Softball Tips: Aleshia Ocasio on Throwing the Turnover Drop Pitch

Every athlete has certain skills they excel at. For professional and international softball player Aleshia Ocasio, one of those skills is the turnover drop pitch. The turnover drop is a great pitch to use when you’re in need of a ground ball out.

“The turnover drop is something I’m known for and I get asked about it all the time,” Ocasio says.

To perform the pitch, there are four key points that she focuses on: grip, body position, hand position and finish. Ocasio breaks down her method for throwing a turnover drop that keeps batters from reaching base.

TURNOVER DROP GRIP

Ocasio says that everyone has their own preference when it comes to how they grip the ball for a drop. However, her favorite grip involves finding the top of the horseshoe and splitting it with her index and middle fingers.

You can read up on other methods for how to grip and snap a drop ball with this Pro Tips guide.

TURNOVER DROP BODY POSITION

The next step in throwing a turnover drop is body position. Begin by lining up sideways to the plate with your feet slightly more than shoulder-width apart. From here you’ll come around through your windmill and into a “K” stance.

“I like to make sure that my lead foot is in the ground, and I’m resisting against it so that when my back leg comes through, I’m using a lot of power from my legs,” Ocasio says.

TURNOVER DROP HAND POSITION

Once you have mastered your body position, you will focus on your hand position. Ocasio says that when you come down with your hand, you want to “cheat” a little bit.

“What this means is that my hand is coming on top of the ball,” she explains.

When your hand is on top of the ball, your fingers should be parallel to the ground.

TURNOVER DROP FINISH

Finally, you’ll finish your pitch and throw the ball to the plate. Both your body and hand position will come into play. At this point you should still be resisting against your front leg. Meanwhile, you should let your back leg come through with as much power as possible.

Your fingers should remain parallel to the ground and finish outside of your body. The perfect turnover drop will fall mid-air and land around shin-level of the hitter.

Your job as a pitcher isn’t done once the pitch crosses to the plate. Learn how Ocasio keeps herself prepared to field a bunt from the mound with these tips.