Five Steps to Hitting a Fastpitch

Fast pitch softball is the most competitive form of softball predominately played by women. The pitched ball is thrown at speeds up to 85 miles per hour, which is nearly as fast as professional baseball, according to the Central California Amateur Softball Association. The distance from the pitcher to the hitter is 43 feet for women, rather than the 60 feet for baseball, giving softball players less time to react in order to hit the ball successfully. To improve your skills, use these five steps to hitting a fast pitch softball.

  1. Stance

    • Your stance in the hitter's box should look as if you landed from a jump. Your knees should be bent and your feet should stand slightly wider than your shoulders. Bend slightly forward from the waist. The key to the stance is that you need balance. If someone pushed you, you wouldn't topple over with your jump stance. You would be well-grounded and balanced.

    Knuckles

    • When holding the bat, all the knuckles on your hands should be aligned. It should look like you are about to knock on a door. This will allow you more freedom to swing and it will give you a quicker reaction time. If you are right-handed, your right hand should be on top of the left hand while holding the bat, and each hand facing the opposite direction with the knuckles aligned.

    Big Toe

    • As you swing the bat, swing the weight onto your left big toe, if you are right-handed. You should also be using the muscles in your hips and torso when you hit the ball, not just your arms. Your left big toe should look like you are squishing a bug in the way it slightly twists when you hit. This is part of the correct stance when hitting.

    Chop

    • The bat should be slightly raised and swung to the right as the ball comes to you. This is necessary for the bat to chop or snap at the ball to the left more efficiently. The chopping motion assures the bat hits the ball at the center of the bat.

    Sweet Spot

    • The ball should also be hit at the front of you while your arms are most extended. If the ball is hit at this point, it receives the maximum impact of the bat. Once the ball is hit at the sweet spot, the bat should continue to swing and follow through. After the batter follows through with the bat, she should go back to the balanced stance.