Section 8: Safety Considerations
Protective Equipment
- Double-ear-flap batting helmets with face masks/guards are mandatory for all batters, on-deck batters, and base runners.
- The catcher's full protective set (helmet and mask with throat protector, chest protector, shin guards) is required.
- Defensive face masks/guards are permitted for the pitcher and corner infielders, who are most exposed to hard-hit line drives.
Bat Compliance Testing
- Bat certification requirements and championship bat/compression testing keep batted-ball speeds within the intended performance window — a safety measure as much as a competitive one.
Collision Avoidance
- The must-avoid-contact and malicious-contact rules, together with the double base at first, are designed to reduce collisions between runners and fielders.
- The look-back rule keeps base running orderly once the pitcher controls the ball in the circle.
Weather and Environmental Safety
- Lightning: Games are suspended and the field cleared when lightning is in the area, following the NCAA's lightning-safety guidance, and resume only after the prescribed all-clear interval.
- Heat: Hydration and heat-management practices are followed during hot-weather competition.
- Play is also suspended for unplayable field conditions or darkness where lighting is inadequate.
Player Health
- NCAA concussion-management protocols require removal from play and clearance before return for any athlete with a suspected concussion.
- Athletic trainers and medical personnel are present at competition, and venues maintain emergency action plans.
- Field maintenance — level infield, safe outfield, secured bases, and screened dugouts — is part of the host institution's safety responsibility.