St. Louis Diamond Cats

Softball's Fundamental "Commandments"

1. Know How Many Outs There Are: You'd be surprised how often a fielder catches a fly ball, puts her head down and starts jogging to the dugout…. Only to discover it's just the second out.
2. Throw To The Right Place: Whether it means hitting the cutoff person or throwing to second after a single to the outfield. Be decisive.
3. Move The Runner Over: When there's a runner on second with no one out, a simple grounder to the right side usually gets the job done.
4. For Pitchers, The Best Pitch Is The First Pitch Strike: It's much easier to stay ahead in the count this way.
5. For Hitters, Understand the Count: With 2 strikes choke up and try to make contact. When it's 2-0, swing at your pitch. When it's 3-0, check with the third base coach, you might get the green light.
6. Call For It: If you're going to catch a pop fly, let your teammates know by yelling, waving your arms or both. If there is a pop behind the infield, the outfielders should take charge... It's easier to catch a ball coming in than going back.
7. Back Up The Play: When softball is played the right way, there's a lot less standing around in the field. If a runner is stealing second, the center fielder should be charging in. Everyone moves on every play.
8. Know When To Run: If you are a lone base runner on second base and a grounder is hit to the right side, take off, if the grounder goes to the left side, stay put.
9. Never Make The First or Third Out at Third Base: Making the second out at third is not encouraged, but at least it doesn't have the same rally killing effect.
10. Keep The Ball In Front Of You: For catchers, that means dropping to your knees to block a low pitch. For infielders, it means getting in front of a grounder and letting potential bad hops bounce off your body.