What Is an Illegal Pitch in Fast-Pitch?

Fast-pitch softball requires hitters to react to pitches within a fraction of a second. As such, the American Softball Association (ASA) has established clear guidelines to prevent pitchers from gaining an unfair advantage.

  1. Prior to the Pitch

    • Like their baseball counterparts, fast-pitch softball pitchers must address the pitcher's plate in a prescribed manner. Both feet must be in contact with the plate at the start of the process. Additionally, the pitcher may not take any signals from the catcher without being in contact with the pitcher's plate. No motion unrelated to the delivery of the pitch is permitted, and once the pitcher separates her hands, she is committed to delivering the pitch without stopping or reversing the process.

    The Delivery

    • Several requirements are in place to prevent any deception or unfair advantage during the delivery. If a pitcher is using a "windmill" motion in the delivery, she may not utilize more than one revolution in her motion. The pitch must be delivered underhanded "with the hand below the hip and the wrist not farther from the body than the elbow."

      Additionally, the release and follow-through of the pitch must involve forward movement "past the straight line of the body." The pitcher must also maintain contact with the pitcher's plate throughout the course of the delivery. ASA rules prohibit any "crow-hops" or "leaps" in women's competition.

      The pivot foot must also drag and remain in contact with the ground during the follow-through. This prevents the utilization of a "kick" that one would see from a baseball pitcher in order to gain more power behind the pitch.

    Other requirements

    • The pitcher may not deliberately drop, roll or bounce the ball in an obvious attempt to prevent the hitter from hitting it. Any intentional walks must involve a legal delivery. The pitcher also may not wear any wrist band, batting glove or anything else on her pitching hand the umpire would deem "distracting."

    Consequences

    • If the umpire determines that any of the above requirements were not observed, he/she will immediately signal a "dead ball" and verbally state "illegal pitch." If the batter hits the illegal pitch and all runners advance safely, then the illegal pitch is ignored. In any other case, the opposing manager has the option of accepting the results of the play, or the automatic "ball" awarded the hitter because of the illegal pitch. If an illegal pitch hits the batter, then the batter is awarded first base.