Since there is no diagram I can see to prove my answer, I must infer that a heat source should be applied to the solid substance and cause the atoms in the solid to spread further apart and become a different state, in which atoms will be able to freely move, gas.
The basic relationship between frequency and wavelength for light (which is an electromagnetic wave) is

where c is the speed of light, f the frequency and

the wavelength of the wave.
Using

and

, we can find the value of the frequency:
A baseball would hit the bat harder. This is because the baseball is a lot heavier and more dense than the plastic ball. The keyword that you're looking for is density. The baseball is dense.