Coed softball players get used to differences for men and women

By Raju Woodward
Gazette-Times Reporter

Take a quick glance at the Corvallis Parks & Recreation Department’s coed softball list of rules and regulations, and some stand out more than others.

Rule F states: Any walk to a male batter will result in a two base award for the batter.

The rule, intended to prevent teams from bypassing male batters so they can face female batters instead, is one of several controversial rules players in Corvallis’ coed leagues have to follow.

“I think it’s weird that in normal softball if you walk a male, they only get one base,” Jager Bombers third baseman Heather Newberry said. “But in our league, males get two bases and a female gets on base too.”

Newberry doesn’t think the rule should be changed. She understands why a lot of players might have issues with it, but she said it makes games more challenging - the extra baserunner forces teams to strategize more. Besides, rules are rules and that’s how it is she says.

Zachariah Johnson, however, has a different perspective on the rule. He thinks that it, along with some other ones, are too biased.

“I think they gear them towards males, it makes women seem like they are lesser players,” the Bearded Anteaters pitcher said. “A lot of the women I have played with feel like a lot of the rules aren’t right, and I agree with them. Some of them are a little too much.”

Johnson’s solution? Award just one base.

Meanwhile, Terra Champney, who plays for the Peacock Dirty Birds, wishes rule I would be done away with. It states players may not overplay their positions.

For example, if the ball is hit to shortstop, the third baseman cannot move over and make the play. If he/she does, the play is ruled dead and all runners are safe.

The problem, though, is umpires either enforce the rule too much or too little.

“We had an umpire in our last game who called overplay six or seven times,” Champney said. “It totally was the guy’s ball and the girl had no chance to make the play, and he still called it overplay.”

While Champney agrees with rule E, which states infield positions must be divided with three males and three females and the outfield two males and two females, she said if a player is fast enough to make a play and calls his/her teammate off, they should be allowed to.

The Corvallis leagues use the American Softball Association rules and regulations. However, if team managers want changes made to rules, it can be done.

The problem is Parks & Rec coordinator Dave Evenson hasn’t heard that many complaints or suggestions because not many managers attend the orientation meeting before the season

“We give team managers the opportunity to speak up about the rules,” Evenson said. “But most of them are fine with the rules.”

Then there’s the matter of the balls. Watch a coed game closely and you’ll notice the umpire switching them every at-bat.

That’s exactly what umpire Rodney Wood was doing two Sundays ago during the Bearded Anteaters/Jager Bombers game. Male batters saw a .40 core, 12-inch ball thrown to them, while females a .44, an 11-inch one.

“It’s mainly for safety,” Wood said of rule H, which requires the that different size balls be thrown to males and females. “If a male was to wail on a harder ball, someone could get hurt.”

The smaller ball also allows female players to hit the ball further, which is something they appreciate. But they will be the first to tell you they aren’t nearly as fond of fielding them.

“I can’t throw the smaller ball,” Champney said. “When I pick one up, I throw it too hard and it goes right into the ground.”

Champney, who played softball in high school, is used to playing with a bigger ball. So she wouldn’t mind if the league decided to use the same size ball for every batter. She said there are plenty of women who can hit the larger ball well.

Johnson also had issues with the ball switching. He said it took some time for him to get used to pitching with different sized balls, and on windy days, things can get interesting. Over time, though, he has gotten better at it, which makes Wood’s job easier.

“The pitchers here are really good about it,” Wood said.

“If you throw them the wrong ball and they see a girl coming up or guy, they will get the ball back to me.”

There’s plenty of debate regarding the rules, but in the end, most of the players are just trying to have fun, and usually they succeed at that - rules withstanding.

“I like the rules,” Newberry said. “It makes it not so competitive and most people who sign up for this league play for fun. I think they help get people to play.”