Coed softball is a slow-pitch version of the game that is often offered by local companies, parks and recreation departments. Unlike the games where the teams consist of just women or men, coed softball games do not follow set rules. According to the Amateur Softball Association, there is a rulebook for coed softball but leagues are constantly adjusting the rules to fit their needs.
Teams
Coed softball games are played on regulation softball fields. A typical team will consist of five women and five men. Depending on the league, two additional players of either sex may be allowed on the team. If this rule is followed, the extra players are not allowed to play a defensive position but they are allowed to bat.
Basic Rules
The most basic rules of softball state that teams are required to alternate between a woman and man on both defense and offense. This means any female batter must be immediately followed by a male batter. When playing defense, each position must alternate. If the player playing first base is a woman, then the second baseman must be a man. This rule applies to outfielders as well. On offense, all batters start with a pitch count of one ball and one strike. Playing by these rules, three additional balls result in a walk and two additional strikes result in an out. A run is scored when a batter crosses home plate after consecutively touching first, second or third base. A run is also scored if a player hits a home run. An out is recorded when a player strikes out, is tagged out while running to a base or if their ball is caught while in the air.
Rule Variations
In coed softball games, the rules are often altered in a variety of ways. According to the American Softball Association, when a man receives a walk, he advances to second base automatically. If a man is walked when there are two outs, the next female batter is given the option to either receive a walk herself or to bat. Some leagues use a variation that states the male batter will only advance to second base is the female chooses to take the walk. Some coed leagues require the male batters to bat from the opposite side of home plate than normal. Using this rule, a right-handed batter will bat left-handed and vice-versa. This rule eliminates the power advantage that many men hold over women when batting. Some leagues will also allow for more women to play on a team than men. In leagues that use this rule, a team is allowed six women and four men. Two women are permitted to play next to one another is this variation is used. Some leagues use a different size ball for women and men. Women batters hit an 11-inch softball while men would hit a 12-inch softball. A number of leagues also use a home run limitation rule. When this rule is being uses, only a specified amount of home runs will be counted as runs. This rule is mostly found in leagues that allow the men to bat on their normal side of home plate.
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