Hitting Drill: Tunnel Ball (Baseball & Softball)

A hitting game played into a cone tunnel that only rewards balls driven back up the middle. Hitters score runs, fielders record outs, and the sides switch after three.

How to Run This Drill

Lay two lines of five cones each to form a tunnel about five feet long, wider at the far end than at the hitting end
Split the team into a hitting group and a fielding group
Hitters line up at the narrow end and the fielders spread out inside the tunnel
Set up beside the hitters with a bucket of balls and soft toss to the first hitter
A ball that lands inside the tunnel without being fielded cleanly scores a run
A cleanly fielded grounder, a caught fly ball, or a ball that lands outside the cones is an out
After three outs the hitters and fielders switch sides
Most runs after three innings wins

Coaching Points

The tunnel rewards a ball driven back up the middle, which is the contact a hitter can make against almost any pitch
Fielders have to field it cleanly for the out, so a bobble inside the tunnel scores
A ball hit outside the cones is an out no matter how hard it was struck