The Reflector

Issue date: 3/30/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Bud Sorey Slap-hitting in softball was first introduced in the 1980s.

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 cliché 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.

Continued...

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