Baseball drill
Bunt scrimmage
Two teams play live innings in which every batter has to bunt, with a set base-runner situation each half inning. Hitters get pressure bunts, and the defense gets fast, real reps of calling and covering bunts.
At a glance
- Sport
- Baseball and Softball
- Skill
- Bunting
- Ages
- 12U to High school
- Players
- A full team, split into two sides
- Time
- About 20 minutes
- Level
- Intermediate
- Equipment
- Bats and batting helmets, Gloves and catcher's gear, A bucket of balls, Bases, A screen for the coach pitching
- Indoors
- Needs a field
A bunt in a cage has no runners, no charging corners and no score. A bunt scrimmage has all three. Every at-bat starts with a bunt, so the defense sees play after play of calling the ball, covering bases and choosing where to throw, and the hitters bunt with something on the line.
Because there are no swings, innings go quickly and the team gets far more bunt plays than in a normal scrimmage. Use it before a tournament or once the team has learned its bunt coverages and needs to run them at speed.
Setup
- Split the team into two sides, one in the field and one at bat.
- A coach pitches strikes from the mound or from behind a screen to keep the tempo up.
- Before each half inning, set the runners: a runner on first, runners on first and second, or a runner on third, with a set number of outs.
How to run it
- The coach throws a strike. The batter must bunt it fair.
- The batter runs it out and the runners react to the bunt.
- The pitcher, catcher and corners call the ball, field it and throw to the right base while the middle infielders cover.
- Play the result. After three outs, or a set number of batters, the sides switch.
- Change the runner situation every half inning so both sides work different coverages and different bunts.
Coaching points
- Defense: one voice calls the ball, early and loud, and the catcher calls the base.
- Fielders set their feet toward the base before they throw.
- Outfielders run in to back up first, second and third on every bunt.
- Hitters aim for the lines, away from the pitcher, and run hard out of the box.
- Stop the scrimmage to walk through a coverage that broke down, then replay that situation.
Common mistakes
- Two or three fielders going for the same bunt without a call.
- Rushed throws off balance that pull the first baseman off the bag.
- Hitters stabbing at the pitch to get it over with instead of catching it on the barrel.
Printable drill card
Take this drill to the field: the setup, steps, coaching points and equipment on one card, with the video's address to find it again. Free, no account needed.
Print the drill cardSmaller: half page or quarter page (PDF).
By age
12U
Use normal base distances, walk through each coverage before the first pitch, and start with a runner on first only.
14U and up
Shorten the base paths a little to make every play close, and add runners on first and second, fake-bunt slash plays and pickoffs.
Next: Free lineup card generator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should you shorten the bases in a bunt scrimmage?
For older teams it helps: a few feet shorter makes every bunt a close play and forces the defense to be quick. For younger teams, keep normal distances until the coverages are clean.
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