Take me out to the ballgame, e-commerce style

Just in time for when the games start to count, Louisville Slugger, the official bat of Major League Baseball, has launched an e-commerce site.

Shoppers can visit Slugger.com and order baseball and softball bats, along with fielding and batting gloves and equipment bags, and then have the products delivered to homes directly from dealers, or to stores operated by authorized Louisville Slugger dealers.

Aspiring—and reigning—batting champions can also order personalized bats on the site. They can choose the size of the bat, its colors (solid or two-tone) and the text they want inscribed on their cudgels, then get delivery within five days.

Hillerich & Bradsby Co., the parent of Louisville Slugger, launched the store using e-commerce technology from Shopatron Inc.

"Shopatron is a great way for our company to sell its many products online while allowing our trusted and loyal bricks-and-mortar retail customers to be part of those sales," says Louisville Slugger president Marty Archer. "We'll both enjoy the benefits of this online sales solution and also expect to see Shopatron help drive additional traffic into stores from customers who wish to pick up our products where they live."

Shopatron says it works with more than 5,000 sporting goods dealers to sell more than 250 brands across the Shopatron network.