Baseball batting range retrieval system

Claim 1

In a baseball batting range including a plurality of batting stations and a plurality of pitching machines located forward of and in spaced relation to corresponding batting stations for pitching balls theretoward, a ball retrieval system comprising: a sump located forwardly of said batting stations, the floor of said baseball batting range being sloped toward said sump so that batted balls roll toward and are collected in said sump, a ball distribution hopper supported at a location elevated with respect to said sump, a conveyor extending between said sump and said ball distribution hopper for receiving balls from said sump and delivering the same to said distribution hopper, said sump being provided with first agitation means for bringing about substantially cntinuous movement of said balls in said sump and delivery of the same to said conveyor, a separate gravity feed means associated with each of said pitching machines and adapted to receive a plurality of baseballs for delivery to the corresponding pitching machine whereby a pitching machine will successively pitch the balls received from a gravity feed means, each of said separate gravity feed means being connected to said ball distribution hopper to receive balls therefrom, and second agitation means in said ball distribution hopper for providing substantialy continuous movement of the balls in said distribution hopper for substantially continuous delivery thereof to the said separate gravity feed means associated with said pitching machines.