Camryn Billig takes an even, level swing and the softball rockets off her bat, easily clearing the left field fence at Grove City Memorial Park on a windy, raw day in early April.

It's foul.

The Grove City sophomore, who has never hit a home run before, climbs back into the box and takes another easy swing. The softball flies into the stiff breeze and once again soars well over the left field fence.

Again, foul.

Undaunted, Billig digs in and replicates the feat, this time the softball nearly lands on an adjacent field.

This one is fair.

“If I would have thought about hitting a dinger,” Billig said. “I wouldn't have.”

Scenes like that have played out on softball fields all over the county this season.

In a sport once dominated by pitchers, hitters are having their day.

Billig has hit two more home runs this season for the Eagles, who have had seven players round the bases at least once this year.

Freeport has had eight players go deep and have launched 24 as a team in just 11 games.

“Everyone in our lineup is capable of power,” said Freeport junior Claire Crytzer, who has crushed a team-leading five home runs this season. “The power we are showing is crazy.”

Moniteau is also dominating at the plate with 14 home runs as a team — a team-record seven off the bat of Kristina DeMatteis.

The reason for the sudden explosion in power?

It isn't just one thing, but several.

The obvious: rule change

In 2011, the sport had a major change when the pitching circle was moved from 40 feet away from home plate to 43 feet.

The theory at the time was the move would facilitate more offense, put an end to the dominating ways of pitchers and drastically reduce the 1-0 games.

What has happened six years later is the proliferation of power.

“Those three feet are huge,” said Freeport senior pitcher Kristie Radvan, who has also homered three times this season. “As a hitter, it gives you a lot more time to see the ball, but as a pitcher, it takes three feet off your speed, so some pitches definitely slowed down. If I pitch in practice from 40 feet, it's completely different than it would be pitching at the normal 43.”

Knoch softball coach Tim Knappenberger has seen his fair share of softball over the years, both as the Knights' coach and on the travel ball circuit with his daughter, Celia Knappenberger, who is a junior.

Celia has several “spin pitches” — offerings that dip, dive and curve over the plate — to keep the hitter off balance.

To Coach Knappenberger, that is an absolute necessity in the game today.

“If you don't have a spin pitch, these girls are going to hit home runs,” Knappenberger said. “Even if you throw 60-to-65 mph (the equivalent of a 90 mph fastball in baseball), girls are going to hit you.”

Advanced training

Crytzer said she's always been a power hitter, but has been able to generate more pop thanks to enhanced techniques designed to dissect every aspect of her swing.

“I worked on my swing to be able to use all of my power,” Crytzer said.

That includes hitting stations that isolate the different aspects of the swing: the hands, feet, the hips and then a full, level swing.

Breaking it down that way allows Crytzer to ingrain that muscle memory into her unconsciousness when she's at the plate.

Then, it's just see the ball and hit the ball.

“We do a lot of drills,” Crytzer said. “I've really been seeing the ball well. We're really focused on getting our front foot down early and seeing the ball out of the pitcher's hand.”

That training has even infiltrated into the mental side of the game.

Crytzer whispers to herself before she enters the batter's box before each pitch.

“Base hit. Base hit. Base hit,” she said. “The catcher probably hears me. I just go in with the mindset of hitting the ball square. I don't try to hit home runs.”

It's a common refrain among the big boppers this season.

DeMatteis, who hit just one home run all of last season, hit seven in the Warriors' first seven games this season including two multiple-homer games.

“They just happened,” the senior catcher said. “Once the first couple happened, they kept coming.”

DeMatteis' teammate, senior Cortney Claypoole, had a similar experience last season when she hit six home runs after not going deep at all before her power surge.

“For me last year, all were a surprise,” Claypoole said.

The key to hitting home runs, it seems, is to not try.

Miscellaneous factors

Claypoole is physically stronger than she had been before last season.

Even her father and Moniteau softball coach Lennie Claypoole has noticed the difference that has made.

“Those fly balls to the outfield were now going over the fence,” Coach Claypoole said. “Honestly, one-through-six for us can do it on any pitch. It's the weight room. The difference between high school and college hitters is strength and these girls like Cortney are getting in the weight room and getting stronger.”

DeMatteis said she is also much stronger than she was in past seasons and that may have contributed to her home run binge.

“I've been lifting a lot more,” DeMatteis said.

Knappenberger said the commitment of the players has also led to stronger hitting.

“These athletes prepare as much as any baseball player,” Knappenberger said. “They are so dedicated to the sport and they put a tremendous amount of time in.”

Lennie Claypoole has also seen a spike in travel ball teams over the years.

He said just about every softball player who wants to play in the summer can find a team — and that can only help develop skills, especially when it comes to hitting.

“They say travel ball is watered down, but even if these players aren't playing on the top teams, they're still getting reps,” he said. “They still have a bat in their hands and they're getting swings against live pitching.”

And then there's the advances in equipment.

“Do we have better bats?” Knappenberger asked. “The bats are juiced.”

As is the case with most trends, coaches can envision a day when pitchers catch up again to the hitters.

“Pitchers are going to get better,” Coach Claypoole said.