College Fast Pitch Girls Softball

Question
I'd always thought a batter, being hit by a pitched ball, at which the batter swings, the batter is out. I must be wrong.   What is the rule(College Girls Fast Pitch Softball) on a batter being hit by a pitched ball in which no attempt to get out of the way is made, or the ball hits the batter while the batter is swinging at the ball?

Answer
Hi Glen,

Thank you for your question.  I don't know all of the governing bodies of college softball, but I can provide you with an NCAA answer.  I hope you find it helpful.

When a batter is hit by a pitched ball at which she swings, the ball is dead and a strike is called.  If the strike is the first or second one, she remains at bat, and is not out.  If it is the third strike, of course, she is out.  After a dead ball strike, all runners are returned to the base they occupied at the time of the pitch.

If a batter makes no attempt to get out of the way of a pitched ball, one of two judgment calls will be made by the plate umpire.  1) They will rule the ball dead, then add a ball to the batter's count, and the batter remains at bat, unless the ball is the fourth one, in which case she is awarded first base.  2) They will rule the ball dead, and determine that the batter was "frozen" by the pitch, and award her first base.

I don't umpire college ball, so as a NFHS and ASA umpire I've never had to concern myself with "frozen" batters who were hit by pitches.  In my world, if a batter is hit by a pitch, and they don't move even a single muscle to get out of the way, then they receive a ball and remain at bat, unless the ball is the fourth one.  So I had to "poll" several of my fellow umpires who work NCAA games.  In Division 1, especially, the pitchers throw hard.  The batter has just a blink of time to make a decision whether to swing or not.  She may remain in the ready position while she is sizing up a pitch, waiting for it to break in toward the plate, for example, all the way until the ball has reached her.  If that pitch ends up not breaking in, after all, it may strike her before she has had a chance to get out of the way.  She was "frozen" by it.  Anecdotally, and I repeat, anecdotally, those umpires I spoke with added that if a batter gets hit by a pitch that is well off the plate, they don't concern themselves with ascertaining whether the batter made no attempt to get out of the way, or whether they were "frozen" by it.  They automatically award the batter first base.

Scott Kelly