College baseball 101: A beginner's guide to the sport's rules and terminology

As spring sports are underway, The Chronicle is back with our breakdown of every sport, including key rules, terminology, tournament formats and more. Click here to access our beginner's guide to all other sports. This is our baseball edition:

Overview

Baseball is a bat-to-ball sport, with the objective of scoring more runs than the other team. A run is scored when a runner crosses home plate, the fourth and final base. Batters most commonly reach base by hitting a pitch from the opposing pitcher — who throws the ball 60 feet and six inches away from home plate atop the pitching mound — and making it to a base before the ball is fielded properly. 

The game is played over nine innings, with one inning comprising two parts, the top and the bottom halves. The away team bats first in the top of the inning, with the home team going to bat in the bottom of the frame. Half-innings go on until three outs are recorded. Outs are at-bats that don’t end in a runner reaching base. If a home team is leading after the top of the ninth inning, the bottom of the inning is redundant and the game ends. If nine innings don’t suffice, the two sides play until the game is resolved. Both offenses begin with a runner on second base starting in the 10th inning.

Teams have a starting pitcher begin the game, and relief pitchers entering the game at various points, depending on the performance of the previous pitcher. Pitchers and fielders are the team’s run-prevention group, and the batters are responsible for creating offense.

A strong balance of scoring and run prevention are the name of the game in baseball, as winning teams have to do both at a high level to win. Duke figures to be near the top of the ACC at both this year. The Blue Devils play multiple times a week, with home contests taking place at Jack Coombs Field on West Campus. - Myles Powicki

Ball: A pitch that misses the strike zone (that a batter does not swing at). Four balls results in a walk, or a free pass to first base, for the batter.

Foul ball: A ball that is hit into the area outside first or third base, as denoted by the foul lines that extend up and to the fence. A batter’s first two foul balls count as strikes, but a foul ball cannot be the final strike of an at-bat. 

Run: Occurs when a player safely returns to home plate. The goal of the game is to score more runs than the opposing team.

Hit: When a batter hits the ball into fair territory, then reaches a base without an error or a fielder’s choice, they earn a base hit. 

Error: When a fielder mishandles the ball in a way that allows the player to advance on base, they receive an error. Some examples might include dropping a fly ball, dropping a foul ball that extends an at-bat or throwing away a ball that allows a batter to advance.

Fielder’s choice: When a fielder chooses to throw the ball to another base, allowing the batter-runner to advance. If fielders attempt a double play and get one of the runners but not the batter (because he beats the throw), that also counts as a fielder’s choice. 

Fly ball: A ball that is hit high in the air towards the outfield, where a fielder will typically attempt to catch it. A fly ball that goes to the infield is called a pop-up.

RBI: An acronym that stands for “runs batted in.” Batters are credited RBIs when runs are scored as a result of their plate appearances. These include bases-loaded walks or hits by pitch, but not runs scored by errors or double plays.

Stolen base: A baserunner “steals” a base by advancing unaided by actions from his teammates. This occurs most often by running to the next base while the pitcher is pitching the ball to home plate.

Extra-base hit: Any hit that is not a single. Doubles (when a batter hits the ball and advances safely to second), triples (when a batter hits the ball and advances safely to third) and home runs all count as extra-base hits.

Home run: When a batter hits the ball and rounds all the bases without being put out. This automatically occurs after hitting the ball over the outfield fence, but can also occur when a ball is still in play — called an inside-the-park home run.

Fielding positions: Each of the nine players is assigned a particular position to play defense. They are Nos. 1-9 for the scorekeeper. 

• Pitcher (1), catcher (2), first baseman (3), second baseman (4), third baseman (5), shortstop (6), left fielder (7), center fielder (8), right fielder (9)
• These positions are typically grouped into the infield (all three basemen and the shortstop), outfield (left, right and center fielders) and battery (pitcher and catcher)

Bullpen: A term used to refer to the area where relief pitchers wait and warm up before entering the game. It can also refer to the relief pitchers themselves.

Starting pitcher: The pitcher who begins the game and is expected to pitch for several innings.

Relief pitcher: A pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher, usually to pitch in specific situations or for shorter durations. They are used to maintain or change the game's momentum.

Closer: A specialized relief pitcher brought in during the final innings to “close” out the game.

Pitches

• Fastball: The fastest pitch, thrown straight or with slight movement. A four-seam fastball is held across the bell of the seams, while a two-seam fastball is held along the straight portions of the seams. Typically, a two-seam fastball has more movement.
• Curveball: A slow pitch with a sharp, downward break.
• Slider: A fast pitch with a sharp, lateral break.
• Changeup: A slower pitch that looks like a fastball out of a pitcher’s hand, fooling batters with speed difference.
• Sinker: A fast pitch that drops as it approaches the batter.
• Cutter: A fastball with sharp movement, usually cutting away from the batter.
• Knuckleball: A pitch with little spin, causing erratic movement.

Pinch hitter: A pinch hitter is a player that is substituted for another, typically in a critical situation.

Designated hitter: The designated hitter (DH) is a player who bats for another player, usually the pitcher. - Callan Perchinsky, Abby DiSalvo

Rules

Outs

• Strikeout: A strikeout occurs when a batter receives his third strike in a given at-bat. Players can strikeout “looking” on a called strike or “swinging” if they miss the pitch. Additionally, a foul tip with two strikes caught by the catcher is ruled a strikeout.
• Tag out: A fielder applies a “tag” when they touch a baserunner with the ball or their glove with the ball in it. If the baserunner is not on a base at the time the tag is applied, they are out. An exception to this rule occurs at first base, where a batter attempting to reach first may run through the base without vulnerability to a tag out. Additionally, once a player reaches home plate, they are no longer in play and cannot be tagged out.
• Fly out: A ball batted into the air is a live ball that, if caught, renders the batter out. Baserunners must be on their starting base at the time a fly ball is caught, after which they may attempt to “tag up” and advance. However, if a player leaves the base before the ball is caught, they are at risk of getting out. For example, if a player tries to score from third base on a fly ball, but leaves for home early, the defense can touch third base while holding the ball to get the runner out.
• Force out: Force plays are generated by default when a batter puts the ball in play and must run to first base, as well as when another baserunner is attempting to advance to a baserunner’s starting base. In either scenario, if a fielder with the ball touches the next base before the baserunner does, a force out is recorded.

Dead ball advancement:

• Hit by pitch: A batter that is hit by a pitch is awarded first base.
• Ground-rule double: If a fair ball bounces out of the field of play or fulfills a condition specific to each ballpark (e.g. becoming lodged in the wall), all baserunners are awarded two bases.
• Balk: A balk constitutes an illegal, deceptive motion by the pitcher. Illegal pickoff attempts and twitching once in a set position are some of the most common situations in which a balk is called. A balk allows all baserunners to advance one base.

Substitutions: Substitutions may be made only when the ball is dead — or in between every pitch. Substitutions in baseball include pinch hitters, pinch runners, pitching changes and defensive substitutions. Offensive substitutes take the place of the original player in the lineup. Pitchers are required to face one batter before becoming eligible to be substituted out, with exceptions for injury. Any player substituted out of the game is not permitted to return.

Double switch: A common substitution tactic used by coaches is to substitute a player into the batting lineup, then move the displaced player elsewhere in the lineup, removing the third player entirely. For example, a coach might pinch hit for the third-place hitter, then move the old third-place hitter to the ninth-place spot, and remove the old ninth-place hitter from the game.

Action clock violation: Although baseball does not have a game clock limiting the duration of the contest, recent efforts to increase the pace of play have resulted in the implementation of an action clock. When no runners are on base, the pitcher has 20 seconds to deliver a pitch. Failure to do so results in the addition of a ball to the count. When runners are on base, the pitcher also has the option to make a pickoff attempt to reset the clock. There is no limit on the number of pickoff attempts allowed per batter. A batter may also be called for an action clock violation if they are not in the box and ready to take a pitch with eight or fewer seconds remaining on the clock. In this case, a strike would be added to the count. -Josh Alms

Season format

This season, Duke will play a total of 56 regular-season games — 30 of those will come against ACC opponents. On a standard week, the Blue Devils will play four or five games. This generally takes the form of a midweek game on Tuesday or Wednesday before playing a three-contest series Friday through Sunday. 

With the expansion of the ACC before the 2025 campaign, the conference has put in a new postseason format. From May 20-25 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, all 16 teams in the league will compete in a single-elimination format. 

From there, 64 teams will advance to NCAA regionals via a selection committee, with the top-16 teams hosting the event at their home park. The winner of each region will advance to a best-of-three super regional, and eight winners will advance to the ultimate site for college baseball: Omaha, Neb. At the College World Series, teams will play a double-elimination format until the finals — another best-of-three series to determine a champion. -Caleb Dudley

Coaching staff and recent trends 

Duke is led by head coach Chris Pollard, who has been at the helm since June 2012. His tenure with the program has been an undeniable success, transforming the Blue Devils from an ACC bottom-feeder to a perennially ranked team. When Pollard took over, Duke hadn’t captured an ACC championship or a trip to the NCAA tournament since 1961. With the Davidson alum leading the charge, the Blue Devils have won two ACC championships, made six trips to an NCAA regional and come within one win of Omaha three times. Pollard recently surpassed Jack Coombs, the namesake of Duke's field, for the program record in wins with 382 and counting.

Pitching coach Brady Kirkpatrick and hitting coach and recruiting coordinator Eric Tyler have been tremendous additions for the program, developing a plethora of All-Americans and MLB draft selections. Assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Derek Simmons joined the program for the 2025 season after five years at Indiana. -Elliott Jarnot

Abby DiSalvo

Abby DiSalvo is a Trinity sophomore and assistant Blue Zone editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.