In a game that just concluded on ESPN 2, Florida defeated Tennessee 3-2 to take the teams' weekend series two games to one (the Lady Vols took Friday's opener 2-1, whereas the Gators prevailed 5-2 on Saturday). UF looked to be in commanding position in today's game, leading 3-0 as the Lady Vols batted in the top of the sixth. However, Tennessee got a two-run homer from Gabby Leach to close to within 3-2 and then, in the top of the seventh, got its leadoff batter to second when the Florida left-fielder lost a routine fly in the sun. The Lady Vols couldn't get the runner home, however.
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...