covering a bunt

[Greenmonsters]

I dont think there is a "right" way to do it , only the "traditional way" of doing it. If you have to have a variation in order to put your team in the best situatio to succeed , then I believe you have to do it. I dont have a team of future college softball players. I just have a team of girls trying to compete.

^^^^This becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. By not practicing and implementing fundamentals like proper fielding, throwing, situational coverages, etc. and implementing makeshift coverages to hide weakenesses and be competitive, we'll ensure that they don't improve and develop a desire or have the chance to play higher leverl or college ball. IMO, the problem is that everybody wants to win now - through U12 I think the focus should be on teaching the players the fundamentals and the right way to do things so that they have the foundation to build upon if they want to go further. A team that develops its weaker players ultimately will be stronger than a team with equal talent that hides its weak players.

 

[CycloneSoftball22]

Well , we do what is best right now for our players and team. It works for us and we will stick with it. We decide what is "proper" for us. If the strategy we are currently using is effective , I dont see a problem. If it werent working , then we would have to change

 

[JAD]

While I agree with several of the posts that teams need to work to develop their players skills - that is what PRACTICE is for! When we play a game, we are playing to win (unless it is a throw away pool game or a friendly format), and I am not going to jeopardize my teams chances of winning just to see if one of my players can learn how to field her position. My DD plays on a highly competitive TB team, so you can relax this a little if your DD team is playing rec ball or low level B/C travel ball.

 

[chinamigarden]

I like to leave the 1st base at home. I noticed last year that lots of teams were bringing second base in to cover bunts. She would basically be next to the pitcher at release, and charging if the batter squared.

 

[tghorley]

I've seen teams use 2nd base, as JAD suggested. They use it with a known bunter or undersized hitter with pretty good success. I like the RF coming in - I've seen undersized hitters bloop it out there when the infield is squeezing in.

We have one girl who loves to see RF come in. She is playing 14u ball and is 5ft 100lbs. If we are playing a team that have not seen her before, they expect her to slap or bunt. Surprise, I bet she has not tried to slap or bunt maybe 3 times in the last 3 tournaments, but she is a good hitter and has burned each position in the outfield at one time or the other.

DGD's team practices bringing the 2nd baseman in to cover bunts. Seems to be the new thing to try in this area since spring. Quite frankly, to me I see no difference than just playing "normal" defense.

 

[chinamigarden]

We have one girl who loves to see RF come in. She is playing 14u ball and is 5ft 100lbs. If we are playing a team that have not seen her before, they expect her to slap or bunt. Surprise, I bet she has not tried to slap or bunt maybe 3 times in the last 3 tournaments, but she is a good hitter and has burned each position in the outfield at one time or the other.

DGD's team practices bringing the 2nd baseman in to cover bunts. Seems to be the new thing to try in this area since spring. Quite frankly, to me I see no difference than just playing "normal" defense.

It always surprises me when a team sees a lefty and automatically assume slapper. I have seen the same team get burned by my dd several times at different tourneys. How can they not remember that the lefty that leads off for this team is not a slapper, when she has hit it over the outfields' head 3 times.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Here's the reason I like both corners charging as my default bunt defense. With 2B charging when the batter squares, a slap or bunt pushed past and either right or left of her is a hit. When the 1B charges, a ball pushed past her to the right is probably foul and a ball pushed passed her on the left side still may be fielded by the 2B.

That's what I would spend most of practice time on and use most commonly in games, but it would be foolish not to adjust in a critical situation if necessary due to particular offensive/defensive strenghts/weaknesses.

 

[CoachScott]

When the 1B charges, a ball pushed past her to the right is probably foul and a ball pushed passed her on the left side still may be fielded by the 2B.

Bold may not necessarily be correct. If ball is pushed left side of charging first base, most likely your second basemen is moving to cover first, which may put the ball behind them. Pitcher should be the one fielding that ball, most likely.

I like the fact that you practice different ways in covering your bunts and use the ones that happens to work best for the athletes available to you at the time and that the athletes are most comfortable with. There are many ways to get an out?

I've never seen the second basemen cover but I'm willing to see how it works and the results, depending on my players. That's why we practice and find what works for particular athletes at particular times.

 

[02Crush]

There are different schools of thought. I know a HS coach who keep corners on corners and crashes middle infielders. That said, if while playing against me the 1st baseman does not crash, I would push the ball down the first baseline all day. Why? To force an error on an off balance throw or the body momentum carrying the defender into a poor position to make a throw on a line to 1st from the pitcher.

 

[BrianMonk]

At the 12U level, do you feel it is necessary for both 3B and 1B to charge a bunt? If I have athletic, good fielding pitchers, can P, C and 3B cover all ground, which keeps my 1B at first?

Is it absolutely necessary…no. As been pointed out, is it traditional to crash your 1st/3rd, but it’s not an absolute.

But there are a lot of variables to consider. Some of which you’ve addressed – athletic good fielding P.

Others to consider – is the batter a R or L – is she a power hitter or a speed kid?

Can your P hit her spots? How good are your 3rd baseman & C?

If you’ve got a L speed kid up, they’ve been trained to take the outside pitch to the left side. It’s what they want. They’ll take that pitch and power slap past the 3rd baseman, traditional slap to SS or hit a pop up over the 3rd baseman and in between the SS and LF. Some have a lot of success with this. If they want to try and bunt an outside pitch up the 1st baseline when your 1st baseman is back, let em have at it. Try and fit that square peg through the round hole. It may work…but it’s tough to do. Much tougher than taking the outside pitch to the left side.

If you’ve got a R power hitter, they often times don’t bunt and/or aren’t the swiftest of foot. I’ve seen colleges under most circumstances keep their 1st baseman 10’ or so behind 1st base. They have no intentions of fielding a bunt. But they don’t do this under ALL circumstances.

So it all depends on what your strengths are vs. the strength of your opponent.

What I would do is have a defensive call (call it whatever you want); where one call is the traditional 1st/3rd crash and your other defensive call is the 1st baseman stays back and you cover the bunt with your P/C/3rd.

Practice both including calling the different defensive calls in practice. Experiment with each in games and see what works best for you under different circumstances.