Section 6: Scoring
Scoring Runs
- A run scores each time a runner legally touches first, second, third, and home before the third out of the inning.
- A run does not count if the third out is a force out, is made on the batter-runner before reaching first, or is the result of a preceding runner failing to touch a base on an appeal.
Determining the Winner
- The team with more runs at the end of a regulation (or extra-innings) game wins.
- A game ended early by the run-ahead rule is complete, and the score stands.
- Called and suspended games: If a game is stopped for weather or darkness, the rules define when it is a complete game, when it is suspended for later completion, and when it must be replayed.
The Box Score
The official scorer records each at-bat, run, hit, error, and the line score by inning. The scorer's rulings on hits versus errors and on earned versus unearned runs follow the scoring rules in the rules book.
Championship Format
- The NCAA Division I Softball Championship is a bracketed postseason: 16 four-team double-elimination regionals, then best-of-three super regionals, leading to the eight-team Women's College World Series, which is itself a double-elimination tournament followed by a best-of-three championship series.
- Divisions II and III conduct their own NCAA championships under the same rules book.