Rules for a Girl's Softball Travel Team
Girls softball travel teams play in tournaments that are generally sanctioned either by the United States Specialty Sports Association or the Amateur Softball Association. Those two organizations have very similar sets of rules. Travel teams will play under the rules of the association they choose to affiliate with as they must also pay dues to that organization in order to be able to have access to tournament play.
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Designated Player
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Travel softball teams are allowed to use a designated player in the batting order. This player is like a designated hitter in baseball, except that the DP can hit for any of the nine defensive players. If a team is using a DP, it must be indicated on the line-up card before the game, and the flex player (the defensive player that will not be batting) must be listed in the No. 10 position on the line-up card. A manager is allowed to replace the DP during the course of the game with another DP, but if she decides to have the designated flex player hit, the DP position is eliminated for the rest of the game and the nine hitting positions will be filled by players who are also playing in the field.
Pitching
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The pitcher is required to begin each pitch with a pivot foot on the pitching rubber and the shoulders square to the batter. Once the pitcher brings her hands together while on the rubber, she has up to 10 seconds to deliver the pitch. The pitching motion officially begins when the hands separate again. The pitcher is allowed just one step after the ball separates from the glove and it must be towards home plate. She is allowed to slide the pivot foot along the pitching rubber as long as the foot stays in contact with the ground and her foot is touching somewhere on the rubber at the time of delivery.
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Dropped Strike Three
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A batter who swings and misses a third strike pitch or who takes a pitch that is a called third strike is allowed to run to first base if the catcher does handle the ball cleanly. The ball can either hit the dirt before reaching the catcher or be mishandled by the catcher, but in either case, the batter can run to first base and must either be tagged out by the catcher or put out by a throw that arrives at first base ahead of her. This option does not exist if there is another runner already of first base and there are less than two outs. In that case, the batter is out on the strikeout no matter what happens with the catcher handling the pitch.
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References
- Photo Credit softball image by Steve Brase from Fotolia.com
