The lineup card requirements are explained in rule 5.7 of the NCAA Softball Rules Book (2020-2021). It must list all eligible players and the starting offensive players in the order in which they are to bat (batting order). The lineup card becomes official when it is reviewed and accepted by the plate umpire at the pregame meeting. Once it is made official any subsequent changes are subject to the rules of substitution, entries, and reentries.

The first part of this article will cover the process the plate umpire should use to review the lineups at the umpire/coach pregame meeting and the requirements for an accurate lineup. Following this will be a discussion and Plays which go into more detail of a roster versus a lineup.

The process the plate umpire should use is:
• Ask each team for their lineups
• Review the lineup card for the required information (see below)
• Hand the lineup card back to the coach and state “once you give it back to me, the lineup is official.”

Required information – the following information must be on the lineup card:
• First and last names (no nicknames – see below), uniform numbers and positions of the starting players.
• First and last names and uniform numbers of all eligible substitutes.
• First and last name of the head coach; if a team has co-head coaches, one shall be designated as the head coach for the game.

Notes
• Players not listed on the official lineup card are not eligible to play the game. Make sure everybody who will play in the game that day is listed as either a starter or substitute. Nobody can be added after the lineup is official.
• All players listed in the starting lineup must be in uniform, in the dugout area and available to play at the start of the game. One exception – starting pitcher and catcher may be in the bullpen.
• If a team is using a pre-printed “roster” with all players listed on the lineup card, first names may be omitted from the written lineup card as long as they are printed on the card’s roster; multiple players with the same last name must have a first name or distinguishing first name initial.
• No nicknames are allowed; monikers are to some extent (see below)
• A missing first name on the lineup is subject to the Inaccurate Lineup Card rule (8.3.2).
• A missing last name makes a player ineligible and subject to the Illegal Player rule (8.3.4)

Nicknames and Monikers
There is an Approved Ruling which clarifies what monikers may be used for special situations. If a player prefers to go by her initials instead of her given name (e.g. “J.C.” instead of Jacquelyn), the lineup card may be written as J.C. for the first name. This does not extend to allowing nonspecific nicknames as first names, such as “Speedy” Smith of “Lefty” Jones. If a coach wants those monikers, then the player would need to be listed as J.C. “Speedy” Smith.

Roster versus lineup

The word “roster” is not used for softball as it is for other sports; the roster in other sports is a list of all eligible players for the game. So the lineup card which is submitted to the umpires at the pregame meeting with coaches serves both as roster and lineup card. Many lineup cards list all the team’s players at the bottom of the sheet; some do not or just a list of the eligible substitutes.

Important: the starting players must be in uniform, in the dugout area and available to play at the start of the game. Substitutes do not have to be present.

This lineup card/roster lists:
• The order in which the offense bats
• The defensive position for each player in the game
• The DP and Flex positions (if used for that game)
• The substitutes who may be used during the game.

A quick note on the Flex – the Flex player is, by rule, listed in the 10th position on the lineup. There is no requirement to try to squeeze the word “Flex” into the defensive position column of the lineup, despite what some umpires might tell you.

The lineup card as the roster
If the lineup card lists all the eligible players on the team, then this is the roster. If the lineup card does not list all players, then the roster is the starting players plus the listed substitutes. If a player is not listed on the roster that player is ineligible for the game. This is usually not a problem because most of the college lineups are pre-printed with all players listed. However, we have encountered problems in the past whereby the coach did not list a player who did not travel with the team. When that game was halted and played later at the home site of that team, the unlisted player could not play as she had been declared ineligible for the game.

The lineup card contents
If the roster/lineup card is not completed properly it is inaccurate, a term which only NCAA uses but the principle is true for the other codes. So what are the requirements?  Each player’s first and last names are required. If the lineup card has a pre-printed roster at the bottom with those names, the first name is not required in the batting order unless there are players with the same last name. If so, then the first name or distinguishing initial must be used. The lineup card must also list the correct number for each player (starters and subs) and the correct defensive position for any player competing in the game. The spot in the starting lineup for the DP must have the word “DP” in the defensive position column of the lineup at the beginning of the game.

If any of the above requirements are not met, the lineup card is inaccurate. An incorrect number, an inaccurate first or last name, an omitted first name, an incorrect defensive position are all examples of an inaccurate lineup.

Basically, if the offending team discovers the mistake before its opponent, there is no penalty. Here are some plays to illustrate the various situations involving an inaccurate lineup and its penalty.

Play 1: A batter’s uniform number is incorrect or her first name is omitted or incorrect.
Ruling: If still at bat then correct the number and no penalty. If she has reached base safely and it is now discovered, correct the lineup, she is out and removed from the base. All play is nullified. If discovered after a pitch has been thrown, correct the lineup and all play from her at-bat is legal.

Play 2: A defensive player who makes a play is discovered with a wrong number or her name is omitted or incorrect. It is discovered before the next pitch.
Ruling: the offense has the option of taking the play or nullifying the play and having the batter come back to bat.

Play 3: Same as Play 2 but a pitch has been thrown to the next batter before it is discovered. Or that defensive player has not made a play on the batted ball previous to the discovery.
Ruling: The lineup is corrected and all play stands.

See the article Inaccurate Lineup and Unreported/Misreported Players in this same section of the Locker Room for a detailed discussion on03 these situations.

Summary of the lineup requirements
Rule 5.7
The lineup card must list all eligible players and the starting offensive players in the order in which they are to bat (batting order). The lineup card becomes official when it is reviewed and accepted by the plate umpire at the pregame meeting. Once it is made official any subsequent changes are subject to the rules of substitution, entries and reentries.

The process the plate umpire should use is:
• Ask each team for their lineups
• Review the lineup card for the required information (see below)
• Hand the lineup card back to the coach and state “once you give it back to me, the lineup is official.”

Required information – the following information must be on the lineup card:
• First and last names (no nicknames – see below), uniform numbers and positions of the starting players.
• First and last names and uniform numbers of all eligible substitutes.
• First and last name of the head coach; if a team has co-head coaches, one shall be designated as the head coach for the game.

Notes
• Players not listed on the official lineup card are not eligible to play the game. Make sure everybody who will play in the game that day is listed as either a starter or substitute. Nobody can be added after the lineup is official.
• All players listed in the starting lineup must be in uniform, in the dugout area and available to play at the start of the game. One exception – starting pitcher and catcher may be in the bullpen.
• If a team is using a pre-printed “roster” with all players listed on the lineup card, first names may be omitted from the written lineup card as long as they are printed on the card’s roster; multiple players with the same last name must have a first name or distinguishing first name initial.
• No nicknames are allowed; monikers are to some extent (see below)
• A missing first name on the lineup is subject to the Inaccurate Lineup Card rule (8.3.2).
• A missing last name makes a player ineligible and subject to the Illegal Player rule (8.3.4)