{"id":6627,"date":"2021-11-24T13:46:47","date_gmt":"2021-11-24T12:46:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allaboutfastpitch.com\/?p=6627"},"modified":"2026-03-06T16:24:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T15:24:36","slug":"how-long-is-a-softball-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allaboutfastpitch.com\/how-long-is-a-softball-game\/","title":{"rendered":"How Long Is a Softball Game?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Softball isn’t one of those sports that has a time limit like basketball or football. It’s more like tennis, where the match can last many, many hours.<\/p>\n

Softball doesn’t have quarters or halves; rather has a “goal” that you need to complete to win the game. Similar to baseball, softball uses innings as the basic unit of play, but the difference between baseball and softball<\/a> is that baseball has 9 innings and softball has 7.<\/p>\n

The 7-inning format has been standard since softball’s governing bodies unified the rules in the 1930s \u2014 read the full history of softball<\/a> to see how the game’s structure developed.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Length of a Softball Game<\/h3><\/h1><\/span>
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Given that the game has 7 innings, the game usually lasts for 2 hours. But, it’s also possible that the game lasts longer or shorter than that period, which is dependent on how many innings there are in the game.<\/p>\n

Softball rules permit that you can have anywhere between 3 and 7 innings for a game. But, 7 is the most usual number of innings for a game of softball, since 7 innings are both used in Olympic Softball, NCAA softball, and high school softball games.<\/p>\n<\/div>