Softball Bunt Defense Drill

Softball Throwing Towel Drill - softball drills

The Softball Bunt Defense Drill is great for the confusion in front of the plate on a bunt that can cost your runs.  when the corners, catcher and pitcher all go for the bunt, the ball can end up either simply stopped on the ground or getting to the destination too late to retire the runner.  This softball bunt defense drill is for beginner or intermediate teams who are working on defending a sacrifice or surprise bunt.  If you are anticipating a slap bunt or drag bunt, incorporate those situations.

Softball Bunt Defense Drill

Purpose:

To establish a play that allows the corners and battery to know who will take the bunt when it hits the ground.  This is critical to prevent the collision and confusion.  It is a good idea to have a set procedure that is open to interpretation when necessary.

Procedure:

Use the bat to draw the lines in front of the catcher to designate the areas of responsibility for the corners and the catcher for a bunt.  Put a runner at 1st base that needs to be advanced by the batter.  The coach puts the bunt down into the mapped areas and the appropriate defender takes the bunt and throws it to first base.  If the ball goes right up the middle to the pitcher then she fields it and throws to first base.  To add variation, put runners at the bases and have the defense try to get the lead runner.

Have a pitcher or coach pitch to a batter to add real game situation plays.  It is important that the batter and base runners wear helmets for safety reasons.  There are a lot of options that you can practice with this set up.

You can use this drill to work on the entire defense and coverage or you can use it to simply work on the area in front of the plate.