The art of slap hitting: How these LI softball stars use technique to their advantage

Angie DeLuca strikes fear into the opposing team’s defense when she steps in the batter’s box.

The Sachem North senior stands at 5-1 and isn’t known for power. So why is DeLuca such a threat?

She’s a slapper.

The goal of slap hitting in softball is to help a player use her speed to put pressure on the defense and get on base. When the pitch comes in, DeLuca’s feet and body are moving toward the field, so that she has a running start to first base as soon as she makes contact.

“I start in a regular stance and slide my right [front] foot back and move my left foot up facing the shortstop. I start my arms like a normal swing and then take a step forward and I’m off to first,” DeLuca said. “I start my feet as soon as the pitcher releases the ball, so I’m not too early or too late.”

All slappers have two things in common: They bat lefty and they’re fast.

“I’ve always been the fastest on all my teams,” said DeLuca, who slapped her way to a .574 batting average last season and will play at St. Joseph’s University in Patchogue.

Some slappers, like Syosset freshman Taylor Renny, grew up batting righty but transitioned to the left side of the plate because of their speed. Renny started slapping when she was 7 because her father and uncle knew she would be an extremely tough out if she was four feet closer to first base and had a head start.

“I was really fast when I was younger and they thought I would be a good slapper,” Renny said. “Speed is very important. If you hit a ground ball and you’re slow, you’re probably out. If you have speed, you can still get on base.”

Renny is still “really fast,” and she used her speed to bat .547 and steal 27 bases as an eighth-grader.

There are three types of slaps. A soft slap is typically a shorter swing resulting in a ground ball between the shortstop and third baseman, creating a long throw for the defense. A chop slap gets the ball to bounce high off the ground, giving the slapper more time to get to first. Power slappers, like Kellenberg junior Presley Borne, look to elevate the ball over the infield.

“If you want to power slap, you still want to be fast, but you don’t need to be the fastest person," Borne said. "Speed isn’t as important for power slapping as it is for soft slapping."

Bunting is also in play for any slapper, but it all depends on how they read the defense. If the corner infielders are playing back, they might lay down a bunt. If the defense is straight up, a soft slap to the shortstop or a chop slap might be in order.

“If the outfield is back, then I look at the infield and if the infield is in, I’m going to hit away. If they’re a little bit back but not too far, I’m going to try to power slap into a gap,” said Borne, who hit .412 and stole 11 bases last season.

“Defending the slap is huge,” East Islip coach Jason McGowan said. “We have to pitch them a certain way . . . Especially if there are runners on first and third and there’s a slapper up, it’s like, ‘Whoa, what do we do here? Who’s covering the steal?’ We practice getting the throw to first base in 2.7 seconds against slappers.”

Then there are players such as Massapequa senior Emily Balducci, who can do all of the above and swing away for power. The Assumption commit batted .395 with 20 RBIs and scored 25 runs while slugging .512.

“I’ve been working more on swinging recently, but I’ve slapped for so many years that I like to mix it in,” Balducci said. “It’s such a useful tool that I’ve practiced so much that I don’t want to just not utilize it.”

Balducci said that the game situation can also dictate whether she slaps and what kind of slap she uses. If her team desperately needs the ball put in play, she might get a soft slap down. And if she’s struggling with her swing and there are no runners on, she’ll slap to get her confidence back.

“Those triple threats are tricky. They can do whatever they want whenever they want,” McGowan said. “You have to look at their hands and try to figure out their feet and where they’re standing in the box.”

Slappers might not hit tape-measure home runs or rip the cover off the ball, but they can be the hardest outs in a lineup.

“It’s such an advantage to have a slapper or two on your team,” McGowan said. “Tough to defend but great to have.”