Stress defense  

The art of  

slap hitting

Below, portions of a much larger article by Brian Kotloff for The Inquirer at Philly.com. Please CLICK HERE for the full story.

"The sight would appear foreign to many... a hitter running from the back of the batter's box to the front as the pitcher delivers the ball.

"But in softball, the technique, called slap-hitting or "slapping," has become common from the Little League to the NCAA Division I level.

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Natalie Lau of Sparrows Point High School (Class of 2014) slap hits at last Sunday's Harford Xtreme Showcase practice.

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“Slapping evolved beginning in the 1980s as a way for fast players to utilize their speed and take advantage of the short distance (60 feet) between bases by batting from the left side of the plate...

“'The idea is to get the ball down and beat the throw to first,' Downingtown West coach J.C. Carroll explained. '. . . They'll beat the ball into the ground and get a big hop, or they'll try to get the ball up the third-base line so it's a long throw.'

“At the college level, most teams have one or two slappers at the top of the lineup and one at the bottom...

“The natural lefthander slaps in about half of her at-bats and bunts or swings away in the other half...

“... a must for a good slapper: the courage to run toward a pitch that is traveling as fast as 65 m.p.h. Often, pitchers try to throw either high and inside or low and away where the ball is hardest to reach.

“The strategy is designed to 'stress the defense'...

“Typically, the first baseman remains at normal depth while the other three infielders play in. Outfielders also play shallow, sometimes as far in as the infield.”