page_title: Softball
section_title: Getting the batter out
hierarchical_section_title: Softball / Gameplay / Getting the batter out
caption_attribution_description: Finally, after 10 innings and almost 3 hours of play, Texas booked a win over Penn State.
context_page_description: Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a field that has base lengths of 60 feet, a pitcher's mound that ranges from 43–50 feet away from home plate, and a home run fence that is 220–300 feet away from home plate, depending on the type of softball being played. It was invented in 1887 in Chicago, Illinois, United States as an indoor game. The game moves at a faster pace than traditional baseball. There is less time for the base runner to get to first while the opponent fields the ball; yet, the fielder has less time to field the ball while the opponent is running down to first base. The name "softball" was given to the game in 1926, because the ball used to be soft; however, in modern-day usage, the balls are hard.
  A tournament held in 1933 at the Chicago World's Fair spurred interest in the game. The Amateur Softball Association of America is one of the largest governing bodies for the game in the United States and sponsors annual sectional and World Series championships. Other national and regional governing bodies also exist, including the USSSA.
context_section_description: The batter is out if: three strikes are called (a "strikeout"); a ball hit by the batter is caught before touching the ground (a "flyout"); the batter goes to a base that is already tagged ("tagged" or "tag play"); a fielder holding the ball touches a base which is the only base towards which the batter may run before the batter arrives there (a "force out" or "force play"); or in certain special circumstances. There is also a not so common occurrence when the batter has 2 strikes and swings at strike three. If the catcher doesn't catch the ball, the batter has the chance to run to first base and the catcher can throw the batter out at first base.
caption: The Texas Longhorns softball team gets a strikeout against Penn State to end the game, February 15, 2008.
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