Rule sets / NCAA
NCAA Baseball Rules
The NCAA Baseball rules govern collegiate play in the United States. Their pitching and balk provisions closely track OBR, with a handful of wording differences and a few college-specific wrinkles.
Delivery
Balks that arise from how the pitch is started and completed.
- Quick-Pitch Balk
9-3-dA pitcher may not deliver a pitch before the batter is reasonably set in the box. Doing so is a balk.
- Start-Stop Delivery Balk
9-1-a-1Once a pitcher begins his delivery to the plate he must continue without interruption.
Pickoffs
Illegal moves and throws toward a base while a runner is on.
- Free Foot Swing
9-1-b-1Once the pitcher's free (stride) foot swings past the back edge of the rubber, the pitcher is committed to delivering home. The only exception is a throw to second base on a pickoff play.
- Illegal Feint Balk
9-3-aIt varies by rule set but feints to first base are generally prohibited and a feight to third base might be as well.
- No-Step Balk
9-3-c-[1-6]A pitcher must step toward the base he is throwing to. Failing to do so is a balk.
- Unoccupied Base Balk
9-3-eA pitcher may not throw to an unoccupied base unless the throw is part of a play to retire a runner.