In the picture, a male softball player with the ball on his hand and on the other one his glove.
SPORTS

Softball

Softball is a sport discipline that arises from baseball. Its field of play is smaller, but the ball is bigger. Two teams of nine players compete against each other and the objective is to accumulate more runs than the opposing team at the end of 7 rounds (innings).

Teams also rotate between "offense" (batting) and "defense" (pitching and fielding); and they change positions when the "defense" team eliminates three batters or runners of the opposing team. The pitcher's throw is performed from the hip, towards the batter, who tries to hit it with the bat as far as possible; and thus run through all the bases until reaching HOME, scoring a run. At the #Santiago2023 Pan American Games, we will have the Fast-Pitch Female Softball, where the World Ranking made by the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) shows us that 6 countries in our continent are among the TOP 20 in the world. This will guarantee a highly technical competition at our sport festival.

In the picture, a female softball player about to bat the ball.

History of this sport

Softball was introduced as an Olympic competition sport exclusively in the women's category in Atlanta 1996. It was part of the Olympic program until 2008 and, after a break, returned to shine again in Tokyo 2020.

Softball was admitted to the eighth edition of the Pan American Games, held in San Juan in 1979. In 2003 the men's tournament was interrupted, but in Toronto 2015 it was reintroduced to the Pan American program.

The Canadian team has won the most medals, with 10 gold medals.

In the picture, a female softball player about to bat the ball.

How do you compete?

Softball is a team sport in which a ball is hit with a bat. The offensive team has to hit the ball far enough without getting an out.

For that, he has to go through small bases such as first, second and third until he reaches home. When at home, a run is added to the team; meanwhile, the opposing team must be prepared for any ball that passes close by.

A game consists of seven innings. In each inning, one team bats and defends alternately. The team that scores the most runs wins.

How is it different from baseball?

They differ in the size of the field and the size of the ball.

The length of the game is also shorter, with only seven innings compared to baseball's nine.

Quiz

How many innings does softball have?

Check answer
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