Softball Bat Bounce Drop Test

Grade:

8

Teacher:

Krista Young

My project tested the pop of different softball bats. Pop is a way to measure a bat’s performancing by testing how much energy it transfers to a ball, which affects how far the ball travels. To measure this, I used a long drainage pipe and cut a hole in the bottom that matched the diameter of the bat. I inserted each bat in the the hole and placed the pipe vertical next to a ladder so I could drop the ball from the same height each time. There was also a cut out in the side of the pipe so I could record the bounce height using slow-mo mode on my phone. I tested multiple bats and measured how high the ball bounced off each one. After calculating the average bounce height for each bat, I found that the DeMarini Prism had the biggest pop, with an average height of 11”. This project is important because bats are expensive, with many selling for close to $600 each. The softball community continues to argue about which bat has the best performance. My results help players make more informed decisions.

Project presentation