What is the difference between a courtesy runner and a pinch runner

The courtesy runner is allowed only for the player who was the pitcher or catcher of record at the end of the last defensive half-inning.

The batter-runner is the offensive player who has just finished a time at bat until the play during which that player became a batter-runner ends.

This is a rule change starting for the season. If the batter reaches base safely, they need to score, be retired as a runner, or be left on base when the half inning or game ends for that At Bat to fulfil their offensive mandatory play requirement.

If the batter is replaced by a pinch runner, special pinch runner, or courtesy runner, that time as a batter does not count as an At Bat for mandatory play. In high school, courtesy runners are allowed. Should a pitcher or catcher reach base, a courtesy runner is designated to run to help speed up the game.

This gives pitchers and catchers a chance to get ready to go back on defense. In some areas though, the same courtesy runner must be used for the same player throughout the game.

Check this rule before the game so you are prepared. Substitution rules in Softball allow starters to re-enter the game unlike baseball. For example, say my first baseman is a vacuum cleaner with her glove, but slow as molasses as a base runner. When she gets on base, I can substitute one of my bench players as a pinch runner and then re-enter my first basemen afterwards. Game starters can re-enter the game one time in the same place in the batting order in which they started the game.

If they are substituted for a second time, then they are ineligible for the rest of the game. A bench player that enters the game as a substitution is ineligible once she leaves the game she cannot re-enter like a starter can. In our first baseman example, the pinch runner is out of the game for good when the first baseman re-enters the game. The situation where players in the field switch positions with other players in the field, otherwise known as a defensive swap, is not considered a substitution as no new player enters the game.

Players can swap positions inning to inning, even pitch to pitch, with no penalty. Note, though, that a pitcher returning to pitch within the same inning is not allowed any warm-up pitches. An exception to Softball substitution rule is the Courtesy Runner. A team can use a Courtesy Runner to pinch run for a pitcher or catcher any time they reach base. Use of a Courtesy Runner does not count as a substitution, so when the pitcher or catcher assumes their position after the end of the half inning, their appearance does not count as a re-entry, and the player used as a Courtesy Runner is still available for use as a substitute later in the game.