curveball. I practice pitching with my Dad at home in our indoor facility (our basement!) and the first thing I always do to warm up is spin all my pitches for over 20 mins. Just spins. I have found that focusing on spinning all my pitches has helped me develop as a pitcher. When I practice, I make sure the spin of each pitch is correct. I focus on the rotation moving in the right direction.
Lots of spin work helped make my change up and curveball more effective. I've also learned to use my height as a tool to make my pitching strong. I'm 6-foot-2 and my legs are pretty long so I can drive out to the top of the pitching circle. That helps me a lot because when I'm pitching I can hit the top of the circle and reduce the distance by eight feet. That way the batter has less time to see the ball after I release it. It's an advantage to be so tall, and It has helped me become an effective pitcher.
I didn't pitch in the second game yesterday and unfortunately our team lost to the Mass Drifters Gold -1 Savino. Our team had a good team meeting afterwards with Coach Barry about getting prepared for tomorrow, and I know we'll be ready.
We had the afternoon off, so this was my day to visit Orlando and get caught up on my homework.
Yesterday was a lighter day for me. I leave Florida today and I feel great. I've pitched a total of 12 innings, and I still have not given up a single hit or run in 12 innings!
Izzy Dino