ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 21 -- United States Patent no. 12,605,607, issued on April 21.
"Pitching practice machine and method" was invented by Lucas E. Gardner (Estherville, Iowa) and Charles R. Gardner (Estherville, Iowa).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A machine catches a pitched baseball or softball, and pneumatically returns the ball to the pitcher without damage to the ball. The pitcher throws the ball into a mat hung inside a housing, which absorbs the ball impact, such that the ball drops onto a sloped floor and roles into a ball return tube. A pressurized air tank delivers air on demand by the pitcher to the tube to project the ball back to the pitcher. The machine is self-contained on wh...