Player's Guide to USA Softball Adult Slow Pitch 2026

Under Rule 3, Section 1, a legal bat must:

• be no longer than 34 inches, no heavier than 38 ounces, and no more than 2.25 inches in diameter at its largest part,
• carry a USA Softball certification mark. Both current marks are legal in slow pitch: the one allowed in all games and the one allowed in slow pitch, men's and boys' fastpitch and men's modified,
• appear on USA Softball's list of approved bat models and not on its Non-Approved Bat List,
• have a grip 6 to 15 inches from the knob, a knob at least 1.6 inches across, and no dents, cracks, burrs or rattles.

Altered bats are illegal: rolled, shaved, repainted, weighted, heated, cooled or otherwise modified. Bat warmers aren't approved. Your name or number laser-marked or painted on the bat is fine. Since 2026, a properly attached bat sensor is allowed. Senior softball bats are legal only in senior play.

Penalties (Rule 7, Section 6):

• Altered or non-approved bat: the batter is out and ejected.
• Otherwise illegal bat (for example, a damaged one): the batter is out.
• If discovered after the at-bat but before the next pitch, other runners go back to their bases.

Count: in adult slow pitch (except Seniors), every batter starts with a 1-ball, 1-strike count (Rule 7, Section 3B). You still need four balls to walk and three strikes for a strikeout.

Strikes:

• A legal pitch that passes through the strike zone before touching the ground and isn't swung at.
• A swing and miss before the ball touches the ground or plate.
• Every foul ball is a strike, including with two strikes. A foul with two strikes is strike three and you're out (Rule 7, Section 4G and 6N).

Other ways the batter is out (Rule 7, Section 6):

• Bunting (tapping the ball slowly within the infield on purpose) or chopping (swinging down on the ball with a chopping motion).
• An entire foot on the ground outside the batter's box, or any part of a foot on home plate, when you hit the ball.
• Stepping directly in front of the catcher to the other box once the pitcher is in position.
• Using an altered or non-approved bat (out and ejected).

You have 10 seconds to get in the box once the umpire tells you, or a strike is called.

Under Rule 6C, the pitcher must:

• start with both feet on the ground and one or both touching the pitcher's plate (Men's, Women's and Coed C, D and E/Rec may also start from in front of the plate, with feet within its 24-inch width),
• come to a full stop for at least one second, ball in front of the body and facing the batter,
• deliver underhand on the first forward swing past the hip, in one continuous motion with no stop or reversal, keeping the pivot foot on the plate until the ball is released,
• throw at moderate speed, judged by the umpire (a pitcher who repeats excessive speed after a warning is removed as pitcher),
• give the pitch a perceptible arc, reaching at least 6 feet and no more than 10 feet above the ground,
• release the pitch within 5 seconds of getting the ball, and not deliver it from the glove.

Pitchers get three warm-up pitches in one minute at the start of each half-inning.

Illegal pitch penalty: if the batter swings at it, the illegal pitch is cancelled and all play stands. If the batter doesn't swing, it's a ball.

For batters: a pitch that lands on the ground or home plate can't legally be hit. It's a ball (dead ball) even if you swing at it after it lands.

In standard adult slow pitch (no stealing):

• Stay on your base until the pitch is batted, touches the ground, or reaches home plate (Rule 8, Section 7R). If you leave early, the ball is dead, "no pitch" is called, and you're out.
• No stealing. If the pitch isn't hit, go back to your base after each pitch (Rule 8, Section 6G).
• Tagging up: you may leave on a caught fly ball once a fielder first touches it. Starting from behind the base to get a running start makes you out.
• Once you've legally started to advance, the pitcher getting the ball on the pitcher's plate doesn't stop you.

Some divisions are played with stealing. There, runners may advance once the pitch reaches the front edge of home plate.

Every USA Softball division uses a double first base: a white half in fair territory and a contrasting-color half in foul territory (Rule 8, Section 2N).

• Running to first when a play is being made on you: touch the colored (foul) half. The fielder uses the white half.
• If you touch only the white half on that play, you can be called out on appeal, unless you get back to either half before the appeal.
• If you touch only the white half and collide with a fielder there who's about to catch the throw, you're out for interference.
• On a throw from the foul side, or a bad throw that pulls the fielder into foul ground, either of you can use either half.
• When there's no play on you (for example, a ball hit to the outfield), you can touch either half.
• Once you're on first, you can use either half, including when tagging up on a fly ball.

A batted ball that hits or bounces over the white half is fair. Over the colored half, it's foul.

Under Rule 5, Section 8, men's, women's and coed slow pitch limit over-the-fence home runs per team per game:

Over the limit: the ball is dead, the batter is out, and no runners advance.

• Every ball hit over the fence counts toward the limit, whether or not runs score.
• A fly ball a fielder touches before it clears the fence is a four-base award, not a home run, and doesn't count toward the limit.
• On a legal over-the-fence home run or four-base award, the batter and all runners score and don't have to run the bases.

Local leagues using USA Softball rules may set a different limit.

Under Rule 8, Section 9:

• Any eligible player on the lineup card, including listed substitutes, may be a courtesy runner.
• You get one courtesy runner per inning for any player other than the pitcher.
• The pitcher can also have a courtesy runner (the same or a different player) if the pitcher bats and reaches base safely.
• In coed, you get two per inning for players other than the pitcher, one man and one woman. Every courtesy runner must be the same gender as the player they replace.
• A courtesy runner is in the game once reported to the plate umpire, and can't then be replaced by a substitute.
• A courtesy runner can't run for another courtesy runner (except for an injury). A player who has been run for can't be a courtesy runner for the rest of that inning.
• If the courtesy runner's own turn at bat comes while they're on base, the player they're running for is called out and the courtesy runner leaves the base to bat.

Using a courtesy runner more than once in an inning for non-pitchers, or breaking the other limits, results in an out and the runner coming off the base.

Lineup (Rule 4, Section 1): slow pitch uses 10 defensive players: pitcher, catcher, four infielders and four outfielders (left, left-center, right-center and right).

Extra player (Rule 4, Section 4):

• An EP is optional. If you use one, list the EP in the batting order before the game, and keep one for the whole game.
• With an EP, all 11 bat and any 10 of the 11 can play defense.
• The EP stays in the same batting spot all game, can be substituted for, and may re-enter once.

Re-entry: any player may leave and re-enter once, in the same spot in the batting order.

Shorthanded rule: you can start or finish with one fewer than the required number. The empty spot goes last in the batting order and is an automatic out each time it comes up. During a game you can continue one short if a player leaves for any reason other than ejection, but you can never bat fewer than:

A player who leaves can't return (except under the blood rule). A substitute who arrives must go straight into the empty spot.

Under Rules 4 and 7:

• Defense: 10 players, five men and five women, with two men and two women in the infield, two and two in the outfield, and one man and one woman as pitcher and catcher.
• With extra players: 12 players (six men, six women) with two EPs. All 12 bat and any 10 play defense, keeping the coed positioning. The batting order can't change.
• Batting order must alternate men and women.
• Ball: women bat with the 11-inch red-stitch ball and men with the 12-inch red-stitch ball. If the wrong ball is used, the batting team chooses between the result of the play and having the batter hit again with the count as it was.
• Shorthanded: a team playing with three in the infield or outfield must have at least one man and one woman there. A late-arriving player of the right gender goes into the open spot.
• Courtesy runners must be the same gender as the player they run for.
• Home runs by men and women both count toward the team's limit (8 in Coed Open, 5 in Coed C, 3 in Coed D, 1 in E/Rec).
• No metal cleats in coed.

Wrong positioning: if the batting team points out the wrong number of men or women in the infield or outfield after a play, but before the next pitch:

• if the batter reached first safely and every runner advanced at least one base, the play stands,
• otherwise the batting team chooses between the result of the play and the batter being awarded first base, with runners advancing if forced.

Once the next pitch is thrown, the play stands.

Shoes (Rule 3, Section 6):

• Men's and women's adult slow pitch: metal cleats are allowed, as long as the cleats on metal sole or heel plates stick out no more than 3/4 inch. Round metal spikes are always illegal.
• Coed and senior slow pitch: no metal cleats, and no hard plastic or polyurethane spikes like metal plates. A player still wearing metal cleats after a warning is ejected.
• Detachable cleats that screw into the shoe are legal. Screw-on cleats aren't.

Uniform:

• Generally, the team must wear matching uniforms with a whole number from 0 to 99, at least 3 inches high, on every shirt. No duplicate numbers, and a player without a number can't play.
• Men's D and E/Rec, Women's Open, C, D and E/Rec, and Coed C, D and E/Rec: the only requirement is shirts similar in color, with a number.
• Caps, visors and headbands are optional and may be mixed. Handkerchiefs and plastic visors aren't allowed.

Jewelry: exposed jewelry the umpire judges dangerous must come off. Medical alert jewelry must be taped to the body with the information visible. A player who refuses to remove jewelry or illegal shoes can't play.

Regulation game (Rule 5, Section 3): seven innings. A game called early (rain, darkness and so on) counts once five innings are complete, or once the home team leads after four or more innings against the visitors' five. A tie after seven goes to extra innings.

Run-ahead rule (Rule 5, Section 9):

Women's Open moved to the 20/15 rule in 2026. Complete innings are played: if the visitors reach the margin in the top half, the home team still bats.

USA Softball requires the run-ahead rule at all National Championships. Local leagues using USA Softball rules can set their own run rules and time limits.

Ejection (Rule 4, Section 8): an umpire can eject you at any point from when the umpire crew enters the field until they leave it. If you're ejected:

• you must leave the grounds and have no contact with the umpires or anyone in the game,
• you're suspended for one additional game and can't be in the stands, dugout or nearby during it,
• you may appeal the suspension to the Championship Protest Committee.

Not leaving within one minute, or being found taking part afterwards, forfeits the game. So does an ejection that leaves your team without enough players.

Arguing balls and strikes brings a team warning. Any repeat offense means ejection.

Dugout and field conduct (Rule 5, Section 12):

• No smoking and no alcohol in the dugout or on the field.
• Stay in the dugout or team area unless the rules or the umpire allow otherwise.
• No weapons on the field or in the dugout (an ordinary pocket knife is excepted).

A first offense brings a team warning. A repeat means ejection.