Coed Softball Rules

Coed softball is a slow-pitch game offered by local parks and recreation departments. Unlike men's and women's fast pitch and slow pitch, there isn't a uniform set of rules. Although the Amateur Softball Association has coed rules, they are almost always altered depending on the league.

  1. Team Composition

    • Coed softball is typically played on a regulation softball field with each team having five men and five women, although some leagues allow for two extra players on each team who bat but do not play defense.

    History

    • Although the origins of softball are well documented, no records exist for the first coed game. Softball was invented by a group of about 20 young men gathered in a Chicago gymnasium on Thanksgiving Day 1887. They had come to listen to the radio broadcast of the Harvard vs. Yale football game. When the game ended, one of the men tossed a boxing glove at another man, who hit it with a pole. Soon, they had divided into teams, marked off a playing field and started the game.

    Types

    • Basic coed softball rules requires that a team, on offense and defense, alternate between men and women. A female batter must be followed by a male batter, who must be followed by another female batter. In the field, positions also must alternate. If the second baseman is a man, the first baseman and shortstop must be be women. The same is true in the outfield--in softball there are four outfielders--and in the battery, where if the pitcher is a women the catcher must be a man.

      When batting, all players start with a one and one count, one strike and one ball as soon as they stand at the plate. After that, two more strikes and they're out, or three more balls and they walk.

    Variations

    • There are many ways to alter coed softball rules, although some are more popular than others. For example:

      According to ASA rules, if a man draws walks, he automatically goes to second. If there are two outs, the female batter following him gets an automatic walk or she can choose to bat. Many leagues vary this, allowing the man to take second only if the female batter opts for the automatic walk.

      In other leagues, men have to bat opposite the way they normally would. Thus a righthanded batter must bat lefthanded and vice versa. The idea is to lessen the power some male softball players can generate.

      Many leagues allow for more women players than men on one team. A team is allowed to play with six women and four men, but not six men and four women. In these cases, two women can play next to each other in the field.

      Some leagues change the ball between batters. Female batters hit an 11-inch women's softball while males hit a 12-inch men's softball.

      Leagues also often impose a home run limitation rule, meaning that only a certain number of home runs are valid in any inning or game. This is common in leagues in which men do not hit opposite-handed.

    Game Lengths

    • Coed softball games usually last seven innings, although there are often one-hour time limits to accommodate teams waiting to play. As in other softball leagues, there often is a mercy rule, meaning if one team is ahead by 10 or more runs or by or at the end of the fifth inning, the game ends.