How do you run a rundown in fastpitch softball and baseball?

Run the runner back toward the base they came from, at full speed, with the ball up. Get the out with as few throws as you can, and tag as soon as you can reach the runner.

The two-player pattern:

• The fielder with the ball sprints at the runner, ball up in throwing position.
• The receiver sets up a few steps in front of the base, in the same throwing lane, off the runner's line.
• When the runner is committed, the receiver calls "Ball!" and the thrower makes one short dart throw.
• The receiver catches moving forward and tags. The thrower steps out of the base path and follows the throw.
• Other fielders fill in behind each end, so no base is left empty.

That is team convention. "One throw max" is a goal, not a rule. The rulebook decides what counts as a tag, how far the runner may leave the path, and what a fielder without the ball cannot do. Fastpitch adds the look-back rule, and the obstruction penalty differs between the sports.

Who goes where, by situation

Situation	Run the runner toward	The two ends	Fill and backup	Rule or convention?
Runner caught between first and second	First	First baseman and the middle infielder at second	Pitcher fills behind first, the other middle infielder behind second. Right fielder backs up first, center fielder backs up second	Convention
Runner caught between second and third	Second	The middle infielder at second and the third baseman	The other middle infielder fills behind second, the pitcher behind third. Left fielder backs up third	Convention
Runner caught between third and home	Third	Catcher and third baseman	Pitcher fills behind the catcher. Baseball: the shortstop fills behind third and the left fielder backs up third. Fastpitch: the shortstop or left fielder fills behind third, by team call	Convention. A catcher without the ball may not block the plate: rule
Rundown on the runner from first, runner on third, fewer than two outs	First, eyes on third	First baseman and the middle infielder at second	Catcher holds home. Throw home the moment the runner on third breaks	Convention
Same play, two outs	First, fast	Same	A tag before the runner from third touches home keeps the run off the board. If the tag will not beat that runner, throw home	Rule plus convention
Lead runner in a rundown, trail runner behind	The base the lead runner came from, fast	The two fielders on that rundown	A slow rundown lets the trail runner take the base behind it. If both runners end up on one base, tag both	Rule plus convention
Fastpitch only: runner stopped off base, pitcher holding the ball in the circle	No rundown	None	Pitcher holds the ball, feet set. The look-back rule makes the runner go or return	Rule plus convention

Rundown's convention puts two fielders on each end. The fill player owns the base while the front fielder steps up. In baseball, Steve Nicollerat of Coach Baseball Right assigns the same infield fills on all three base pairs.

What the rulebook decides

Fastpitch rules here come from USA Softball, NFHS, NCAA and WBSC. Baseball rules come from the Official Baseball Rules (OBR), which Baseball Canada plays with its own changes. We did not read the current Softball Canada, Little League or NFHS baseball text for this guide, so check the book for your game. None of these codes limits throws or assigns backups.

A fielder without the ball cannot block the runner

In every code here, a fielder who does not have the ball and is not fielding it commits obstruction by impeding a runner. USA Softball and NCAA say contact is not required. In a rundown, the usual offender is the thrower who stays in the path, or a receiver standing on the runner's line before the ball arrives.

The softball codes protect only a fielder fielding a batted ball, so a receiver waiting on a throw stays out of the runner's way. USA Softball's Rules Supplement sets the order: catch the ball, then block the base, then tag. OBR gives a baseball receiver a little more room: a fielder about to catch a throw already in flight and close may be ruled in the act of fielding (6.01(h) comment). Under OBR 6.01(i)(2), a catcher without the ball may not block the runner's path to the plate unless fielding the throw.

The obstruction penalty differs by sport

Fastpitch. USA Softball (8-5-B, Rules Supplement 36), NFHS (8-5-2) and WBSC (5.10.2) signal a delayed dead ball. The obstructed runner cannot be put out between the two bases where it happened, with narrow exceptions such as interference. If the runner is tagged out there anyway, the ball is dead and the umpire awards the base the runner would have reached. NFHS states there is no automatic award. NCAA 9.5.4.6 names the rundown and reaches the same result.

Baseball. Under OBR 6.01(h)(1), a rundown is a play being made on the runner, so the ball is dead at once and the runner gets at least one base beyond the last base legally touched. Baseball Canada's umpire interpretations use the rundown as their example.

A fake tag that impedes the runner is obstruction

USA Softball rules a fake tag that impedes the runner as obstruction and lets the umpire eject the fielder. NCAA 9.5.4.5 bars it, and Little League treats it as obstruction. The Official Baseball Rules have no fake-tag clause, so under OBR a fake tag is obstruction only if the umpire judges it impeded the runner. Teach no fake tags in either sport.

Three feet from the runner's own path

The base path is a straight line from the runner to the base they are trying to reach, set when a fielder attempts the tag. Going more than three feet from it to avoid the tag is an out (USA Softball 8-7-A; NCAA 12.11.5; OBR 5.09(b)(1)). The path is not the chalk line between bases.

A tag needs the ball held securely

USA Softball and OBR both require the ball held securely in the hand or glove. An empty glove is not a tag. Under OBR, neither is a ball dropped right after the touch.

The look-back rule changes the fastpitch play

Fastpitch only. Once the batter-runner has reached first or been put out and the pitcher holds the ball in the circle, a runner off base may stop once, then must immediately return or advance. A runner who does not is out, and the ball is dead (USA Softball 8-7-T; NCAA 12.17; NFHS 8-8-1). Any play on a runner lifts the rule. USA Softball counts a fake throw as a play, and NCAA adds a step or body fake toward the runner. Baseball has no look-back rule.

Two runners on one base

The lead runner is entitled to the base unless forced to advance, and the other runner is out when tagged (USA Softball 8-3-E; OBR 5.06(a)(2)). Tag both so the umpire has the out either way.

With two outs, the tag can beat the run

A run does not count when the third out is the batter-runner before first or a forced runner (USA Softball 5-5-B; OBR 5.08(a)). A tag on a runner who is not forced, as in a pickoff or steal rundown, is neither, so it is a time play. Tag before the runner from third touches home, and the run does not score.

A throw out of play costs two bases

USA Softball (Rules Supplement 38) counts two bases from the last base each runner touched when the throw was released. OBR 5.06(b)(4)(G) also awards two bases, counted from the runners' positions when the throw was made, with a different reference for an infielder's first play after the pitch. Every extra throw carries that risk.

What the coaching staff decides

Everything in this section is convention. A team can run another sound system if every player knows it before the play.

Run the runner back toward the base they came from

Rundown's convention in both sports: drive the runner toward the base they came from, with the fewest throws. If the out never comes, nobody has advanced. Judi Garman and Michelle Gromacki teach the same chase back to first. Chasing the runner toward the next base gives that base away on any dropped ball.

Between third and home, a mistake costs a run, not a base. Get the ball to the home side and run the runner hard toward third. When in doubt, Garman and Gromacki throw ahead of the runner to chase the runner back to third.

A runner who can score comes first. With a runner on third and fewer than two outs, the fielder with the ball checks that runner every step and throws home on the break. Garman and Gromacki give up a rundown between first and second when the lead runner threatens to score. In Sam Piraro's baseball first-and-third defense, the shortstop running the runner from first stops and throws home when told the runner on third has broken.

Set a throw goal, and call it a goal

Jo Evans, writing for the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, expects an out with one throw. Mark Martinez, in an American Baseball Coaches Association video, aims for none: run the runner down and tag. Pick your number and count throws in practice.

Ball up, full speed, one lane

A runner at full speed cannot reverse quickly, so the fielder with the ball sprints. Piraro, writing for the ABCA, has the ballholder set the throwing lane and the receiver match it, with the infield side when in doubt. The throw should not cross the runner's line.

The receiver calls it, and the tag comes early

The receiver stands a few steps in front of the base and calls "Ball!" or "Now!" once the runner is committed. The thrower makes a short dart throw with no windup. Piraro's receiver waits for the release, attacks the ball and tags with two hands when possible. Martinez wants the tag low. If the fielder with the ball can reach the runner, tag instead of throwing.

Throw, clear the path, follow

After the throw, step out of the base path, then follow the throw and get in line behind that receiver. That is the full rotation: two fielders on each end and no thrower left in the way. Piraro and Softball Spot teach the same follow.

Fakes and the fastpitch circle

A fake can fool your own receiver. Piraro allows one arm fake, and only when the runner is watching the ball. In fastpitch, a pitcher holding the ball in the circle does not start a rundown on a stopped runner. Hold the ball and let the look-back rule make the runner choose; a throw, fake or charge frees every runner.

Age the teaching

USA Softball's divisional focuses do not name rundowns. They add throwing on the run and first-and-third defense at 14U, and more aggressive base running at 16U. The NFCA's Alabama Softball practice objectives list rundowns between first and second and between third and home as practice work. The ladder below is Rundown's coaching judgment for both sports:

• 10U: Two fielders and one runner at a jog. Ball up, run at the runner, one throw, step out of the path, tag with the ball in the glove.
• 12U: Add the receiver's call, the fill players and the follow-the-throw rotation. Teach the three-foot rule. Fastpitch pitchers and runners learn the look-back rule.
• 14U: Add the runner on third: give up the rundown for the run with fewer than two outs. With two outs, finish the tag when it beats the runner home, and throw home when it will not.
• 16U to 18U: Game speed, with a trail runner and with two runners on one base. Expect offenses to keep a runner alive on purpose so a run scores. Piraro practices rundowns at least once a week.

In baseball, pickoff rundowns off a lead start when your code allows leads. In Little League's Major Division and below, runners cannot lead off and the umpire flags a runner who leaves early; leads and balks start at the Intermediate (50/70) Division. Baseball Canada's 11U guidelines keep runners on the base until the pitch reaches the batter, and its 13U play allows leads. Add the next layer only when the last one holds at game speed.

A 10-minute rundown block

This works in a gym or on a field. Set two bases at your league's base distance, or as far apart as the gym allows. Use groups of five, Jo Evans's setup: one runner and two fielders at each base. Indoors, use a soft training ball and no sliding. Outdoors, runners wear helmets.

1. Minutes 0 to 2, dart throws. No runner. The fielder with the ball jogs forward, ball up. The receiver steps up and calls "Ball!" Short dart throw, step out of the lane, follow the throw.
2. Minutes 2 to 5, two-player rundown. The runner starts between the bases. The coach names the base the runner came from and gives the ball to the fielder at the other end. The goal is the out with one throw or none. Rotate the runner every rep.
3. Minutes 5 to 8, full rotation. The runner tries to stay alive. Score 2 for an out with one throw or none, 1 for two throws, 0 for more. The runner scores a point for any fielder without the ball standing in the path and for any empty base.
4. Minutes 8 to 10, situation calls. Add a cone for third with a runner and a cone for home with a fielder. Before each rep, call "nobody else on", "runner on third, one out" or "runner on third, two outs". With one out, throw home on the break. With two outs, finish the tag if it beats the runner home; if not, throw home. Fastpitch groups add "ball in the circle": the pitcher holds in a taped circle, nobody chases, and the stopped runner must go or return.

Count throws out loud on every rep.

Quick answers

How many throws should a rundown take?

No rulebook sets a limit. One throw is a common coaching goal, and some coaches aim for none: run the runner down and tag. Each extra throw is another chance for a bad throw or an obstruction call.

Which way do you run the runner in a rundown?

Back toward the base the runner came from, so the worst case is no advance. When a runner on third can score, that run comes first: watch that runner and throw home on the break, unless there are two outs and the tag will beat that runner home.

Is it obstruction if a fielder is in the base path during a rundown?

It is if the fielder does not have the ball, is not fielding a batted ball, and impedes the runner. The Official Baseball Rules can also treat a fielder about to catch a throw, already in flight and close, as fielding it. In fastpitch the runner is protected between the two bases of the rundown and gets the base the umpire judges. Under the Official Baseball Rules the ball is dead and the runner gets at least one base beyond the last base touched.

Can a runner leave the baseline to avoid a tag in a rundown?

Only up to three feet. The path is a straight line from the runner to the base at the moment of the tag attempt. A runner who goes farther to avoid the tag is out under USA Softball, NCAA softball and the Official Baseball Rules.

Does the look-back rule apply during a rundown?

Only in fastpitch, and only while the pitcher holds the ball in the circle with no play being made. A throw, a fake or a run at the runner is a play, and a play releases the runner. That is why a pitcher with the ball in the circle does not start a rundown on a stopped runner.

What happens when two runners end up on the same base?

Tag both runners. The lead runner keeps the base unless forced to advance, so the trailing runner is out when tagged.

Put the call into a game situation

Play the free sample of Rundown's IQ Game. The fastpitch sample includes a pickle between first and second: you have the ball, and you choose how to run it. Every answer comes with the reason.

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