Check Swing Meaning in Softball

A check swing occurs when a batter starts to swing but stops the motion mid-way through. The home plate umpire decides if the barrel of the bat crossed the front of the plate. A swing counts as a strike if the bat moves too far forward during this attempt. Batters use this technique to avoid hitting pitches that suddenly move outside the strike zone. One batter successfully pulled her hands back when the pitcher threw a high rising ball. Stopping the swing requires significant core strength and fast physical reactions from the athlete. This move prevents an easy out when the pitch looks unplayable or dangerous to hit.