Fastpitch Softball – No Leading Off

Within the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), fast pitch softball teams can be all-women, all-men or co-ed. Pitchers typically use a windmill movement to throw the ball at high speeds.

The game is similar to baseball, and includes stealing bases and bunting. Unlike baseball, however, there is no “leading off” – the baserunner can only leave the base when the pitcher releases the ball. Most leagues use the “dropped third strike” rule, which allows the batter to attempt an advance to first base when the catcher fails to catch the third strike.

Rule 2.3.3
OFFICIAL SOFTBALL
Only an official softball that meets the standards of the WBSC Equipment Standards Commission and is stamped with the WBSC Equipment Standards Commission adopted and approved marking must be used in a WBSC Competition. See Appendix 3 (Approved Ball Standards).

APPENDIX 3:
BALL STANDARDS

A. AN OFFICIAL SOFTBALL
An official softball:

1. must be a regular, smooth-seamed, concealed stitched or flat surfaced ball;
2. must have a center core made of either No. 1 quality long fiber kapok, a mixture of cork and rubber, a polyurethane mixture or other materials approved by the WBSC Equipment Standards Commission;
3. may be hand or machine wound with a fine quality twisted yarn and covered with latex or rubber cement;
4. must have its cover cemented by application of cement to the underside of the cover and sewn with waxed thread of cotton or linen, or a molded cover bonded to the core or molded integrally with the core, and have authentic facsimile of stitching, as approved by the WBSC Equipment Standards Commission; and must have a cover of the finest quality No. 1 chrome tanned horsehide or cowhide, made of synthetic material, or made of other materials approved by the WBSC Equipment Standards Commission.

B. DIMENSIONS AND SPECIFICATIONS

1. The completed 30.5 cm. (12 in.) ball will be between 30.2 cm. (11 7/8 in.) and 30.8 cm. (12 1/8 in.) in circumference and weigh between 178.0 g. (6 1/4 ounces) and 198.4 g. (7 ounces). The flat seam style will have not less than 88 stitches on each cover, sewn by the two-needle method.
2. The completed ball will have a coefficient of restitution and compression standard as determined and set by the WBSC Equipment Standards Commission.
3. The COR means the Coefficient of Restitution of a softball when measured with the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) test method for measuring the Coefficient of Restitution of softballs.
4. The white cover, white or red stitch or yellow optic cover, red stitch 30.5 cm. (12 in.) ball with a COR of .47 or under will be used in the following WBSC SD championship play: Men’s and Women’s; Junior Men’s and Junior Women’s. The balls will have a WBSC logo marking.
5. On balls used in WBSC Championship Play, the load force required to compress the ball 0.64 cm. (0.25 in.) must not exceed 170.1 kg (375 pounds) when such balls are measured in accordance with the ASTM test method for measuring compression-displacement of softballs, which is endorsed by the WBSC Equipment Standards Commission.

Listed below are the standards established for each ball:

References:
https://www.wbsc.org/en/disciplines/softball
https://static.wbsc.org/assets/cms/documents/b5480455-60e2-bfc3-1e2e-3566c2765cc5.pdf