By: Lindsay Harjak

Softball
Types of Softball
• There are two types of softball.
• Slow Pitch and Fast Pitch
Softball - Object of the Game-
• To score more runs than the opposing team. The team
with the most runs at the end of the game wins.
• Slow pitch softball is an American pastime that can be
enjoyed by all ages. Leagues are formed for children,
men, women and coed teams. The rules differ from
baseball and fast pitch softball.
Softball - History
• Softball originated in Chicago on Thanksgiving Day, 1887.
• A group of about twenty young men had got together in
the gym..
• A man picked up a stray boxing glove and threw it at
someone, who hit it with a pole.
• The first softball game was played using a rolled up
boxing glove as a ball and a broom stick as a bat.
Softball - Game length
• Softball games are played in units called innings. There are
seven scheduled innings in a softball game, during which
each team has the opportunity to bat. The visiting team bats
in the first half of each inning, called the “top of the inning;”
the home team bats in the second half of each inning, called
the “bottom of the inning.” There is no set time that an inning
lasts; each half of the inning continues until the defense
accumulates three outs. If the game is tied after the last
inning, the game goes into “extra innings,” and continues
until one team holds a lead at the end of an inning. There
are also often run rules that can also end the game early.
For example, a league may specify that if a team is ahead by
10 runs or more in the fifth inning, the game will be over.
Softball- Rules
• Batting- Some PE games allow teams to have all batters
bat regardless of 3 of outs.as they'd like. Coed leagues
usually require teams to alternate male and female
batters. Bases are 65 feet apart, and neither base stealing
nor bunting is allowed. The count includes three balls for a
walk and two strikes for an out. Foul balls are considered
strikes. Failure to slide when a play is at the base toward
which a player is advancing can also be called an out.
Infield fly rule: automatically called a outs when there are
two players on base and less than 2 outs. Runners have
the option to advance on a caught fly ball, but they must
wait until the ball is caught to move forward.
Softball – Primary Offensive objective: score runs and avoid
outs. Defense objective: prevent runs and create outs

• Offensive strategy- A run is scored every time a

base runner touches all four bases, in the sequence
of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and home.

• A hit occurs when the ball is hit into the field of play
and the batter reaches 1st base before the defense
throws the ball to the base, or gets an extra base
(2nd, 3rd, or home) before being tagged out.
 Batting Stance
• When you are batting, you want to make sure your legs
are a little more than shoulder widths apart.

• You should try to keep your back elbow up and your bat
off your shoulder.
.
 Swing
•
• You must make sure when you are batting, that you watch
for the pitcher’s release point.

• As soon as the pitcher releases the ball, take a 1-5inch

step with your front foot (but must keep your back foot in
one place.)
• When you are making contact with the ball,
twist your foot.
• This is usually called “Squishing the bug.”
Softball- Defensive strategy
• There are 9 defensive players allowed on the field
at once.
• On defense, when a player is at-bat, the pitcher has
an opportunity to get them out by throwing three
strikes, called a strikeout.
• If the batter hits a pitch, the defense can create a
force out by throwing the ball to 1st base before the
batter can reach the base, tag out by tagging the
base runner, or fly-out by catching the ball in the air.
Once the defense creates three outs, it switches to
be on offense. PE class options:1) all bat-all hit-
NO OUTS. 2) use 3 balls & 2 strikes to 3 outs per
inning.
Softball - Pitching
• The pitcher's mound is 50 feet from home plate. All pitches
are thrown underhand. The pitcher must have contact with at
least one foot and the rubber mound marker before throwing
a pitch.
• In Slow Pitch, the pitcher has to lob the ball in the air. 6 ft
min arc to 12 ft high arc, with slow speed

• If the batter does not swing and it hits

home plate, it is considered a
strike.

•.
Field & Player Positions
 Softball – Positions - Nine players man the field, while nine batters hit
in a predetermined order for each team, know as the “batting order” or “lineup.”
• Infielders: Pitcher: Pitches the ball from the pitcher’s mound to the
catcher. Catcher: Crouches behind home plate and receives pitches
thrown by the pitcher. Also receives throws from fielders attempting to
make outs at home plate.
• First baseman: “Fields,” or defends, balls hit near the 1st base line.
Receives throws from fielders attempting to make outs at 1st base.
• Second baseman: Fields balls hit near 2nd base. Receives throws from
fielders attempting to make outs at 2nd base. Makes double-play.
• Third baseman: Fields balls hit near the 3rd base line. Receives throws
from other fielders attempting to make outs at 3rd base.
• Shortstop: Fields balls hit between the second baseman and third
baseman. Covers 2nd base when the ball is hit to the second baseman.
• Outfielders: Three outfielders — left fielder , center fielder and right
fielder — attempt to catch balls hit into their portion of the outfield. Balls hit
to the outfield are generally ground balls or fly balls hit past the infield.
• Other positions include substitute players called “pinch hitters” who replace
a batter, or “pinch runners” who replace a base runner.
Field & Player Positions
Softball - Equipment
• Equipment differs for offensive and defensive
positions.
• On offense, batters have a wooden or aluminum
bat, batting gloves for grip, and batting helmets for
protection.
• On defense, fielders use a leather glove. The
catcher has special protective equipment, including
a face mask, chest protector, and shin/leg guards.
• The uniform consists of a jersey; pants, shorts, or
skirt; and a baseball cap, visor, or headband.
 Glossary
• At-bat: A player’s turn batting while their team is on offense.
• Ball: Pitch that travels outside the strike zone that the hitter does not
swing at. Four balls result in a walk.
• Count: Term used to describe a batter’s balls and strikes during an at-
bat. The number of balls is first, followed by the number of strikes.
“Three and two” is three balls and two strikes.
• Double play: A play in which the defense records two outs.
• Error: Charged to a defensive player for mistakes that should have
resulted in an out.
• Fair: A ball that, when hit, lands between the two foul lines and stays in
bounds past first or third base. A home run is also a fair ball.
• Fly ball: Ball hit with a high, arcing trajectory.
• Fly-out: If a ball is caught by one of the nine fielders before it bounces,
the batter is out. Base runners must tag-up during a fly-out.
• Force out: After a batter hits the ball, she must advance to 1st base.
The defense can get her out by throwing the fielded ball to 1st base
before the runner reaches the base. Additionally, other base runners
must advance if they are forced by a base runner behind them.
• Foul: Ball hit outside the two foul lines. Results in a strike. When a batter
hits a foul ball with two strikes, the count remains the same and at bat
continues, because a foul cannot cause a strikeout. A “foul tip” is a foul ball
hit directly behind the batter.
• Ground ball: Ball hit with a low trajectory that bounces on the ground in the
infield.
• Hit: A batted ball that allows a batter to safely reach base. A single
(advances to 1st base), double (advances to 2nd base), triple (advances
to 3rd base), and home run are all types of hits. A ball’s trajectory is
usually a ground ball, linedrive, or fly ball.
• Home run: Fair ball hit over the outfield fence between the foul poles.
Batter & runners on base are awarded home plate and each scores a run.
• Line drive: Ball hit with a trajectory almost parallel to the ground.
• Out: The defense must create three “outs,” by strikeout, force-out, fly-out,
or tag-out, before it can switch to offense.
• Referees/ umpires, govern the game to ensure fair & safe play. They use
hand gestures and verbal calls to signal their rulings on the field. The two
most important signals in softball are safe and out.
• Run: Scored when an offensive player safely tags home plate.
• Sacrifice: A batter strategically hits the ball into an out situation to advance or
score a runner. Usually a “sacrifice bunt” or “sacrifice fly.”
• Safe: Called when a runner reaches a base without getting tagged out or
avoids a force out.
• Strike: A ball that a batter swings at and misses, hits foul, or fails to swing at
that crosses the strike zone. A batter strikes out after three strikes.
• Strike zone: The area above home plate between a batter’s knees and her
armpits.
• Tag out: A base runner that is not on a base when she is tagged by a player
with the ball is out.
• Tag up: A player waits for a fly ball to be caught before advancing to the next
base or else the defense can throw the ball to the base that the runner was
on before she can return to it and record another out.
• Walk: Four balls from a pitcher results in the batter receiving a “walk,” and
the batter automatically advances to 1st base. Players on successive bases
who are “forced” to advance may move to the next base.