North Carolina High-School Softball Rules

Softball's origination extends to America where the game began in 1887 within the city of Chicago. Since then it has grown consistently throughout the 20th century, although it evolved into a game that is played more by females than males. Today, softball takes place at many levels, including Little League, high school, and college. North Carolina is one area that softball is played competitively on the high school level and there is a strict set of rules to ensure that fair play and sportsmanship are enforced.

  1. Pitcher's Mounds

    • The difference between softball pitcher's mounds and baseball pitcher's mounds are extensive. Softball is normally played on a mound that is level with the ground and is 40 feet from home plate. As of 2010, North Carolina introduced a change in the distance of the pitcher's mound from home plate---making it 43 feet, rather than 40.

      The idea stems from Florida and Oregon, where the rule has already been in place and where coaches and players were very supportive of the new rule change due to the increase in offensive stats and lessening of strikeouts. They also feel like it promotes and enhances defensive skills.

    Hair Devices

    • One of the often un-thought of problems that girls run into during play is the legality of hair devices during play. Some hair devices are permitted; however, they must be shorter than 2 inches and unadorned. Bobby pins, barrettes, and clips are all considered legal devices.

    Line-up

    • Line-ups are always required to be submitted before the start of a softball game; however, North Carolina has implemented a rule change that requires the lineup card to feature the last name of the player, as well as the first initial and jersey number. Other included information includes position, batting order, and a list of the players that are substitutes. This is being done in an attempt to prevent the variety of submitted lineups to umpires.

    Illegal Pitches

    • For illegal pitches---where the pitcher throws prior to the umpire signaling that she is allowed to---there are rules that account for this circumstance. When an umpire has verbalized an illegal pitch, and the batter takes the pitch, then a ball is awarded to the batter, while the base-runners are allowed to take one more base. If the batter hits the illegal pitch, then the coach has an option as to whether they play the previous ball or not.