A slug in softball or baseball is almost always a hit and usually refers to a home run or other long and powerful hit. A hit in baseball or softball, however, is not necessarily a slug. If you bunt for a hit, it would be inaccurate to say you slugged the ball. However, if you slug the ball over the left field fence for a home run, you are credited with a hit.
Hit
A hit in softball and baseball is defined by "The Free Dictionary" as "a hit by which the batter reaches base safely without incurring an error, fielder's choice, or force play." Singles, doubles, triples and home runs are the types of hits.
Slug
There are many dictionary definitions of the word "slug," ranging from a bullet to a counterfeit coin to a slothful person to a terrestrial gastropod with an elongated, slimy body. Another definition is to "drive a baseball a great distance." Although a slug is usually a home run, it could be a ringing double into the gap or a smash that hits high on the wall and yields a double or a triple; it alco can be a long drive that is caught for an out. You often see the word used in newspaper headlines, such as "UCLA Slugs Its Way to 11th NCAA Softball Title," or "Sun Devils Slug Their Way to Victory Over Oregon."
Batting Average
As Ted Williams once said, if you fail seven times in 10 tries, you will be a superior hitter. Your batting average -- the percentage of hits compared with the number of official times at bat, which doesn't include sacrifices, walks, or getting hit by the pitch -- is the key method of rating hitting prowess in baseball or softball. As of April 2011, the season leaders in batting average for Division 1 softball are Stephanie Thompson of Brown at .557 and Ashley Hansen of Stanford at .531. Arizona State tops the team batting average at .380.
Slugging Percentage
Many baseball experts believe your slugging percentage is a better gauge of your value as a baseball or softball batter. Your slugging percentage is calculated by counting the total bases of your hits and dividing by times at bat. So a home run counts as four and a single as one. Babe Ruth's lifetime slugging percentage, by far the best in baseball history, was .690.
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