Michelle Griffith’s love for softball inspired her to give back and help kids develop their skills with her business Strike Zone Batting Cages.
Strike Zone first opened two years ago near the Golden Corral in Vancouver, but a need for a larger space prompted her to move to Brush Prairie.
Strike Zone Batting Cages, located near Prairie High School, offers advanced technology to further develop athletes, can host full-team practices and offers gear and facility rental, Griffith said.
The facility features three batting cages and a pitching station with video screens that mimic a pitcher or a catcher.
Tera Dreier takes her daughter Kenzie Kuhnhausen, an eighth grader at Chief Umtuch Middle School, to Strike Zone Batting Cages often to hone in on her hitting and pitching skills. The machines throw the types of pitches to her daughter that Dreier said she can’t do at home.
“It’s really neat because it’ll throw a drop ball. It can do a rise ball, a curveball, so pitches that a normal parent just doesn’t have the ability to do,” Dreier said.
The softball and baseball pitching machines can also be customized based on players’ needs. They can throw random pitches at varying speeds or one pitch at a set speed and location in the strike zone. customize the experience. Adding to the batter’s experience, the pitching machine includes a video screen that shows a pitcher winding up the pitch to add a near-life experience to the training.
Griffith said the machines are far from the typical ones found in the area.
“I’ve had professional baseball players in here, and they’re just in awe because these machines are basically back East … So there’s no other facility that has these machines,” Griffith said.
Griffith explained the batting cages can even be transformed into a multi-functional facility. The nets for the batting cages can be raised to open the facility up to a turf floor for soccer and other activities. Baseball and softball tournament and Little League teams take advantage of the facility, Griffith added.
Another machine that Griffith offers at her facility is called the Fungoman. The machine can throw slowpitch softballs and used for indoor and outdoor fielding training with a wireless controller.
The batting cages can be rented by the half hour or hour, with other options available.
On Valentine’s Day, Griffith hosted a getaway for kids while their parents celebrated the holiday.
“Kids enjoyed a variety of activities besides baseball and softball,” Griffith said. “We had kick ball, basketball, a soccer lane, movie corner, board games, craft station, with the night ending in an epic dance party.”
Strike Zone Batting Cages is located at 11419 Northeast 126th St., Vancouver, and is open from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekends.
The space is available for birthday party rental, softball and baseball teams up to 14 players and more. To book the facility, or for more information, visit strikezonebattingcages.info, or call 866-800-2808.
