Illegal Pitch in Softball: Crow Hop, Leap and the 2026 Rules
The most common illegal pitches are a missing pause with the hands together and a crow hop (replanting the pivot foot and pushing off again). Leaping is now legal in high school, USA Softball and Little League. The penalty is a ball to the batter. Since 2019 in high school, runners don't advance.
The pitch, step by step
In high school (NFHS) softball, a legal pitch goes like this:
- Take the signal. The pitcher stands on the pitcher’s plate with her hands apart and takes (or pretends to take) the catcher’s signal.
- Pause. She brings her hands together and holds them there for at least 1 second and no more than 10.
- Pitch. The pitch starts when the hands separate. She may take one step toward the batter, within the width of the plate, as she delivers.
She also has 20 seconds to release the pitch after she gets the ball. A foreign substance on the ball is an illegal pitch too, though dirt doesn’t count.
Leaping is legal; the crow hop isn’t
The big change of recent years:
- A leap is legal. Both feet may leave the ground during the delivery. High school allowed it from the 2024 season, USA Softball from 2022, and Little League from its 2024 rulebook.
- A crow hop is illegal. That’s when the pitcher lands, replants her pivot foot and pushes off a second time from the new spot. Landing and carrying her momentum forward is fine; pushing off again isn’t.
The step rule catches a related mistake. If her pivot foot leaves the plate completely and comes back down, that counts as her step. Stepping again after that is two steps, and illegal.
The penalty
| High school (NFHS) | USA Softball youth (JO) | Little League | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batter | A ball | A ball | A ball |
| Runners | Don’t advance (since 2019) | Don’t advance | Don’t advance |
| The play | Delayed dead ball | Delayed dead ball | Delayed dead ball |
Delayed dead ball means play goes on. If the batter reaches first and every runner moves up at least a base, the illegal pitch is ignored and the play stands. Otherwise the offense’s coach chooses: take the result of the play, or take the ball.
A few special cases in high school:
- Hit by the pitch. A batter hit by an illegal pitch outside the strike zone gets first base, and runners move only if forced.
- Ball four. If the illegal pitch is ball four, the batter goes to first.
- Batter calls time. If the pitcher stops because the batter stepped out or asked for time, it’s not an illegal pitch. The umpire calls “no pitch.”
Many older guides still say runners advance a base on an illegal pitch. That was the high school rule before 2019.
Explained in our own words, not an official ruling: in a competition, the committee, league or umpire decides, and local rules apply.
Sources
- NFHS Softball Rules Book, NFHS (2026 edition)
- USA Softball Official Rules, USA Softball (2026 edition)
- Little League Softball Rulebook, Little League International (2026 edition)