There are two levels to the sport of softball: fast-pitch, in which pitchers wing the ball past batters at rates of up to 70 mph, and slow-pitch. If you are new to the sport, the latter is the better choice until you have honed your skills. You need to learn game-play fundamentals and the rules of the sport.
Balls and Strikes
In softball, a batter strikes out after the third strike or walks after receiving four balls. Strikes are recorded when a player swings and misses, takes a pitch deemed a "called strike" by the umpire or hits the ball into foul territory, or the area outside of the lines that extend from home plate to the outfield wall. The strike zone can vary from umpire to umpire, but it is usually between the knees and the rib area of the batter. While a batter cannot strike out on a foul ball in baseball and fast-pitch softball, some slow-pitch leagues count all fouls as strikes -- so a batter can be retired by mis-hitting the ball with two strikes against him. When you take four pitches deemed to be balls, you are awarded first base via a walk, also known as a base on balls.
Pitching Rules
While their fast-pitch counterparts use a quick step and windmill motion to throw the ball home in line-drive form, beginners usually play using slow-pitch rules. Most slow-pitch leagues require that all pitches have a minimum amount of arc, often at least 6 feet. The pitch cannot be too high; 12 feet is usually the maximum permitted height. The United States Specialty Sports Association has outlawed the "quick return pitch," which is an obvious effort to deliver a pitch before the batter has settled into the batter's box. Pitchers must deliver the ball from the pitching area, which is the width of the pitching plate and extends 6 feet behind it.
Force Outs
When a team records three outs, the half-inning is over and the two sides switch; the hitting team moves to the field and vice versa. Outs can be recorded in several ways. When a batted ball is caught in the air, the batter is automatically out. If the batter hits a ground ball and the defense fields it and throws it to first base before the batter arrives, the batter is out. When a runner is on first base -- or on second when a runner occupies first, and third when the bases are loaded -- this constitutes a force-out situation, meaning the runner must advance on a ground ball. If the ball is thrown to the next base before the runner arrives, that runner is out.
Additional Information on Outs
Runners are not forced to run to the next base when the ball is hit into the air. If the ball is likely to be caught, the runner should return to the base or risk being thrown out. For example, a fly ball may be caught and thrown to a base occupied by a runner. If the player manning that base receives the ball and touches the bag before the runner returns, the runner is out. Players advancing to the next bag by their own choice -- not because a runner is on the preceding base -- must be tagged out, either with the ball itself or a glove containing the ball.
More Rules
In baseball and fast-pitch softball, there are sometimes collisions at home plate, when incoming runners try to run over the catcher in an effort to knock the ball loose. This is not allowed in slow-pitch softball. Players are not allowed to steal bases or advance past a runner on their own team on the base paths. Any base runner struck by a batted ball in fair territory is automatically out.
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