5 Man Defense in Softball a how to guide

Looks complicated, good god its just softball right?

In the crazy game of slowpitch softball we have 10 players on defense with normally 4 outfielders wich can leave the holes in the infield easy spots to poke a ball in the hole and get a hit. You add the hot composite bats and high tech balls and the balls jump threw the holes and most of all the middle were the pitcher stands 50-55 feet away with nothing behind him so it is very easy to slap a ball to the right or left or straight up the middle for a easy hit. so what is the solution to getting a batter to make a out or save your pitcher from getting drilled in the shine or chest with a ball.

5 man shift, were you bring a outfielder into the infield to play the middle(the space around second base and will cover the second base on all force plays and double plays,this allows 3rd baseman to get deeper and short stop to move towards 3rd and play in the hole and get deeper, 2nd baseman can move more towards 1st base and get deeper and 1st baseman can get deeper this closes the holes and makes it very hard to get a ball threw the infield and a instant out if you try to hit middle.

The outfielders goals now are to cut off the gaps keep runners on 1st not giving the extra base because your trying to always set up the double play or the force as your strength is in the infield. So the outfielders will move 10 feet back and 10 feet towards the gaps so down the lines are the soft spot in the outfield,Why is because of the foul rule in softball(with 2 strikes you hit a ball foul your out and its a dead ball,nobody can advance) most times you start with a 1-1 count so you got 1 shot at a ball down the lines miss and the batter is forced to stay in play.

So with all this what is the most important player and key to making this work...the pitcher?? its slowpitch the ball is traveling 25 mph on a arch? but the answer is yes. the pitcher needs to know the situation and play to the strength of his defense , keep a ball low for more ground balls place a ball on the inside half of plate so batter pulls ball into 3 infielders and 2 outfielders vs a pitch that is outside and a batter can hit a ball to 2 infielders and 1 outfielder side. the pitcher must be active pitch and slide back to fill a hole and get defensive to become a infielder vs the old chuck and duck. a good pitcher can tip hit defense were he wants to go with the ball to help defense be ready.

this defensive set up can get in a batters head and a lot of times the batter will change his approach and get frustrated and do things they dont want to do or swing at pitches they dont want to swing at.

good luck fellas help this helps and as always Apex Bullets are the best damn ball,PERIOD!  

Composite bats and the new Softer Softball

Composite Bats and Cor-Compression ratios are the hot topic in today's game. the shaved/rolled bat epidemic has forced associations to enforce bat testing to see if a bat is in compliance or legal . Now the next faze is the changing of the COR and Compression ratios of the ball for safety reasons due to the extreme exit ball speed off a bat. so the old ASA 44-375 with a dynamic stiffness ratio of 7500 ball will be the 53-300 and a 5500 dynamic stiffness ratio with the intent of decreasing the damage done to a players body when struck by a ball due to the fact that every year 2-3 people are killed playing softball every year after being struck by a ball.

  As in everything there are unintentional consequences that they had not planned on which has changed the approach to the game. the following video is my speech to Marion Harding High school about properties of a softball and bat and how the changes work together.   Apex Softball and Bat   . the changes in the game will mean that the shaved bats will not have much benefit to a players ability to cheat or bend the rules.

  The way to approach the new softer ball and higher core is with a stiffer barrel bat and a heavier bat and greater endload to drive a ball vs. using the lighter more flexible bat to hit a harder ball and using the trampoline effect as your power source. When a bat contacts a soft ball the energy is spread out absorbed by the ball so less energy goes into the ball and the ball exits  slower with less spin and carries less vs a harder ball were the ball retains its shape better and allows more energy to be put into the ball and the thinner walled bat to flex even more and increase the trampoline effect and dramatically increase the exit bat speed.

So to still have a competitive edge use a 28-30 oz max endloaded bat  with a stiffer barrel and flexible handle the best bats I have tested to hit the new balls are the Demarini 375 half and half or the new version Demarini F5 double wall bat. So always get the legal advantage and best equipment Apex softballs are the best balls on the market and use the Demarini F5 combo for the max performance advantage with the new softer ball area we are entering..  good luck to all .

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