Why do college softball pitchers wear face masks? Revisiting rule amid 2024 NCAA Softball Tournament

The image of a pitcher staring down a batter is among the most captivating in any sport — the one-on-one, mano-a-mano matchup that’s the fundamental embodiment of athletic competition.

In softball, there’s often an added layer to that face-off — literally. Unlike their baseball counterparts, a number of softball pitchers wear masks that shield much of their face.

As the 2024 NCAA Softball Tournament begins this week with various regional sites, the sport will return to the forefront of the broader college sports landscape, with viewers from across the country tuning in to see which teams make it to Oklahoma City for the Women’s College World Series.

REQUIRED READING: Get to know the 2024 Oklahoma Sooners softball team and schedule

For more casual softball consumers, a natural question may arise: Why are pitchers wearing masks? Here’s what you need to know about why softball pitchers wear masks:

Why do softball pitchers wear masks?

Primarily, masks are worn as a safety precaution by some softball pitchers.

The pitching circle in college softball is much closer to home plate than the pitcher’s mound is in baseball. Only 43 feet separate the center of the pitching circle from home plate, while the mound in professional baseball is 60 feet away from home plate.

Though softball is played with a bigger ball that doesn’t travel as far or at quite the same speed, the shorter distance between the pitcher and the batter puts the pitcher at a potentially greater risk to be hit with a sharp line drive, with less time to react to it.

While there have been several infamous examples of baseball pitchers getting hit in the head or face with a line drive, it’s rare that they wear a mask or helmet.

Facemasks for defensive players other than catchers are considered optional protective equipment according to the NCAA softball rules book for 2024 and 2025. Rule 3.8.3.2 of the NCAA rulebook states that “a defensive player may wear a face mask, either attached to a helmet or not,” but there’s no mention that doing so is compulsory.

The question over whether masks should be mandatory in college softball escalated in 2019, when Auburn’s Ashlee Swindle took a line drive to the face in an NCAA Tournament regional against Colorado State. Swindle was carted off the field and later diagnosed with a concussion.

Some in the softball world believe it’s time for governing bodies of the sport at various levels to make masks a requirement.

"How can an organization concerned with whether or not basketball players roll their shorts up not be concerned about a child taking a line drive to their head?" Gibson County (Tennessee) softball coach Chris Lownsdale said to The Tennessean in 2019. "If player safety is a true concern of the (Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association), then it is time to make masks mandatory."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Why do college softball pitchers wear face masks? Revisiting rule amid 2024 NCAA Softball Tournament