One of the most interesting things about college softball is that it has some different rules than you’re going to see anywhere else. Certainly rules you’re not going to see in other college or pro sports. And one of those rules is that there are guardrails in place to keep a team from getting embarrassed too badly.
The answer to the question, “does college softball have a mercy rule?” Is yes. There is indeed a mercy rule. And it’s not a particular hard one to understand. It’s put in place so that college softball teams are not having to use too many pitchers or leave the day looking too bad. And it’s a way to make sure that some bit of sportsmanship remains after the game is played.
Does college softball have a mercy rule?
When asking, “does college softball have a mercy rule?” The answer for both the regular season and playoffs is absolutely yes. According to the NCAA:
“If one team is up by eight or more runs after five or more equal innings, the plate umpire may declare the run-ahead rule. These complete innings must be played unless the home team reaches the eight-run lead while at bat — so technically, the shortest a game could go is four-and-a-half innings. If the visiting team reaches the eight-run limit in the fifth or any inning after, the home team must be allowed to bat in the bottom half of the inning.”
In other words, if either team is up by eight runs or more, after the 5th inning, the game is over due to the college softball mercy rule.