The objectives in baseball and softball seem simple: Hit the ball, get on base, advance around the base path and score more runs than the opponent.However, it has long been a baseball and softball clich that the hardest thing to do is hit a round ball with a round bat, squarely.
A movement has taken place in the world of fastpitch softball that takes advantage of the combination of short basepaths and the speed of left-handed leadoff batters. The new technique is called “slap-hitting” and has created a whole new side of softball that further separates it from its baseball counterpart.
Slap-hitting is best described as a left-handed batter starting somewhere in the batter’s box between the middle and back, who, during the pitch, takes a few shuffle-steps toward the pitcher and makes contact with the ball on the run.
The idea of “slapping” is that the player will be able to aim the ball where she wants it to go and that her sprint to first base has already begun when the ball is hit.
Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller says that though the concept is relatively new (he says it was introduced in the mid-1980s), its aim is true to the pillars of age-old softball theory.
“The basic philosophy of slap-hitting is simple: get on base,” Miller said. “You utilize your speed to create a better chance of getting on first base and making things happen. We try to hit it where the defense is giving us the most opportunity to get on base. It might be down the third base line, the shortstop, second base, first base or up the middle. Wherever the defense is weakest, that’s where we want to attack.”
Slap-hitting has given what may have been mediocre yet speedy players a sudden and prominent advantage in the game and a step up on the competition.
MSU freshman Chelsea Bramlett said she knows she was recruited to MSU because of her speed.
“Slap-hitting is what I do,” Bramlett said. “It’s become my main job. Instead of hitting with power from the right side, all I do now is slap it and run it out.”
Bramlett is currently leading the Bulldogs offensively, batting .397 from the leadoff spot. She has also scored 34 runs on the season, which also leads the team. Her 29 stolen bases on 31 attempts further demostrate her blazing speed.
Two-spot hitter Nakita Boyce differs from Bramlett in that she had to learn the slap-hitting technique once she got to MSU. It was the first real slap-hitting training she had ever had.
“It was a long, hard and very frustrating process,” Boyce said. “Having to learn how to hold the bat in different hands, and how to move and to hit the ball was tough. I started learning a little bit in the summer before I got to MSU, but I wasn’t really taught the right way.”
Boyce currently sits second on the team offensively, batting .349 with 25 runs scored and 11 stolen bases.
Miller explained how he and his staff went about training Bramlett and Boyce to become solid slappers.
“We start with basic fundamentals, just like we train anything,” Miller said. “It’s just like throwing, hitting or fielding. We break things down to fundamentals and start drilling them. It’s the same thing with slappers. We break things down and introduce one thing at a time, and it grows from there.”
Boyce said that most teams she plays against have at least a couple of slap-hitters in their lineups.
“I think it’s great to have at least two slap-hitters,” Boyce said. “A lot of things can happen during slap-hitting. The defense is very boggled. When they’re up against slappers, they’re more on their toes, but they’re more likely to make mistakes, too.
“Tennessee is very good in slap-hitting. Their girls can put the ball in play pretty much anywhere they want to. That’s what good slap-hitters are supposed to be able to do.”
Tennessee’s leadoff slapper, India Chiles, is currently batting a remarkable .454. She has scored 32 of the team’s runs and has stolen 26 bases, getting caught only once.
Miller said it’s rare to see a team in the current era without slap-hitters.
“Most teams will have at least one or two in their lineup,” Miller said. “I think if you look at the top teams in the country, you’ll see at least a couple on most teams.