Guest Author - Kari Livingston

In the world of softball, machine pitch bridges the gap between slow coach pitch and the world of fastpitch. Learning to pitch a softball with speed and accuracy is difficult and learning to hit it can be even harder. The few seasons spent in the machine pitch classification can make learning correct swing mechanics easier. Let's face it, it's easier to focus on your swing if you're not worried about a ten year old pitcher hitting you with the ball! The move to machine pitch is also the first time many girls have been on a regulation sized softball field, complete with 60 foot baselines and a standard nine player line-up.

While there are many benefits to allowing girls to play a season or two with a pitching machine, the rules can get fuzzy for people used to traditional fastpitch. The ASA doesn't have official national machine pitch rules, but the USSSA does and many leagues and tourament directors use these rules as a template for their own rule book.

Some of the rules that most machine pitch games have in common are:

Dead Ball Rule: If a batted ball hits the machine, it is declared a dead ball and the batter is awarded first base. In some tournaments, all base runner are awarded a base, in others, the runners advance only if forced. Check with your league commissioner or tournament director for clarification of this rule. If a thrown ball. If a ball is thrown off the playing field (i.e. over the fence or into a dugout) the ball is dead and everyone is awarded one base.

Stealing: Runners are allowed to steal second and third, but not home. Only one bsae can be stolen on each pitch. Depending on the park, some umpires will allow runners to leave the base as soon as the ball leaved the machine, others will make the runner wait until the ball crosses the plate. Leaving early will result in the batter being called out.

Overthrow Rule: In USSSA games, if a ball is overthrown, the runner can only advance one base. This rule is somewhat controversial because it is inconsistently enforced in some areas.

Other rules are similar to traditional fastpitch rules.