College Softball Pitching Rules

The rules governing softball pitchers established by the National Collegian Athletic Association are very specific. According to the website Pitch Softball, the rules governing pitching vary somewhat between leagues. Players hoping for a college career as a softball pitcher can begin training for the NCAA regulations prior to graduating high school.

  1. Pitcher’s Position

    • The pitcher is in position when standing with both feet on the pitcher’s plate and with hands apart. The catcher must be in position behind home plate at the time and all fielders must be in fair territory. The pitcher cannot assume the pitching position without the ball and cannot throw a fake pitch.

    The Stride

    • The pitcher must move towards home plate during the pitch. The pivot foot remains on the pitching plate while the striding foot must remain within the pitching lane. The pitcher cannot leap, leaving the ground with both feet, or "crow hop." Crow hopping is defined as skipping ahead and replanting the pivot foot before the pitch.

    Windup

    • The windup begins at the pitcher’s position and concludes with the delivery of the pitch. Almost any windup motion is allowed provided that it results in the immediate delivery of the ball, does not bring the hands back together after they separate, and does not change the direction more than twice.

    Delivery

    • The delivery of the pitched ball must occur with an underhand motion and occur after no more than one and a half revolutions. An underhand motion is described as a release of the ball with the hand below the hip. The arm rotation cannot continue after the release of the ball.

    Illegal Pitches

    • Any pitch that does not meet the rules is referred to as illegal. The umpire calls out the word “illegal” loud enough to be heard by nearby players and gives the dead-ball signal. The play is allowed to stand if the batter reaches first base safely. If the runner does not reach first base, the offensive coach has the option of allowing the play to stand or having the batter awarded a ball in the ball-and-strike count. If a batter is hit by an illegal pitch, or if ball four is an illegal pitch, the batter advances to first base and all runners advance one base.