Softball vs Baseball

       

         Spring sports start today and many have questioned the difference of baseball and softball. The major thing that many people know, is that at the high school level softball is for girls and baseball is for boys. If you ask the student body, that is the only thing that they can tell you that is different about the two. So here are some major differences. 

The actual field is different between the two sports. The softball field does not have a raised pitching mount while baseball does. This makes the softball field flatter and more accessible for the team. The pitching mount is also closer to the home plate in softball than it is in baseball. The actual diamond is also smaller in softball, making the bases closer together, giving the players less of a running distance. The outfield is smaller in softball too, by about 100 feet. Overall the softball fields are smaller than the baseball fields, which makes it easier to cover more area and makes the players practice aiming to avoid the players in the outfield. 

The ball is different, if you didn’t catch it from the name. The softball is much larger than a baseball, but not any softer. Baseballs are smaller to go through the air faster. The bats are different too, but not by much; the softball bats are slightly larger, to hit the larger ball, and the baseball bats are smaller to match the smaller ball. Softball has larger equipment, while the baseball players play with precision and agility with their smaller equipment. So overall the women’s softball team practices on a smaller field with larger balls and bats and baseball is the opposite. 

By Juliana Clifford