Softball

By Ainsley Lovrien

     Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball (11 to 12 in) on a field that has a base lengths of 60 ft. and a pitcher's mound that ranges from 35-43 ft. away from home plate, and fence ranging from 180 to 220 ft. away from home plate. Softball moves faster than baseball. There is less time for the runner to get to first base before the fielder throws the ball, yet the fielder has less time to field that than the runner running to first base.
     The game was invented in Chicago Illinois in 1887 as an indoor game. The name softball was given to the game in 1926, because the ball used to be soft, but now a days the ball is hard. The first tournament was held in 1933 in Chicago Illinois and it spurred the interest of the game. The Amatuer Softball Association of Amercia governs the game in the United States and sponsors the annual World Series championships and sectionals. The World Softball and Baseball Confederation regulates rules in more than 110 countries including the United States and Canada. Women’s fastpitch Softball became a Summer Olympic sports in 1996, but was dropped in the 2012 Olympic Summer Games. Softball will now be reinstated in the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
     There are three types of softball, slow-pitch and fast-pitch, and modified softball. Slow-pitch softball, the ball, which can measure either 11 or 12 inches in circumference depending on gender and league, must arch on its path to the batter, and there are 10 players on the field at once. In fastpitch softball, the pitch is fast, there are nine players on the field at one time, and bunting and stealing bases are permitted. Modified softball restricts the "windmill" wind-up usually used by fastpitch pitchers, although the pitcher is allowed to throw as hard as possible with the restricted backswing.
     Softball rules vary somewhat from those of baseball. Two major differences are that the ball must be pitched underhand from 46 ft for men or 43 ft for women as compared with 60.5 ft in baseball and that seven innings instead of nine constitute a regulation game. Softball recreational leagues for children use 11-inch balls until they participate in travel ball around age 12 and adjust to a 12-inch sized ball. The infield in softball is smaller than on an adult or high school baseball diamond but identical to that used by Little League Baseball; each base is 60 ft from the next, as opposed to baseball's 90 ft. In fast pitch softball the entire infield is dirt, whereas the infield in baseball is grass except at the bases and on the pitcher's mound which are dirt. Softball mounds are also flat, while baseball mounds are a small hill. Softballs are pitched underhand, but baseballs are pitched overhand. This changes the arc of the ball when approaching the plate. For example, depending if the pitcher pitches a fastball, in softball the ball would most likely rise while in baseball because the pitcher is on a hill, the ball would drop.
     Softball is my favorite sport. I play for Clarksville High School and I am the catcher. I started playing softball at a young age. My coaches were my friend’s dad and my own dad. They are partially why I have the skills to play this sport. My team has made it to state twice now and we have gotten 2nd for those years. I love this game, because it has given me the opportunity to become a leader and be part of an amazing team.