A dozen of the Rockford area's top slap hitters and how they change their softball teams

Belvidere North has four slap hitters that can produce at the plate and Oregon has three.

Those just happen to be teams that are hovering at or near the top of the early-season standings in the NIC-10 (North) and in the Big Northern Conference (Oregon).

And while there are not a ton of slap hitters spread out across the Rockford area in softball right now, there are a few that are giving defenses fits.

"That's one of the toughest things to defend against, for sure," North Boone star pitcher Cami Carter said of good slap hitting. "It just throws you off, when you're on the mound. It gets you thinking about what's coming, and for the good ones, you never know."

Back in the 1990s, slap-hitting grew into a softball weapon. Anybody could switch over to the left-hand side, change their swing up a bit, shorten the stroke and lean toward first base, and become a much more productive hitter. Now, it has grown into an art form. Slap hitters now find ways to hit for average or for power; for short choppers through the hole or for lined shots into the gap; for bunts or for home runs.

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"The thing about slapping is it just changed the game," Auburn junior Eva Ostergard said. "It took a good year or more to get comfortable with it, but once you get it down, it can turn into such a weapon."

So, starting with the teams that have multiple girls in this category, here is a list of a dozen of the Rockford area's toughest slap hitters this season:

McKenna Morrill, Belvidere North

Morrill is North's senior catcher who can also play anywhere in the outfield, and with her slap-hitting prowess, they always want her bat in the lineup. She started slapping at the end of her sophomore season, and she has perfected it and can go to any field at any time.

"To me, it just keeps defenses on their toes," North head coach Jason Yakey said. "You can go small ball anytime you want and no one knows it's coming. But that's not the only thing you can use out of it, either. Girls nowadays can do just about anything out of a slap-hitting position."

Jenna Yakey, Belvidere North

Jenna Yakey, who, along with her twin sister Josie came over from Auburn this past offseason, can do it all. She is a very good slap hitter and can spray balls all over the field. ???

"Jenna has been slapping for about five years now, so she's pretty much got it, she's just trying to be the best she can be," her father and head coach, Jason Yakey, said. "And boy, when it's done right, I just love watching a good slap hitter in softball... It's just pretty to watch."

Hallie Inman, Belvidere North

Inman is just a freshman outfielder, but she's already pretty solid when it comes to slap-hitting. She will only get better as Inman has some nice role models on the Blue Thunder squad to learn from.

"I think it's a good tactic to use against good teams," Inman said. "It's definitely a big adjustment, and it just adds another challenge for the defense."

Josie Yakey, Belvidere North

Josie has a little more power, so she doesn't often slap, but when she does, it's effective. She can hit to opposite field as well as anyone on the team and that will continue to be a big part of her game.

Haleigh Burkhart, Oregon

Burkhart, the senior left fielder for Oregon, has a .320 on-base percentage as a slap hitter, and with her speed, she already has five steals on the season. Oregon was 6-5 headed into this weekend, but the Hawks were 2-1 in BNC play and were picking up speed this week after an 8-7 win over Genoa-Kingston on Tuesday.

"Haleigh excels at seeing a lot of pitches for us, putting the ball in play, and creating a lot of pressure for the defense with her speed," Oregon head coach Nate Rogers said.

Abree Barker, Oregon

This junior centerfielder is hitting right at .300, has a .368 on-base percentage, and she also has eight RBIs and five stolen bases.

"Abree is a threat to all opposing defenses with her high contact rate and above-average speed," Rogers said. "And her defense in centerfield is top tier for us leading our team in outfield assists. She takes a lot of hits away from opponents with her fearlessness in center."

Kaelin Shaffer, Oregon

This junior first baseman is hitting .389, has an on-base percentage of .463, and she leads the team with nine RBIs and 12 runs scored, to go along with her five stolen bases.

"Kaelin has been a huge spark for us at the top of our order with a lot of hard-hit balls. She has great length and athleticism as a first base player for us and has saved our infield a lot of errors with her smooth glove work."

Eva Ostergard, Auburn

Auburn's leadoff hitter was batting .400 with a .444 on-base percentage, a .480 slugging percentage with four RBIs and six stolen bases through the first seven games of the season. Ostergard is a junior left fielder who, according to her coach Jessica Palos, has "elite speed."

"Yeah, I guess I'm pretty fast, and you just have to find ways to use that speed," Ostergard said. "Once you get your confidence up, slap hitting can really change the way teams have to defend you."

Sydney Goodman, North Boone

Goodman has already proven herself as one of the better middle-infielders in the area, and the senior has turned into a very tough out as well, and she is an efficient slap hitter. She's been slap-hitting since before she started high school, and has perfected the art.

"She's just really hard to defend against because she can go anywhere with it," North Boone head coach Tim Fleming said. "Sydney has fine-tuned her craft, and she makes it look easy up there... When she comes up there, defenses just don't know where she's going to go."

Finley Blakely, Dakota

Blakely helped spark Dakota to a 4-0 start, and this senior slap hitter has the full repertoire: she can slap for average or for pop, she can play small ball when she needs to, and she can hit it where the defense is not.

"She is not the prototypical slapper with blazing speed," Dakota head coach Jeff Kinney said. "Her focus is reading the defense and picking her spots, and if executing, she has the speed to beat the play." She’s also a strong armed outfielder doing a nice job out in left field for us."

Ava Fiedler, Lena-Winslow

This senior catcher and outfielder is solid in the field and at the plate for Lena-Winslow, and she's added to her arsenal at the plate. While she doesn't usually slap, she has it as a part of her game, and she hit .394 last year and was hitting .348 through the first nine games of this season.

Mia Girten, Byron

Byron started the season 0-4, and the Tigers are young this season, but they have some talent sprinkled in. One of those talented players is Girton, just a freshman, and a pitcher at that. But she is also a slap hitter and is proving early on in her high school career that she will be a tough out for years to come.

Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a wide variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears to youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star, and for over 30 years altogether.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: 12 of the Rockford area's top slap hitters to watch in softball