Best fastpitch softball bats under $100

Why every cheap fastpitch bat is alloy

A two-piece composite bat is expensive because of what it is: a moulded composite barrel joined to a separate handle by a connection piece engineered to absorb vibration. Nothing under a hundred dollars is built that way, and every bat on this page is a one-piece aluminium bat.

For a young hitter that is genuinely the right build. An alloy bat is ready to hit the day it arrives, it can be used in cold weather without risk, and it will not crack because someone hit dimpled cage balls with it. Composite bats require a break-in of 150 to 400 warm-weather swings and should never be swung cold. In an 8U or 10U season, that maintenance is overhead nobody needs.

Which one, by age and drop

Length matters at least as much as drop, and the cheap bats are often the ones with the widest length range: the Ombre runs 26 to 30 inch and the Eclipse 27 to 32 inch. Measure first using the fastpitch bat size chart, then choose from this table.

What you give up under $100

Three things, and only one of them will bother most young hitters.

• Sting. A one-piece alloy bat sends vibration from a mishit straight into the hands. On a cold evening that stings, and a kid who is bracing for sting stops swinging freely. This is the real reason to spend more.
• Model-line depth. Flagship lines like the Ghost Advanced offer -11, -10, -9 and -8 in one barrel, so one bat family covers three seasons. Budget bats exist in one drop.
• Published swing weight. None of these makers publish a swing-weight figure, and we will not invent one. In practice the cheap alloys are balanced rather than end-loaded, which suits young hitters.

What you do not give up: certification, barrel diameter, the one-year warranty each maker states, or the ability to hit a softball hard. The 2 1/4 inch barrel and the sanctioning rules are the same on a budget alloy as on a flagship.

Before you buy

• Check the stamp your league wants. Little League Softball requires a 2 1/4 inch barrel and the BPF 1.20 print under Rule 1.10, with a 33 inch length cap. USA Softball and USSSA want their own marks. Easton's “All Association” wording is its own term, not a stamp.
• Prices here come live from Amazon, stamped with the date they were read. Retail pricing moves daily, and a price older than 48 hours disappears rather than going stale; check the button before ordering.
• Do not use a baseball bat instead. It is a different barrel diameter and a different certification. See baseball bat vs softball bat.
• Buy the length, not the drop. Fitting the length correctly does more for a young hitter than any change of drop within one ounce.
• Budget for the rest of the kit. A helmet with a mask, a glove sized for a 12 inch ball and cleats are the other required items; what she needs for softball totals it up.