Ground Rule

[BretMan]

NCAA definition of foul pole placement:

The pole...shall be immediately adjacent to or attached to the outside of the home run fence.

For what it's worth, this is the same foul pole placement specified by Major League Baseball. The pole must be located on the backside of the fence and extend vertically from that point. It is located entirely in both fair territory and dead ball territory. Thus, a batted ball striking it becomes both fair and dead.

This isn't to suggest that we take our softball rules from Major League Baseball, or apply college rules to youth games, but rather to show that there is some precedence that the foul poles not be located in front of the fence, in live ball territory.

I don't work NCAA ball, so I'll leave it to the NCAA folks to say if they would have an issue with this.

For FED and ASA, I can find no such provisions regarding foul pole placement. In those games, I would be forced to go with their rules that say a fly ball striking the pole is a home run.