If you are a slap hitter, a MUST READ is the excellent article by Andrea Hawkins online at ESPNHS Softball.

► Please CLICK HERE to read the entire ESPNHS article titled “Secrets of a Slap hitter”.

Secrets...

 HERE ARE ONLY A FEW QUOTES from Andrea's article, but, again, please read the full story for all of her secrets!

► “I am a slapper... My goal is to hit the ball to the left side of the infield, utilize my speed to get on base and to put pressure on the defense. 

Andrea Hawkin

► “Being able to read the defense allows me to determine if I am going to slap, bunt or swing away, and that keeps the defense guessing.

► “When I come up to bat, I usually show bunt the first pitch to see how the second baseman moves... The shortstop might even break to second base. If I see this, I know I can fake bunt, slap and get on first safely...

► “If the field is hard, I slap the ball into the ground to get a high bounce.

► “If the defense is playing in, I can pop it over the infielders' heads as a blooper shot.

► “A slapper's goal is to put the ball in play, get on base, then steal a base to get into scoring position and score on the next base hit.”

Andrea Hawkins is a senior center fielder for Bay City (Texas) and Texas Impact Gold. She has signed to play at Alabama.