Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
With the 2024 NCAA Softball Tournament kicking off, here's a look at why college pitchers throw underhand, and why it differs from baseball:
The underhand pitch was the original baseball pitch. Originally created as a sport for baseball players to maintain dexterity in the off season, softball gained so much popularity, it became its own sport. In 1991, women's softball was added to the roster of the 1996 Summer Olympics. [3]
Softball originated as a variation of baseball, [26] and today is a very popular sport in its own right, [27] with most of the rules remaining the same as baseball. The field is significantly smaller, with the bases only 60 feet (18 m) apart, and the pitcher is required to throw the ball underarm throughout the seven regulation innings of play ...
Underhand; no speed or arc restrictions. Underhand; must travel in an arc and within certain height restrictions (a common range is between 6 and 12 feet (1.8 and 3.7 m) above the ground). Umpire can call a pitch "illegal" while in flight. Illegal pitch Most infractions punished as a balk. The ball remains live.
Pitchers throw the ball with an underhand motion at speeds up to 77 miles per hour (124 km/h) for women. Monica Abbott set this record while playing with the Chicago Bandits in June of 2012. [3] The pitching style of fastpitch is different from that of slowpitch softball.
[2] [3] The corresponding slow velocity bears more resemblance to a slow-pitch softball delivery than to a traditional baseball pitch. It is considered a trick pitch because, in comparison to normal baseball pitches, which run from 70 to 100 miles per hour (110 to 160 km/h), an eephus pitch appears to move in slow motion at 55 mph (89 km/h) or ...
With two outs and the bases loaded, the catcher who fails to catch the third strike may, upon picking up the ball, step on home plate for a force-out or make a throw to any other base in an effort to force out a runner. An "uncaught" strike includes not only pitches dropped by the catcher, but also pitches that hit the ground before the catcher ...
The use of pitching machines allows baseball and softball players the opportunity to get batting practice on their own. Most batting machines are set up in a batting cage, a netted area that will contain the balls after they are hit. By using a pitching machine and a batting cage, hitters can get as much batting practice as they desire without ...