Auburn leads 2-1, as it comes to bat in the bottom of the fourth... Thanks to a Kirsti Merritt three-run homer (where have we heard that before) that makes it 4-2 Florida at the time, the Gators hold a 4-3 lead as Auburn bats in the bottom of the seventh... Tigers have the tying run at third with one out... Tying run scores on a grounder to first. Fielder immediately throws home, with runner getting under the tag... Hard line-drive single to left, putting runners on first and second with one out. Lead runner is the potential game-winner... Ground-out to second (fielder not able to tag runner going from first to second, but throws batter out at first), advancing runners to second and third with two down... Deep grounder to short. Very close at first base as to whether batter or throw got there first, but moot because first-baseperson drops ball. Winning run scores from third... AUBURN WINS 5-4, FIRST LOSS OF SEASON FOR FLORIDA (26-1).
This Friday (and all remaining Fridays of the regular season), I will preview the upcoming weekend's games. Before doing so, I wanted to do an entry, primarily for sports fans who have not watched much softball, on differences they could expect to see between softball and baseball. The Sandy Plains Softball Association of Marietta, Georgia has produced a document entitled Fastpitch 101 , which details the similarities and differences in the rules of the two sports. Here are some of my own observations from over the years: 1. Because the bases are considerably closer together in softball (60 feet) than in baseball (90 feet), softball infielders consistently must pick up ground balls and make their throws to first base quickly, in order to get the runner. In other words, many (if not most) softball grounders result in "bang-bang" plays at first base, necessitating a lot of close calls by first-base umpires, who must detect whether the thrown ball (to the first-baseperso...