3 new 'experimental' rules for softball this year...

Posted on: January 24, 2017 at 05:42:57 CT

They are only required for conference games by the Power 5 conferences, but other conferences can apply to use them too. All are intended to speed up games.

1. Reducing the number of conferences from a maximum of 14 to just 6. Teams can have up to 2 conferences per inning, one offensive and one defensive. Right now teams can have one offensive and defensive conferences per inning, or a total of 14 in a 7 inning game. In extra innings under the new rules you get one conference of any type in each extra inning.

2. Teams won't be allowed to huddle around the pitchers mound after an out. You can throw the ball around the infield but then it goes right to the pitcher.

3. Teams will have 90 seconds between innings before they must be ready to play again; pitchers ready to pitch, hitters in the batters box. And in those 90 seconds pitchers can throw as many warm up pitches as they want. Right now there is no time limit between innings and pitchers are limited to 5 warm up throws.

I like #1 a lot. #2 seems kind of petty, was that really a problem before? #3 is ok, the 5 limit rule on warm up pitches seemed arbitrary, easier to put a stopwatch to 90 seconds than to count pitches.

So we will play with these new rules in our conference games, and the old rules in non conference games. We have to collect data on all games and submit it to the NCAA and they will decide whether to make a permanent rules change for everyone in 2018.

Edited by bluetiger_ at 05:44:04 on 01/24/17