SnareDrum

Ball, at least as you described it. Did he "strike" at the ball, or did he just track it then pull back? That word "strike" means exactly that and is where the baseball vocabulary comes from. A fish doesn't strike at the bait just by swimming by it. I've said it to coaches before, and I'll probably say it tonight on my field: "Coach, he didn't attempt (the word some used earlier) to strike at the ball!" As they pause to figure out what I said, I tell the pitcher to pitch:)