Easton Empire Greg Connell 12.75"

The Empire is Easton's established senior-softball platform, a one-piece composite tuned for the slower senior game. The end load is present but manageable — enough mass behind the 12.75" barrel to add carry, not so much that the bat swings like a sledgehammer. In the senior game, bat speed varies more than in open play, and this bat's configuration matters accordingly: match the load to your current swing, not the swing you had ten years ago. Squared contact produces genuine distance; the barrel does a fair share of the work. High-performance thin walls come with a shelf life — expect performance to peak and eventually fade with heavy use, and treat webs and cracks as normal wear rather than defects. Cold weather is a real factor: composite response drops noticeably below roughly 60°F, and thin-walled barrels crack more easily in the cold. Keep it indoors before early-spring games and use a beater bat for cold cage work. A moderate break-in gets it to peak; it will play close to its best within the first few sessions.