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3/17/23
Important Announcement Regarding Game-Ending Rules
The North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) has announced that effective immediately, all high school softball games under its jurisdiction must adhere to only the official game-ending procedures as described in the NCHSAA Handbook. This means that no game may be shortened to less than 5 innings as described under the official “10-run rule”. NCHSAA does not recognize any of the “15 runs after 3 innings” rules that are included in many conference by-laws. Going forward, games shortened to less than 5 innings will not be considered complete games.
Our coaches association (NCSCA) is currently working with NCHSAA to recommend a solution to this problem. NCHSAA has stated that the issue will be on the agenda at their next Board of Directors meeting in May.
NCSCA recognizes the burden this ruling will place on some teams, especially when unavoidable mismatched competition takes place. Until a solution is worked out, we urge opposing coaches to discuss their situation with each other and umpires on game day prior to the beginning of the game.
For more information, please see your Athletic Director, or contact NCHSAA. Read NCHSAA’s announcement here.
3/15/23
2023 NCSCA Scholarship
GRADUATING SENIORS: Apply now for for the 2023 NCSCA scholarship. This year, our four scholarships have been increased to $1000. Two will be awarded in our eastern region and two in our western region. Applications must be completed and submitted by May 1, 2023. Applications must include a recommendation from your high school coach. For guidance in applying, please contact your coach. Complete information is linked here: Scholarship Application.
1/28/23
2022 Financial Statement
The Association’s 2022 year end financial statement is available for review in the Members’ Area.
1/26/23 rev. 3/15/23
Bat Testing Planned for 2023 North Carolina High School Softball Playoff Finals
This year, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) has stated that they intend to continue their practice of physically testing all bats presented for use in the state playoffs finals. Every bat will be tested for compression compliance using approved bat testing equipment and standards. Any bat that fails the compression test will be rejected for use in the championship games. Testing will take place at the FINALS game site(s) prior to the beginning of the first game of each classification’s three-game final series. It applies to all classifications, 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A, and will affect all eight teams who advance to the finals. Please be aware that the result of physical testing takes precedence over listing on USA Softball’s Approved Bats List. Since bat testing is not easily accessible in North Carolina, this means that even if a bat is listed as legal on the list and has been used legally throughout the entire season, players could be confronted with their bat being rejected for use in the finals.
Last year, bats were tested at the state finals with a highly unusual number being rejected. Certain Easton “Ghost” bats are of particular concern.
Follow this link to find USA Softball’s Approved Bat List . Any questions regarding this subject should be directed to your school’s athletic director and the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.
See how bats are properly tested with the G4 SSL Bat Compression Tester: USA Softball Bat Testing Educational Video To avoid invalid testing results, proper testing must be conducted by qualified individuals and, where required, include threshold exceptions published for “Non-Linear” bats.
9/11/22
2023 Softball Rules Changes
The National Federation of High Schools has announced rules changes for the upcoming 2023 softball season.
This year’s changes…
1. …revise color restrictions on gloves.
2. …clarify the ball’s fair or foul status in the event interference is called.
3. …allow the wearing of jewelry.
4. …alter scoring protocol for game-ending home runs. All runs associated with such home runs now count.
5. …clarify batter-runner interference on fly balls over foul territory.
7/1//22
2022 All-District/All-State Awards
NCSCA is pleased to announce the recipients of our 2022 post season awards. Coaches within each of our eight districts across North Carolina selected these players because they consistently demonstrated a high level of skill through the 2022 season. Being selected for these awards is achieved through proven ability and dedication to the game.
Each recipient will receive a certificate that will be in the possession of their coach after being made available in early August. Please contact your coach in August or as the upcoming school year begins.
6/24/22
2022 Scholarship Winners Announced
NCSCA is pleased to announce the recipients of our 2022 scholarships. This year, our four winners are:
EAST
Madeline Ford Green Level High School University of Florida
Amanda Blackburn Gray’s Creek High School Methodist University
WEST
Macie Bell East Wilkes High School Ferrum College
Jada Spake Bandy’s High School Coastal Carolina University
We extend all the best to our winners as well as all of our Class of ’21 graduating seniors. More information about our scholarship program can be found here.
6/16/22 rev. 1/28/23
2022 North Carolina High School Softball Playoff Winners
Congratulations to all participants in this year’s very competitive state playoffs. The exciting competition seen was a testament to the extremely high level of skill that has been achieved by our athletes. This includes not only our regional and finals participants, but those playing in the early rounds as well. Our 2022 state playoff finishers are:
| State Champions 1A- South Stanly 2A- West Stanly 3A- Eastern Alamance 4A- D.H. Conley |
State Runners-up 1A- Bear Grass Charter 2A- Washington 3A- North Buncombe 4A- East Forsyth |
| Regional Winners 1A East- Bear Grass Charter (region 1) 1A West- South Stanly (region 6) 2A East- Washington (region 1) 2A West- West Stanly (region 6) 3A East- Eastern Alamance (region 5) 3A West- North Buncombe (region 8) 4A East- D.H. Conley (region 1) 4A West- East Forsyth (region 5) |
Regional Runners-up 1A East- Vance Charter (region 3) 1A West- South Stokes (region 5) 2A East- South Lenoir (region 2) 2A West- West Stokes (region 5) 3A East- Cape Fear (region 4) 3A West- Central Davidson (region 5) 4A East- Fuquay-Varina (region 3) 4A West- Marvin Ridge (region 6) |
Find all playoff results here:
ALL BRACKETS
Finals Recaps
Want to compare the effectiveness of Max Preps Rankings with the NCHSAA RPI in predicting a team’s performance in the playoffs? The link below takes you to combined east/west rankings as calculated by the Max Preps system on seeding day just prior to the beginning of Round 1 in NCHSAA’s 2022 softball playoffs.
2022 East/West Combined Max Preps Rankings
12/27/21
Softball Needs Officials
In recent years we have seen a decline in the number of qualified individuals who participate in our sport through offering their services as game officials. Most notably, we see fewer younger people becoming umpires each year. This is a huge problem since we cannot play games without umpires. Statistics over the past ten years reveal that as umpires have become fewer, the number of high schools fielding softball teams in North Carolina has steadily grown with a corresponding increase in the number of games being played. In our state, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) governs, certifies, and manages officials for all high school sports. NCHSAA’s goal is to provide game officials all across the state who are competent, fair, and consistent in their craft. Officiating softball is an exciting profession to be part of as the overall skill level of our athletes continues to increase each year. We encourage anyone who would like to participate in our sport as an umpire to become an NCHSAA certified official. To find out how you can become a qualified softball umpire, you may access information here.
3/19/19 revised 2/2/21
Illegal Equipment
NCHSAA no longer requires umpires to check players’ equipment prior to each game. This, in effect, puts more responsibility on you as coach to make sure your players’ equipment is both legal and game ready. Catcher’s gear with failing straps, cracked helmets, broken face masks, loose or missing attachment screws, cracked and out-of-round bats, and illegal bats, are all your responsibility to check for and not allow to be used in a contest. Remember, the penalty for using an altered bat or a bat that is NOT on the USA Softball legal bat list is: batter is out, batter is ejected, and head coach is ejected! The list of legal bats can be found here.
9/13/18 rev. 12/27/21
North Carolina High Schools… Need a Softball Game?
If you need to add games to your softball schedule, check out our listing. To add your team to the list, send your open dates and contact information to [email protected] .
Advertise your Scrimmages, Tournaments, Camps and Clinics.
Send the information you want posted to [email protected] and we will place it in our “Events” area.
Photo by Donnie Roberts www.the-dispatch.com