Indoor Athletic Facility - Batting Tunnels

At Practice Sports, we specialize in helping you craft your optimal indoor athletic facility with top-of-the-line equipment and expert guidance. From premium nets and barriers to precisely sized cable clamps and turnbuckles, we ensure every detail meets your needs. When Jerrod Vaughn with Fielder's Choice in Anchorage, Alaska needed to equip their indoor base / softball athletic facility with heavy-duty batting tunnels, he turned to Practice Sports. Vaughn connected with Jake, one of our experts, to ensure his facility received the best equipment tailored to its needs. Read on to see the specific supplies that Jake and Vaughn chose for Fielder's Choice and be sure to take a look at the finished product here.

Premiere Indoor Athletic Facility

In Alaska, the unpredictable weather makes it imperative to have a stable indoor environment for year-round training. Practice Sports provided essential components tailored to meet the facility’s specific needs. First and foremost, an indoor athletic facility needs netting.

Shell Tunnel and Barrier Netting

Choosing the right netting is key to ensuring the space, players, and bystanders are safe. Not only does netting protect walls, windows, and lights from stray balls and flying bats, but, more importantly, it also shelters your athletes and spectators. Fielder's Choice picked out netting to create tunnels so that multiple players / teams can practice at the same time. One tunnel may have a pitcher and a hitter while an open area next door can host a group of athletes stretching. Or you might have a baseball pitcher and hitter in a tunnel next to a softball pitcher and hitter. There are numerous possibilities when it comes to batting cage tunnels. For this project, Vaughn and Fielder's Choice purchased:

Sided Shell Tunnel: #42 Nylon Baseball Hitting Cage 68'W x 15'6"H x 28'D with Open 15'6"H x 68'W Sides (To Create Slideable Side Panels) with 7 total riblines
Panels + Divider Curtain: #42 Nylon Baseball Barrier 70'L x 15'6"H
NetShield (4) 1ft6in H x 68ft L Panels

NetShield

NetShield is used in high-risk or weak areas to ensure balls, flying bats, and everything else stays in their own enclosure. This strong netting also extends the lifespan of batting cage netting by 10+ years. Instead of replacing worn netting, simply zip-tie panels of NetShield on the inside or outside of your netting. The following list are areas that will hold up longer with the addition of NetShield:

Best Uses

Along walls to prevent damage
Behind batter for “impact zones”
Behind pitcher for “batter’s eye”
Isolated ceiling areas to protect HVAC
Hanging from ceiling to contain balls inside ShellCage lanes
Attached to outdoor fences

NetShield instantly transforms facilities by concealing unsightly walls or damaged netting, simultaneously enhancing safety and expanding usable space. Plus, it looks good. NetShield includes UV Inhibitors, so it can be used indoors or outdoors.

Hardware

Another important component to your batting cage is the hardware. Our experts are very familiar with what hardware is needed to build a safe, effective batting cage or other indoor athletic facility spaces. We are always happy to walk you through the process step-by-step. It takes a variety of hardware to build a successful batting cage / tunnel and that hardware might not be the same from one cage to the next. So, we'll take a look at some of the items that are standard to most cages (though they may range in size and quantities):

The items above are only some of the hardware items that Fielder's Choice purchased for their cages. Every tunnel is unique. As mentioned above, our experts are happy to help you choose the right hardware for your project. Contact us now via our contact form or call 1-800-877-6787 and speak to one of our experts Monday through Friday between 8:00 am and 5:30 pm CST. We also offer installation and design consultations if you'd rather sit back and watch someone else do the work!

Pitching Machine, L-Screen, and Balls

In addition to everything needed to build their batting cage tunnels, Vaughn also purchased supplies for use in the cages. While we carry many options when it comes to the products below, these are the items that worked for Fielder's Choice.

Pitching Machine

The Lite-Flite Pitching Machine is a durable machine that lasts. It's convenient quick-change design allows you to easily switch the pitching style from baseball to softball. Beyond that, the machine also throws several types of pitches, such as fastballs, curveballs, and sliders from left- and right- handed pitchers.

L-Screen

The Pro L-Screen 5' x 7' protects pitchers and athletes feeding the pitching machine. This specific L-Screen is incredibly strong with a lower than average cutout for pitchers, thus maximizing the space the pitcher can use.

Technical Specifications:

Dimensions: 7′ Height x 5′ Width, ensuring ample coverage.
Frame: 2″ powder-coated steel, for lasting resilience against weather and wear.
Padding: 1.5″ thick, covered in vinyl for maximum protection.
Net: Heavy-duty #60 knotted, offering dual-layer security.
Additional Features: 2 welded gussets for enhanced frame stability.

Base / Softballs

Last but not least, every batting facility needs balls! Fielder's Choice stocked up by purchasing buckets of Lite Flite Baseballs and Softballs that work with the Lite Flite pitching machine. Overall, we had a lot of fun working with Vaughn at Fielder's Choice to help them create the facility they envisioned. Our expert knowledge in building batting cages and tunnels allowed us to help Vaughn choose optimal indoor equipment that's built to last. From premium nets and barriers to precisely sized cable clamps and turnbuckles, we ensure every detail meets your needs. We'd love to help you with your project as well!

Contact Us

Whether you're upgrading an existing space or starting from scratch, Practice Sports stands ready to equip your indoor athletic facility with the best-in-class solutions. Contact us today via our contact form or call 1-800-877-6787 and speak to one of our experts Monday through Friday between 8:00 am and 5:30 pm CST.

Indoor Athletic Facility - Batting Tunnels | Customer Spotlight