3 Drills for Bunting Under Pressure

Provided by: Softball Excellence

You're facing a tough pitcher and finally get a runner on 1st, only to have your batter unable to bunt the runner over to 2nd and you end up losing 1-0. Sound familiar? If so these Critical Bunting Drills will help!

Bunting isn't glamorous or exciting but doing it successfully can be the difference between winning or losing a close game. These 3 Bunting Drills will ensure your bunters can safely get the bunt down!

Like free throws in basketball, bunting seems almost too simple and even boring to practice so it can become a lazy skill. Fortunately, for all of us there are some things we can do to help our bunters really concentrate on the simple details involved in a successful bunt - we're talking Sacrifice Bunt.

Before we look at some ways to add competition to bunting let's first review the basics for a successful bunt:

1. Start at the Chin – To avoid popping up the bunt make sure your bunters start their bats at the top of their strike zone – which is just about at their chin. Too many hitters start their bats around their waist so they have to move up and down for pitches and when they move up it's much easier to bunt the bottom of the ball – which is what causes a pop up. Start the bat at the top of the strike zone.

2. Start Out, Give In – This means that your bunter should start her hands OUT away from her body and then Give IN as the ball hits the bat. This helps her soften the contact and keep the bunt from being too hard and going right back to the pitcher.

3. Move Down with the Knees – In order to bunt a low pitch, your players should lower their bats by bending their knees as opposed to reaching down with their arms for the ball. Your bunters should always try to keep the bat near her eyes and move their body down to the ball instead of moving their bat down.

4. Stay Wide and Solid – Bunting involves absorbing the impact of the ball and in Fastpitch, that can be a lot of impact. So a bunter needs to keep her feet wide enough to keep her balance and stay solid no matter where the pitch. A loss of balance is a great way to mess up a bunt.

5. On the Ground and Fair – A bunters goal, at first, should be to simply get the ball on the ground, in fair territory. Don't get too fancy with beginning bunters on what side of the field they bunt to; just get them to bunt the ball on the ground and fair. As they get better then you can get more detailed and have them bunt to different locations on the infield based on the defensive coverage.

6. Practice Under Pressure – Bunting in a game is all about pressure so practicing it in a relaxed and goof-around atmosphere won't go far in helping your players bunt better in the clutch! Adding pressure in bunting practice can pay huge dividends when it comes to creating great game bunters!