How to play:
A guide to slowpitch softball
Basic Game > Playing Area > Defensive Team > Pitching > Batting > Running the Bases
A Softball playing area is contained within a 90-degree angle, and is usually called a DIAMOND, because the central part of the playing field - the INFIELD - is diamond-shaped. The OUTFIELD extends outward from the infield to a boundary, either actual or notional. From above, the playing area looks like the illustration following.
Everything inside the thick black lines is known as FAIR TERRITORY and is where most of the action takes place. The shaded area outside these lines is called FOUL TERRITORY, where some action can take place. Everything beyond this is called DEAD BALL TERRITORY because if this ball goes into this area, all action stops. As a basic rule, the batter must hit the ball into fair territory.
You will often hear people referring to LEFT FIELD, CENTRE FIELD and RIGHT FIELD. These terms mean exactly what they say. Left field is that part of the outfield which is to the left as you look at the field diagram; centre field is the outfield area behind second base; and right field is the outfield area to the right on the diagram.
The pitcher stands on a rectangular piece of heavy rubber, the PITCHER'S PLATE (P), and tries to pitch the ball across HOME PLATE (H), a five-sided piece of heavy rubber, guarded by the batter, 50 feet away.
Each BASE (First Base, Second Base and Third Base) is marked by plastic bag filled with foam. The distance between each base is 65 feet (quite a long way!).
For safety reasons, FIRST BASE often consists of a double base, half white and half orange, with the orange section in foul territory and the white section in fair territory. The batter heads for the orange part, the fielder uses the white part, and collisions are avoided.
