Hitting
The trick to being an effective hitter is understanding the key concepts in hitting. Fine tuning the specific mechanics of a swing can make or break your ability to be a consistent hitter. The following steps describe a linear hitting motion, with a "short to, long through approach." This approach helps the hitter create more power through the ball. It is important to remember, however, that the swing isn't always the most important part of hitting. Identifying pitches, knowing your count and understanding the present situations of your base runners is also key to being an effective hitter. These skills usually develop after the concept of bat on ball has been mastered, but should always remain on your mind as you develop your mental hitting game as well as your physical.
The Stance
The stance is important to develop early on. It is unique for each player and should be comfortable since it creates the foundation for the swing. Though stances vary from player to player, there are some characteristics of the stance that have general applications to each player. In your stance, the feet should be about six inches (15 centimeters) wider than shoulder-width apart. A stance that is too wide will restrict proper weight transfer and hip rotation. A stance that is too narrow may produce a long stride, thus causing too much head movement and poor ball tracking. The knees should be slightly flexed, with a slight bend at the waist towards the plate. The head should be turned toward the pitcher with both eyes level, and the chin is near the front shoulder at the start of the swing.
There are three types of stances: open, closed, and square. Each stance is based on how the hitter is turned towards the pitcher and the distance of her front foot from the plate.
The Grip
The grip on the bat is just as important as the stance. The hands should be set near the back shoulder and should be no more than three to six inches (7 to 15 centimeters) from the body. To find a proper grip that ensures maximum power at contact, the player should let her hands hang freely in front of her with palms facing each other. She should grip the bat and pull the bat up to starting position without allowing her fingers to move again. The bat should be held in the "door knocking" knuckles of the hitter¹.
The Swing
A hitter's swing should begin from the bottom up. The back knee will begin to move in as the hitter shifts her weight toward the ball with the legs and hips; the hands and shoulders stay back. As the ball approaches the plate, the hitter pushes off the back foot to start the linear movement. During the movement of the legs and hips, it is vital that the head and eyes remain level and still. The hands begin to move toward the pitcher, not toward the plate, to stay inside of the ball. The hitter needs to keep the bat above forearm level (a line passing from the elbow through the hand), and the front arm maintains a 90-degree angle. The shoulder-elbow-wrist motion should unlock in a motion similar to a Frisbee throw. As the bat head moves closer to contact, the top hand begins to rotate so that at contact the palm is nearly facing up. The back leg continues to drive into a now firm (not locked) front leg, and the back foot begins to turn toward the pitcher in a motion known to most 5-year-old's as "squishing the bug." This method of approaching the ball helps ensure that the hands stay inside the ball to allow for a more powerful contact position¹.
Driving the front shoulder to the ball cannot be stressed enough. If the front shoulder pulls away from the ball a number of things can go wrong. Most often the head will come out of proper position, the back shoulder may drop creating an unlevel position for the shoulders in their apporach to the ball, the hand will drop creating a loop in the swing, the back leg will collapse and eliminate any positive hip action or the coverage of the outside of the plate may be reduced.
Bunting
While sometimes the big hits are the ones to win the game, a lot of the game of fastpitch comes down to "small ball" especially in close scoring situations. Bunting, though seemingly insignificant, is a key element in being a good hitter. There are several types of bunts, including slap bunts and drag bunts, sacrifice and suicide. Some players even switch sides to gain the extra advantage of being one step closer to first. Regardless however, bunting can be summed up into getting the ball down and good placement along one of the baselines.
No matter how fast a pitcher throws, you should always be able to get the bunt down. The key is to be balanced, cushion the ball, NOT poke at it, and try to get it down one of the baselines. Unless bunting is your primary way of getting on base, normally when bunting you are either trying to move a runner over or get them in key position to score. Bunting is often about sacrifice and benefiting your teammates versus your batting average.