FCS Softball Situations | Quiz #1

You're a runner on third base, with less than 2 outs, and your teammate hits a shallow fly ball to right field. You should:

• Immediately get back to base to tag up when the ball is caught.

• Go about half way towards home, and wait to see if ball is caught or missed. If missed, you skamper home; if caught, you immediately retreat back to 3B.

• Take a safe lead of the base, and wait to see result of play.

• Immediately run for home plate.

Answer explanation

Tagging up means that you return to third base and touch it after the outfielder catches the ball. This is essential because if the ball is caught, you must be on the base when the catch is made to have the opportunity to advance. If the ball is dropped or not caught cleanly by the outfielder, you can then attempt to score from third base.

You're batting with the count 0 balls and 2 strikes. In this situation you should:

• Expand the strike zone slightly, shorten swing and protect.

• Move slightly away from plate, and look for an inside pitch to pull.

• Lay down a drag bunt to surpise the defense, who won't be expecting it.

• Look for a pitch to drive.

Answer explanation

With 2 strikes, your job as a hitter is to simply put the ball into play. Thus, you need to expand the strike zone slightly and be more aggressive. Shortening your swing and not swinging for the fence also puts you in a better position of putting the ball into play and not striking out. The worst thing you can do in this scenario is take a called third strike.

You're batting with 0 outs, and you have a teammate at 2B. Your primary focus as a hitter should be:

• Look for a pitch to drive and get a hit.

• Look for a pitch to pull to the left side of the infield.

• Look for a pitch to hit to right side of the infield.

Answer explanation

Although it would always be nice to get a hit every time you bat, in this situation your primary focus is to get your teammate to third base with less than 2 outs. Thus, you should be looking for a pitch to hit to the right side of the field. This will definitely move your teammate to 3B, and you just might get a hit anyway.

Here is a question mainly for pitchers/catchers, but everyone should answer anyway. Your opponent is in the batter's box and you are ahead in the count 0 balls and 2 strikes. The next pitch should be a changeup in hopes that they will take it for strike three, or swing and miss.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

We should never throw a changeup when we are ahead in the count 0 balls and 2 strikes. The batter is in a precarious position at 0 and 2, and should be shortening their swing and attempting to hit anything close to the strike zone. By throwing a changeup at this juncture, you are only increasing the probability that the batter will make contact with the ball. A better option would be to throw a normal velocity pitch (curve, screw, drop) that is significantly out of the strike zone. In other words, we are intentionally going to throw a pitch for a ball.

You are batting with a teammate already on 1st base, and you drill a base hit down the line pass the third baseman. Your teammate got a great jump on the pitch, and is going to easily advance to 3B. Your first base coach tells you to keep running to 2B, so you follow instructions and go full speed toward 2B. While running to second, you see that the left fielder has chosen to fire the ball towards 2B in attempt to get you out. The throw looks strong and on line, and will more than likely beat you to the bag. Your action should be to:

• Immediately stop and begin to retreat back towards 1B, hoping to draw a throw or get into a rundown.

• Run as hard as you can, and slide head first to the outside of the bag to avoid the tag.

• Stop drop and roll!

Answer explanation

Even though the coach told you to take 2B, if it appears that continuing to run to 2B will ultimately end in you being tagged out, then stop and make the defense work to get you out. If you can't get back to 1B safely, then getting in a rundown for as long as possible, will give your teammate a chance to scamper home from third base. If the defense has to make more than three throws in a rundown, there is a high probability that you will make it safely to one base or the other. Most teams are not that efficient with how to perform rundowns properly.

You are playing 3B or SS, and the other team has runners on second and third with only 1 out. The batter is left handed and looks to have good speed. She hits a chopping, slow roller towards you that you have to charge hard. Your best option in this situation is to:

• Scoop up the ball and make a quick underhanded throw to first base to attempt to get the runner out.

• Field the ball and make a strong fake throw to first base, and then immediately check the runner at third, in hopes of catching them off the bag, or attempting to run home.

• Just field the ball and eat it. In other words, live to fight another day.

Answer explanation

In this situation, it is probably the wisest to field the ball and make it look like you are going to try to get the runner out at 1B by faking a throw. Most players at 3B will be too aggressive and stray off the bag thinking that they will run home and score when you throw the ball to 1B. A good fake throw will more then likely put the runner at 3B in no man's land, and thus we will have a great opportunity to erase the other teams lead runner, and leave them with runners at first and second, and thus keep a force play at 2B or 3B available to us when their next batter hits.

We are batting and have the bases loaded with only 1 out. Our batter hits a deep fly ball to right center field. Which of the following is the best response for what each runner on base should do in this situation?

• All runners should immediately get back to their base to tag up when the fly ball is caught.

• Runners on 3B, and 2B should immediately tag up, but runner on 1B should go half way to second and wait to see if ball is caught or dropped.

• Only the runner at 3B should immediately tag up. Runners on 2B and 1B should both go half way to the next base and wait to see if the ball is caught or dropped.

Answer explanation

The answer to this question can be a little tricky in most of your minds, however, in this situation, it is best for both of our runners at 3B and 2B to tag up, while the runner at 1B should go half way to second. Our runner at 3B is going to score easily whether the ball is caught or dropped. We definitely want to get our runner at 2B to third on the play, and if this runner is halfway to 3B when the ball is caught, then she will have to retreat back to 2B, and thus not advance. If the outfielder catches the ball, she will more than likely bring the ball in toward 2B, so the chances of our runner 1B advancing to 2B are minimal. By going halfway between 1B and 2B, we give our selves the opportunity to advance to 3B, if the ball is dropped or goes over the OF head. One very important thing to remember is that when you are a runner at 3B, you always tag up on a medium to deep fly ball. If it is a shallow ball in between the OF and infield, then you will want to advance halfway; that way if ball falls in, you will still score on the play.

You are batting with runners on 1B and 2B, with 1 out. Anna Lee gives you the hit and run sign. Your job as a hitter is to:

• Hit the pitch, strike or ball, to the right side of the infield, behind the runners.

• Swing at the pitch if it is a strike. Take pitch if it is a ball.

• Intentionally swing and miss the pitch in order to distract the catcher and give the runners a greater opportunity of stealling 3B and 2B.

• Hit the pitch, strike or ball, to the left side of the infield, ahead of the runners.

Answer explanation

When given the hit and run sign, your job as a hitter is to put the ball in play at all costs, and preferably to the right side of the infield. The ONLY time it is ok to not put the ball in play is when the pitch hits way short of the plate, or is way over the catcher's head. 98% of the time, the pitch will not fall into the category of being unhittable. Remember your job as a hitter in this situation is to "give yourself up" to protect your teammates. Put the ball into play to the right side, and if you happen to get a hit, then that is an added bonus!

We are batting and have runners at 3B and 2B with only 1 out. You are the runner at 2B for the purpose of this question. Your teammate hits a ground ball to the pitcher, and your teammate at 3B sprints for home, but the pitcher is not caught off guard, and throws the ball to the catcher, and thus your teammate is now caught in a rundown between home and third. As the runner at 2B, you should:

• Immediately get yourself to 3B and stay there. Even if your teammate attempts to get back to 3B during the rundown.

• Immediately retreat back to 2B, and stay there, hoping that your teammate can work her way out of the pickle she's in and either score or get back to 3B.

• Go halfway between 2B and 3B, and wait and see what happens to your teammate caught between home and third, before choosing whether to advance to 3B or go back to 2B.

Answer explanation

In this situation, your teammate at 3B has made a poor decision by trying to score on a groundball hit back to the pitcher (we never try to score when a ball is hit to the pitcher, as the ball has to be hit past the pitcher before we even consider running towards home from 3B). As a runner at 2B, you should immediately without hesitation advance to 3B, and not give that base up. Unfortunately, your teammate is at her own peril, and should she get tagged out in a rundown, we at least want to remain with a runner at 3B (you), and also our runner that hit the groundball to the pitcher, should at least be able to advance to 2B as well, and thus we still have 2 runners in scoring position when this play is concluded. The runner at third that attempted to score on the ball hit to the pitcher will have to deal with Anna Lee later. :-)

During a showcase tournament, you notice that one of your teammates has missed a couple of signs during the first two games. You as a teammate should let Moni know that she needs to address the situation with the player who has missed the signs.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Good teammates don't wait for the coach to always address everything with the team or players. The best action in this situation, is to approach the player who is missing the signs, and offer your assistance in reviewing the signs with them one more time. Don't do it in a negative by saying, "hey loser, you're blowing it for the team by missing signs", but rather say "hey, I noticed you missed a couple of signs already, and just wanted to know if you wanted a quick review, which will also benefit me as well". Remember - TEAM first mentality.