How to Make a Pitching Screen With PVC Pipe

Baseball pitchers stand on a mound in the middle of the field, 45 to 60 feet away from home plate. It is a dangerous place to be, whether you are playing Little League or you are a professional, due to the unpredictable nature of a batted ball. To eliminate some of that danger while practicing, set up a pitching screen in front of the mound. Typically an "L" shape to accommodate an overhand throw, pitching screens provide an extra layer of defense against line drives up the middle. If you do not have enough funds in the budget to buy a professionally made screen, you can build your own with PVC pipe.

Things You'll Need

  • 1 1/2 inch PVC pipe; 36 feet
  • 6 slip-by-slip-by-slip tees
  • 3 90-degree slip-by-slip elbows
  • Fishing net
  • Zip ties
  • PVC primer
  • PVC cement
  • Saw
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Instructions

  1. Homemade Pitching Screen

    • 1

      Cut the PVC pipe into seven 36-inch pieces, four 12-inch pieces, two 4-inch pieces and one 72-inch piece.

    • 2

      Connect the four 12-inch pieces and the two 4-inch pieces with a T. These will be the feet of the pitching screen. Set these aside.

    • 3

      Connect a 90-degree elbow to one end of the 72-inch long piece of PVC, and a T to the other. Attach a 36-inch piece to both the elbow and the T so you have three sides of a rectangle.

    • 4

      Attach three 36-inch pieces with a T connector. Connect this piece to the big rectangle.

    • 5

      Connect the two remaining 36-inch pieces with the elbow and the T and attach to the large rectangle.

    • 6

      Measure the rectangle and the square diagonally to check for square. If one measurement is larger than the other you may have to do some trimming.

    • 7

      Remove one piece of your pitching screen. It does not matter which, just keep the frame intact except for one piece.

    • 8

      Apply PVC primer inside the connector and around the outside of the pipe.

    • 9

      Apply PVC cement inside the connector and around the outside of the pipe.

    • 10

      Slide the pipe back inside the connector. Twist the pipe for a moment and then hold it in place until you can not pull it apart. Repeat steps 7through 10 until the entire frame is glued.

    • 11

      Lay your netting over the frame of your pitching screen. Cut to size and secure with zip ties.

    • 12

      Glue the feet of the pitching screen the same way you glued your screen.

    • 13

      Stand the pitch screen on its feet and start throwing batting practice.