Discount Heater Real 12 Inch Softball Pitching Machine

Shipping is free to the contiguous 48 United States for orders over $100. Alaska & Hawaii please call for a shipping quote.
We DO NOT ship to Canada!

Home > Pitching Machines Heater Real 12 Inch Softball Pitching Machine

Not sure what the best pitching machine to buy is? Check out our Pitching Machine Buyer's Guide. It covers many factors that people forget to consider.

Heater Real 12 Inch Softball Pitching Machine

| Questions about this item? Ask here.

(See 14 Questions)

Your Price: $399.99

Retail Price:$519.99

You Save:$120.00(23%)

Out of Stock!

Part Number:HTR6000SBNBF

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS

•Pitches real softballs, dimple balls or lite balls
•Pitches 12” softballs only - slow or fast pitch
•Throws real balls 15-50 MPH; lite balls 60 MPH
•Add an Auto-ball feeder for only $50 more
•FREE SHIPPING
SAVE MORE: Use Coupon Code: coupon525 during checkout

See Full Product Details (below)

Description
Reviews
Q&A

Approved Balls

Warranty/Returns

Shipping

Owner's Manual

Discount Heater Real 12 Inch Softball Pitching Machine

Practice hitting and catching fastballs, pop-ups and grounders with the Heater Softball Pitching Machine. It can be tilt adjusted to throw a variety of pitches, its impressive 1/4 horsepower motor pitches at up to 50 miles per hour and can be used for slow pitch or fast pitch.

The Heater Softball Pitching Machine is durable, with legs made of tubular steel and a fully enclosed wheel which protects both the batter and the machine. It can plug into any standard electrical outlet using the included A/C adapter and can be mounted with the included harness on any of the Heater backyard batting cages offered on this website. Like all Heater products, the Heater Softball Pitching Machine includes a 30-day money-back guarantee and a 1 year manufacturer's warranty, as well.

IMPORTANT! If you'd like to practice solo, don't forget to add an auto ball feeder to your order by checking the box above the Add to Cart button. The ball feeder is only an extra $50 when you check that box and buy it along with your pitching machine (it costs $30 more when you purchase it separately).

PLEASE NOTE: Although this machine can technically throw real softballs, the seams on real balls cause inaccurate pitches and the covers on most softballs are so thin, they tear off easily. Therefore, it is recommended that you only use official Heater Pitching Machine Softballs with this machine.

Heater Real Softball Pitching Machine Features:

Pitches 12 softballs - slow pitch or fast pitch up to 50 MPH
Also throws pop-ups, line drives, and grounders
Completely encased wheel & durable tubular steel legs with rubber tips
Adjustable pitch height
Operates with standard 110V AC power
Recommended for ages 8 years to adult
30-Day Money Back Guarantee - 1 Year Warranty

owner

my batting cage is still under construction but in preliminary tests the machine appears to perform as described. i am a senior softball player requiring a 6' to 12' pitch. i have been able to throw the ball at least 11' with a distance of 42'. you can't ask for anything more. sometimes accuracy varies but all in all i am quite pleased.

Did you find this helpful? 4 of 5 Found Helpful

Reviewed by: gopher gold from CA. on 3/8/2017

Dad

Great machine!! With the lock down from this covid 19 and the loss of the high school softball season this has been a great asset in staying in tune. My daughter loves it. I'm sure the team will be over soon.

Did you find this helpful? 1 of 1 Found Helpful

Reviewed by: Steve from Apple Valley. California. on 5/20/2020

coach

This is a great machine for the price, I would recommend to anyone. It also works good to practice pop fly balls

Did you find this helpful? 1 of 2 Found Helpful

Reviewed by: Brian Taylor from Prospect PA. on 7/10/2018

Grandfather

I presented the pitching machine to my 16 yr old granddaughter who has been playing softball form early childhood. She is now playing high school varsity softball and also travel softball. She was so excited when she saw the machine. Great machine .

Did you find this helpful?

Reviewed by: Terry Doyle from Bay City, MI. on 5/21/2020

Q: How much does the machine weigh?

Asked by: Susan - 5/12/2022

A: The machine weighs approximately 45 pounds - add another 4 pounds if it has a ball feeder.

Was this answer helpful? 0 of 0 Customer(s) found this Answer helpful.

Answer provided by: Administrator (5/13/2022)

Q: Can you control the speed?

Asked by: Theresa jaeger - 2/21/2022

A: Yes, there is a knob that you turn to control the speed of the pitch. It allows you to throw balls anywhere from 15 MPH to 50 MPH.

Was this answer helpful? 3 of 3 Customer(s) found this Answer helpful.

Answer provided by: Administrator (2/22/2022)

Q: Can an 11 inch ball be used with this machine? ie. Girls youth fast pitch 8U

Asked by: gordy - 2/9/2021

A: This machine only throws 12 inch softballs.

If you need an 11 inch softball pitching machine, the Heater PowerAlley 11-inch Softball Pitching Machine is what you want. It ONLY throws 11-inch softballs, however.

The only other Heater Sports pitching machine that will throw 11 inch softballs is their Combo Pitching Machine, which will throw both 11 inch and 12 inch softballs as well as baseballs.

Was this answer helpful? 1 of 1 Customer(s) found this Answer helpful.

Answer provided by: Administrator (2/9/2021)

Q: If plugging this in to an extension cord. What gauge should the wire be? 12? 14?

Asked by: Todd - 4/15/2020

A: The wire gauge will depend on how long of a run there is between the outlet and the machine. You can get away with as little as a 16 gauge cord on a 25 ft. run. You would want 14 gauge for 50 ft. and 12 gauge for 100 ft.

Was this answer helpful? 2 of 2 Customer(s) found this Answer helpful.

Answer provided by: Administrator (4/15/2020)

Q: Can you use regular softballs in this machine?

Asked by: Jul - 3/8/2019

A: You can definitely use real softballs in the Heater Real Softball pitching machine.

That said, Heater Sports, just like all manufacturers, do not recommend it. The leather covers on softballs are extremely thin. When a ball gets repeatedly squeezed by the wheel of a pitching machine, the glue breaks, the cover gets mushy and then gets ripped off of the ball.

This is why all manufacturers recommend dimple balls, regardless of whether it is a baseball or softball pitching machine.

Was this answer helpful? 5 of 6 Customer(s) found this Answer helpful.

Answer provided by: Administrator (3/8/2019)

Q: How many watts are required? I am looking at using a deep cycle 12V battery w/ inverter to power this. Thanks.

Asked by: Adrian - 1/17/2019

A: When using a battery with an inverter, a bare minimum of 600 watts is required but 800 watts is recommended.

Was this answer helpful? 5 of 5 Customer(s) found this Answer helpful.

Answer provided by: Administrator (1/17/2019)

Q: can the speed the balls feed in from the automatic feeder be adjusted, to give more time between pitches?

Asked by: Robert Dennis - 1/4/2019

A: Like most automatic ball feeders, the Heater Sports auto-ball feeder has a fixed time between pitches that cannot be adjusted. It delivers a ball approximately every nine seconds.

Was this answer helpful? 4 of 5 Customer(s) found this Answer helpful.

Answer provided by: Administrator (1/5/2019)

Q: When using the Heater Real 12 inch Softball Pitching Machine with auto feeder for slow pitch softball how much time is there between pitches?

Asked by: John - 7/9/2018

A: Hi John,

The Heater Automatic ball feeder releases a pitch approximately every 9 seconds.

Was this answer helpful? 3 of 4 Customer(s) found this Answer helpful.

Answer provided by: Administrator (7/9/2018)

Q: Can this machine pitch a softball from 50 feet away with an arc that has a max-height of 10-12 feet? I'm trying to get a feel for how well the machine compares with an actual (slow-pitch) pitcher. Thanks.

Asked by: Pete - 5/26/2018

A: All pitching machines can be configured to throw slow pitch arcs. It comes down to fiddling with the speed and height angle until you find the combination that crosses the plate with the desired arc.

Since it can be used for throwing pop-ups and fly balls, just think of the machine doing that on a smaller scale - a pop-up or a fly ball thrown at a slower speed that limits the height and distance.

Was this answer helpful? 3 of 3 Customer(s) found this Answer helpful.

Answer provided by: Administrator (5/26/2018)

Q: Do it pitch by itself.....?

Asked by: Dwight - 5/12/2018

A: If you decide to add the optional Heater Sports Automatic Ball Feeder, which holds 9 softballs, it will pitch automatically until it runs out of balls.

Was this answer helpful? 3 of 3 Customer(s) found this Answer helpful.

Answer provided by: Administrator (5/12/2018)

Q: How does it run it dont need a plug do it?

Asked by: Dwight - 5/12/2018

A: Almost all pitching machines need to be plugged into a 120 volt power source and this one is no exception. That can be a standard wall outlet, a gas generator or a battery inverter with a generator.

The only pitching machines listed on this website that do not need to be plugged in are the Zooka ZS720 and the Zooka ZS740, which operate off of an internal battery. They do not throw softballs; however, I am not aware of any softball pitching machine that works off of an internal battery.

Was this answer helpful? 2 of 2 Customer(s) found this Answer helpful.

Answer provided by: Administrator (5/12/2018)

Q: My question is: if i purchase the softball pitching machine with auto feeder. I will be using it for slow pitch, How long does my batting cage need to be?

Asked by: Denny - 4/25/2018

A: This is a complicated answer, but I think it will suffice.

In order to throw a 6-12 ft arc for slow pitch, the speed of a pitching machine needs to be adjusted down to the slower side of things and the angle of the pitching machine head needs to be tilted upward, creating a looping arc of a pitch. A lot of trial and error needs to be done until you find that perfect speed/angle combination that causes a ball to arc a bit before crossing the plate.

Heater Sports says that this can be accomplished with a cage as short as 24 feet, however, they recommend removing the lower section from the tripod legs so that the pitching machine sits lower, allowing it to throw more of an arced pitch from that position.

Heater Sports says that you may also wish to purchase extra Middle Pole Assembly pieces (part #B-2) with their batting cage in order to raise the middle portion of the net higher than normal. This would allow you to achieve an actual 12 foot arc without hitting the top of the net. You can only order those extra middle section poles directly from Heater Sports and they cost $5-6 each. You can see what they mean if you look at the Xtender Cage assembly instructions.

I hope this helps!

Was this answer helpful? 4 of 4 Customer(s) found this Answer helpful.

Answer provided by: Administrator (4/29/2018)

Q: At 50 mph and elevated at max how far will it throw a 12" softball?

Asked by: John Heaton - 10/26/2017

A: A Heater Real Softball Pitching machine can shoot popups up to 60 feet high and fly balls as far as 120 feet.

If that is not far enough, many people simply move the pitching machine to the mound in order to launch balls a little deeper into the outfield.

In order to obtain a higher popup or a longer fly ball, you would need a pitching machine that can throw at a much higher speed.

Was this answer helpful? 2 of 2 Customer(s) found this Answer helpful.

Answer provided by: Administrator (10/27/2017)

Q: Does this throw change ups, curve balls and do grounders?

Asked by: jennifer - 3/22/2017

A: The Heater 12 Inch softball pitching machine can throw grounders, pop-ups and fly balls in addition to pitching fastballs and changeups to batters. Heater Sports DOES NOT make a softball pitching machine that can throw curves.

Was this answer helpful? 2 of 2 Customer(s) found this Answer helpful.

Answer provided by: Administrator (3/22/2017)