Bat issue
 

HS Varsity game, I am PU

Player at bat, hits the ball and the end cap of her bat pops off.

I wait for the play to complete, retrieve the end cap and bat to inspect them both. Part of the end cap was still glued to the inside of the barrel. It looked to me like the end cap simply broke and popped off. I returned the bat to the coach and told him it could no longer be used.

I have never has something like this happen before...what should I be looking for to see if the bat had been altered?

I think Mike stamps all altered bats with a big A

Seriously, if the end cap had been cut or looked like the glue had been melted/scraped or anything deliberate, altered a possibility. Or anything else like treatingth ebarrel in a manner that caused the end cap to break. Or, recognizing that I know very little about altering bats.

A lot of composite bats look more like "textured snakeskin" on the inside due to how the composite fibers are woven together. Check out this video to get a good idea as to how composite softball bats are made.

Look for a few things: does it look like someone went at it with a wire brush on a power drill? Are the inner walls of the bat REALLY smooth?
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1396/...72c9bf39_b.jpg

How about the end cap? Does it look like a crappy epoxy job like this?
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5144/...0ba8283b_b.jpg

Look at the following picture. You can see how the bat was shaved only so far, and how you can see the "snakeskin" I'd mentioned earlier down towards the taper.
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5065/...b716f4cf_b.jpg

Also, look at the end cap to see if anything "unnatural" has been added to it: BBs, weights, etc.

But be careful. Manufacturers, naturally, will vary their techniques in weaving the fibers, and just because a bat is smooth on the inside does not mean it's shaved.

In ASA, it's standard procedure for the umpire to collect all pieces of the broken bat and confiscate them for a more official evaluation. Not sure how NFHS handles it.

Because manufacturers vary their production techniques so much, it really takes an expert eye to know what's right and what's wrong about a bat. A lot of bat doctors are picassos when it comes to the exterior, but aren't nearly as cautious about the insides of a bat. The pictures I posted a little bit ago are examples of that.

An accusation of using an altered bat is EXTREMELY serious. If it's quite obvious to me that work has been done on a bat, then I'm less hesitant to toss someone over it. If I'm not 110% certain of it, I just collect the pieces and let better-trained individuals handle the situation.

Tread lightly, my friend. Erroneously pointing the finger at someone and saying "you cheat" can come back to bite ya.