Tony Asta wanted every edge he could get.

As four female softball batters warmed up to face him, the Chandler Basha right-hander slyly peeked over, making sure he had their full attention.

Baseball vs. softball: Which is harder to hit?

VIDEO: Baseball vs. softball

"Watch this," he said, out of earshot from where they were swinging.

He unleashed his second warm-up fastball at full velocity, sailing it five feet over catcher Jared McLaughlin's head as his teammates stifled laughter.

It's hard to say if the act of intimidation actually worked, but Asta made it clear from the beginning: This was a competition both sides wanted badly to win.

The debate over which ball is more difficult to hit - a baseball or a softball - wasn't settled by our little experiment with the Bears players. But it was a fun experience nonetheless.

The experiment was set up like this: Asta took his normal place on the mound and faced four softball batters. Basha softball hurler Sam Parlich toed the circle and pitched to four baseball batters.

Granted, eight at-bats is too small of a sample size to draw any realistic conclusions, but it did lead to some insight.

The early results weren't good for the softball players, as the first two batters struck out on a combined seven pitches. Only one of the four swings made contact, fouling the ball off.

Darlene Villes, the first batter, said she wasn't overpowered, actually claiming the opposite.

"The fastball was so slow," she said.

The final two softball batters did better.

Parlich swung and missed at a curveball and fastball, before hitting a ground ball toward shortstop on a 1-2 changeup.

"I didn't think it was that hard," Parlich said. "It was actually pretty easy to see the ball coming. If we would have had a couple more pitches I think we could have hit him easily."

The final batter, Sierra Rodriguez, had the most success, lining a fastball inside the third base line and into left field.

"The first couple batters were a little confused, but the next two after that were all over me," Asta said. "If it got to five batters, it was going to get ugly."

All told, the softball batters swung at 11 pitches and made contact with five of them. Three balls were hit into fair territory.

The boys saw a bit more success.

The baseball batters swung at nine pitches and made contact with seven of them, also hitting three into fair territory.

Only one ball was hit hard, an opposite-field single by Trever Plautz on the second pitch he saw.

David Miczek hit a home run, but he said it was lucky, as he swung expecting a fastball and got a changeup. Since his reaction time was slow, there was contact, and he hit the ball over the left field fence.

Miczek figured the ball was a popup, but the shorter softball fence saved him. Still, he didn't toot his own horn afterward.

"The (pitching) distance is so short," Miczek said. "It was hard."

It was the only ball that was pulled by the baseball batters.

"They were all late," Parlich said.

It was easy to see the struggles of both batters. The softball players had to deal with movement they weren't used to, and needed to slow down their bats because the ball did not reach them as quickly.

The baseball players had to swing faster, almost beginning their swing before the pitch was out of Parlich's hand, and had to deal with rise balls and the lower release point.

"I thought she was going to strike them all out," Asta said. "It was exciting to see them hit the ball hard. It was more than I expected."