There are a lot of similarities between baseball and softball. Most noticeably is the shape of the fields and many of the rules are the same.

Then again, the games are vastly different.

When you watch a fastpitch softball game you will notice the biggest difference of all - softball pitchers throw underhand and from nly 40 feet away from the batter, baseball is overhand and 60 feet. from the plate. And it is this underhand motion, which is a natural motion to the body’s physical make up, that forces a lot of changes in game strategy and the differences in the game stand out.

How do coaches and players offset such a strategy?

At Sisters High School and at countless softball programs around the country, it is with the drag bunt. The drag bunt is where the batter begins moving to first base as the pitch is thrown, and gently touches the bat to the ball to lay down a soft, slow ground ball. The batter must make contact before leaving the batter’s box or she will be called out. The short “hit” forces the infielders to charge, field cleanly and make a quick and accurate throw to first base. If the drag bunt is executed to perfection, it’s a base hit the majority of time.

At SHS, there are four players who are excelling at the left-handed drag bunt. Varsity players Jenna Sneva and Jenny Kaiser and junior varsity players Jordan Richerson and Amy Yoder are helping their teams greatly by mastering the drag bunt.

Richerson says because of the drag bunt she now loves softball. “It's changed the way I feel about softball mostly because now I'm able to get on base and help my team. I use to hate having to get up to the plate and hit because I always knew I'd strike out and let my team down. Now I know my team ‘loves’ it when I get up because they depend on me to get on base and be aggressive once I get there.”

Sneva set school records as a sophomore for hits in a season and batting average. Of her 31 base hits, 27 were drag bunts. She hit .419. This season she is closer to .430 and is on track to challenge the school record for hits in a season.

Kaiser batted .over .300 last season and is hitting .420 this year, including a gaudy .400 in Sky-Em play. All but one of her hits in 2007 were drag bunts and all but five this season.

Richerson spent extra time in the gym with varsity softball coach Tom Mauldin and promptly rewarded the junior varsity by going six-for-seven in back-to-back games. For those keeping track, that is 12 (TWELVE) base hits.

“It’s a very big part of the game, much more so than in baseball,” said Mauldin, who believes bunting is one of game’s biggest weapons. “ With the bases only 60 feet apart, you force your opponent to make a perfect play. It’s bang-bang and if there is a mistake, our runner could end up on third.”
It is how teams adjust to the pitcher being only 40 feet away.

Mauldin noted that he had a parent tell him his bunters needed to be swinging away more and not drag bunting so often. His response: “As long as they are leading the team in hitting, why would I waste a nano second thinking about changing it? It’s a huge part of the game and I don’t care if the base hit is 200 feet or 20 feet. It helps the team. Period.”

Besides, he’s quick to say, left-handed batters (or bunters) are two steps closer to first base than a right-handed batter and three steps when they are drag bunting properly. Since focusing on bunting, Sneva and Kaiser have collected 77 drag bunt base hits over a 40-game stretch. As non-dragbunting freshmen, they combined for one base hit.

That again shows the difference between baseball and softball. A baseball game might feature 2-3 bunts whereas a softball game could have a dozen or more.

The coach notes that drag bunting changes defenses, as well as forces the opposing pitcher to alter where they might want to pitch the ball. And he says “any time the other team is forced to do something different, it has a great chance of benefiting our team.”

That said, he pointed out that Kaiser walks a lot and has the highest on base percentage on the team. Like Richerson, she enjoys the challenge of the bunt.

“Well for me, drag bunting was my window of opportunity,” said Kaiser. “Coming into softball, I couldn't hit to save my life, so drag bunting gave me an
opportunity to be successful on the offensive end of the game. It also
gives me a chance to effectively use my speed.”

Mauldin said last year that defenses “knew” Sneva was going to bunt and they still couldn’t get her out. Thus an appropriate first-team recognition on the all-Sky-Em League team. Kaiser was honorable mention all-Sky-Em.

“I love drag-bunting because nothing is better then outrunning the ball
and see the infield do a miniature panic attack,” said Sneva, who after 21 games this season is batting .426.

What does it take to be a good drag bunter?

“Good hand-eye coordination, good foot speed and a desire to want to be on base often,” said Mauldin. “It takes a lot of practice. And then a lot more practice.”

Kaiser said, “If you go from a moving stance to a stationary one, it's sometimes difficult to make contact. But when your eyes are in the same motion, you come out a lot more successful.”

What happens when the opponent is expecting the bunt and plays halfway between home plate and the base? And what happens when the bunt “specialist” gets two strikes? Like baseball, when a softball batter bunts a third strike foul, they are out.

Meet the slap hit, a half swing where the batter is trying to hit the ball sharply between fielders or simply punch it over a fielder’s head. The batter generally hits the ball while putting weight on their front foot - something they are told “never” to do, always being coached to keep their weight back and swing through. But with the slap, it is a quick swipe - or slap - with the bat at the ball. Key again is to surprise the fielder.

“We’re working on that (slapping) more and more each practice,” said Mauldin, in his second year heading up the Outlaw softball program. “Last year, we spent time working on drag bunting. Obviously, we want our players as prepared as possible for success and not just be limited to only being able to do one thing (drag). If they can slap, it cuts down on their strikeouts and any time you put the ball into play three things can happen and two of them are getting on base - via a base hit or an error.

With that said, the coach notes that the Outlaws spend a lot of time in practice working on defenses for drag bunters and slappers.

“The short game is an integral part of successful fastpitch softball teams, thus we need to be adept at bunting, slapping and defending against them,” said Mauldin. “It offers us more weapons, more opportunities for success.”

When asked which he would rather face - an excellent drag bunter or a power hitter. He said, “Neither. Both can beat you. The key for us is to develop both.”



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