Basic Rules of Softball
Terms:
 Ball- If the pitcher does not pitch right over home plate it is considered a ball.
After four balls the hitter gets to walk free to 1st base
 Grounder- A ball that is hit on the ground
 Fly Ball- ball hit up in the air
 On Deck- next batter up
 Strike- term used when batter swings at the ball and misses or the ball is pitches
right down home plate and not swung at. Three strikes and the batter is out.
The Game:


9 players on the field at once while on defense
An official game is 7 innings (inning is when both teams had a turn to bat)
Fouls:
 Any ball going outside the 1st or 3rd base is a foul ball
o Runners can not advance and the batter gets another try, unless the ball
was caught in the air, which is an out
Pitching:
 The pitcher must start with both feet on the pitcher’s rubber
 Can only take one step forward
 Must be thrown underhand
 Pitchers circle is flat
Batting:
 Must follow the same order throughout the whole game
 Batter is out if and when:
o Three strikes have been called
o A fly ball is caught
Base Running:
 Runners must touch each base
 1st base is the only base you can over run (all other bases you can be tagged out if
they are off the base)
 Runners cannot leave (steal) the base until the ball leaves the pitchers hands
 One base runner cannot pass another
 Runner is out if:
o They are tagged with the ball before reaching a base
o The ball gets to the base before the runner
o They run more then 3 feet out of the base line to avoid being tagged
Equipment:
 Bat – no longer than 34 inches
 Ball – 12 or 11 inches in circumference
 Glove
Basic Rules of Baseball
Terms:
 Ball- If the pitcher does not pitch right over home plate it is considered a ball.
After four balls the hitting get to walk free to first base
 Grounder- A ball that is hit on the ground
 Fly Ball- ball hit up in the air
 On Deck- next batter up
 Strike- term used when batter swings at the ball and misses or the ball is pitched
right over home plate and not swung at. Three strikes and the batter is out.
The Game:


9 players on the field at once while on defense
An official game is 9 innings (inning is when both teams had a turn to bat)
Fouls:
 Any ball going outside the 1st or 3rd base is a foul ball
o Runners can not advance and the batter gets another try, unless the ball
was caught in the air, which is an out
Pitching:
 The pitcher must start with one foot on the rubber mat
 Can only take one step forward or backward
 Thrown overhand
 Pitchers circle is a raised sloping mound
Batting:
 Must follow the same order throughout the whole game
 Batter is out if and when:
o Three strikes have been called
o A fly ball is caught
Base Running:
 Runners must touch each base
 1st base is the only base you can over run (all other bases you can be tagged out if
they are off the base
 Runners can leave (steal) the base anytime the ball is live
 One base runner cannot pass another
 Runner is out if:
o They are tagged with the ball before reaching a base
o The ball gets to the base before the runner
o They run more then 3 feet out of the base line to avoid being tagged
Equipment:
 Bat – no longer than 42 inches
 Ball – 9 inches in circumference
 Glove