This paper studies the modeling and control of a spherical inverted pendulum (SIP). The SIP is deemed to be a reasonable model for rocket-propelled body and is often used to test advanced control strategies. The mathematic model is derived based on a Quanser two degrees-of-freedom inverted pendulum commercial product. The pendulum is mounted on a five-bar mechanism that is actuated by two rotary servo base units. Unlike conventional assumption that the two motors are allowed to rotate simultaneously, we assume a more challenging scenario that at one time only one motor is working. The system is hence modeled as a switched system as two motors have to be switched in order to balance the pendulum at its unstable equilibrium. Switched controllers, together with a switching strategy are developed to ensure the stability of the system and satisfy a disturbance attenuation performance index. Simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.