Fastpitch Softball Pitching Drills – Backup Responsibilities

Purpose: T0 establish backup responsibilities for the pitcher. The pitcher's main backup job comes when a ball is hit past an outfielder and a possible play is being made at either third base or home plate. This is important defensive work for softball pitching.

Procedure: Start with base runners, an outfielder, a third baseman, and a catcher, with the coach standing at the plate. The coach puts a base runner at first or second, then hits a ball by the outfielder, either over the player's head or in a gap. The pitcher notices that a play will be made at either third or the plate, and she sprints toward and crosses the third base foul line between third and home plate right away. She ends up in foul territory close to dead ball territory or the dugout. The pitcher turns to watch the play unfold. She can cheat toward the base to which the throw is most probably going . Once she knows to which base the ball will in fact be thrown she gets in position behind the fielder, leaving enough distance to be able to react to the overthrow (around 20-30 feet.) On an enclosed field the pitcher is usually near the dugout or the fence line. Have pitchers backup positions when the rest of the team is practicing relays and cutoffs.