This is one of the [tag]baseball practice drills[/tag] we often end our [tag]baseball practice[/tag] with. We call it 6 outs. The players love this game!
Divide your players into two or three teams. It is better if you do not have nine in the field. Put one team in the field, one at bat, and one waiting. Use a pitching machine or a [tag]baseball coach[/tag] to pitch.
Teams decide where to play defense, and they decide batting order. Each batter begins with an 0-2 count and gets one strike to put the [tag]baseball[/tag] in play in fair territory. A foul ball, missed strike, or called strike are all outs. If a batter hits the ball and is thrown out at first, or the ball is caught in the air, he is out. If he reaches first safely he continues to run the bases until he is tagged out or a fielder tags the base with the ball before he reaches. This does not count as an out.
Each base reached safely counts a point. If he reaches home without being put out, he keeps going around until the defensive team gets him out. I have had players begging the defense to get them out. If you only have 5 or 6 in the field, they have to hustle to get the ball back in.
You can bunt or do whatever you want at bat. If a coach is pitching and throws 4 balls before throwing a strike, that is a run, and the same batter continues to bat.
After 6 outs, teams change out and you start again. If my batters are slow, I start a five second count and if they are not in the batter’s box, I ring them up. If the defense is slow about getting out, and the batters are ready, I will pitch to them. This teaches your players to hustle on and off the field, swing at strikes, and talk to each other defensively.
I have had games of 1-0 and games of 30-29. One thing we did last year was to use our pitchers throwing live. This is challenging. When you do this, you need a catcher. In the other scenarios, a catcher is not needed, an infielder has to cover home. When I pitch, I play defense only in self defense!