What Plays Can Go to Replay Review in College Softball? Here’s the List

Instant replay is still a new thing in college softball, but it’s being used in postseason softball across the country. Every Division 1 regional has replay capabilities of some kind.

The ground rules are simple: Each team gets two challenges per game and once you use it, you lose it – this isn’t the NFL, where if you go 2/2, you get a third. Nope, two challenges are all anyone gets. The umpiring crew *can* use their own discretion to review a play from the sixth inning onward.

Only certain plays can be challenged, and there have already been plenty of instances where someone wants a review and a clarification that amounts to “that’s not on the list” has to be given. This happened during the regular season often and has happened several times just in the first two days of the NCAA tournament.

Worthy of note is the “dead ball” qualification – dead balls cannot be reviewed. This means that a play that is called on the field a home run, for instance, is not reviewable. Other scenarios that would involve runners being arbitrarily placed on base, not as a result of the play itself, are also on the “not reviewable” list.

What plays can be reviewed on instant replay? Below, the full list, straight from the NCAA.

• Regarding batted balls (any ball higher than the top of the foul pole when it leaves the field cannot have that aspect reviewed):
  • Deciding whether a batted ball called fair is fair or foul.
  • Deciding whether a batted ball called foul should be a ground rule double, home run or hit-by-pitch.
  • Deciding whether a batted ball called fair and ruled not to have left the field of play did leave the field.
• Regarding pitched balls at the plate:
  • Deciding whether a pitch ruled a dropped third strike was caught before the ball touched the ground.
  • Deciding whether a live or dead ball should be changed to a foul ball.
  • Deciding whether a foul ball should be changed to a foul tip only with no base runners, or if it would result in a third out.
  • Deciding whether a batter is hit by a pitch.
• Spectator interference.
• Obstruction and interference (including collisions).
• Deciding if malicious/flagrant contact occurred. Umpires may initiate this review without requiring a coach’s challenge at any point in the game to ensure student-athlete safety.
• Timing plays (deciding whether the base runner scored ahead of a third out).
• Force/tag play calls: Plays involving all runners acquiring the base before the defensive player’s attempt to put the runner out at any base.
• Blocked or dead ball/placement of runners: Deciding whether a ball not ruled blocked should be ruled blocked, and the proper placement of runners after any blocked or dead ball call.
• With no base runners, a no catch can be changed to a catch at any time. With runners on base, a no catch can be changed to a catch only if it results in a third out.