Learn Softball

Plain-language softball guides: keeping score, batting orders, coed and slowpitch rules, mercy rules, tiebreakers, waivers, and starting a league.

• How to Keep Score in SoftballA plain guide to a softball scorebook: position numbers, the symbols for hits, outs and walks, and how to total a box score at the end of the game.
• How to Make a Softball Batting OrderHow to set a softball lineup: who leads off, where your best hitters go, and how coed patterns like two men then one woman work in rec leagues.
• Coed Softball Rules ExplainedThe rules that make coed softball different: gender batting orders, the walk rule, defensive positions, and what happens when a team is short on women.
• Slowpitch Softball Rules by OrganizationHow USA Softball, USSSA, NSA and Senior Softball-USA differ on slowpitch rules: pitch arc, the count, base and pitching distances, home run limits, coed rules.
• Softball Mercy Rule by OrganizationThe softball mercy rule (run rule) for USA Softball, USSSA, NSA and Senior Softball-USA: how many runs ahead, after which inning, for slowpitch and fastpitch.
• How to Start an Adult Softball LeagueA step-by-step checklist for starting an adult rec softball league: fields, insurance, umpires, fees, rules, captains and a schedule people can follow.
• How to Make a Round-Robin Softball ScheduleHow many games and weeks a round-robin softball season takes for any number of teams, how byes work with an odd count, and how to fit it on your fields.
• Softball Standings Tiebreakers ExplainedHow softball leagues break ties in the standings: win percentage, head-to-head, runs allowed, run differential and runs scored, and how three-way ties work.
• Softball League Waiver Template: What to IncludeWhat an adult softball league waiver usually includes, with sample wording for each section, and how to collect and track signatures each season.