How long is a college baseball game? Deep dive into the NCAA rule book

The world of baseball is interesting, as there are different rules between youth baseball, college baseball and MLB. One of the major differences is the length of a game, as the amount of innings in a game differ from each level of play.

So, what are the rules for college baseball in terms of how long a game could last? Let's find out:

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How long is a college baseball game?

A college baseball game will be nine innings unless previously discussed. However, there are different rules that could shorten the game by a few innings, which we will discuss later. A game could be anywhere from seven to nine innings in regulation.

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MLB vs college baseball length of game

College Baseball

The rules for college baseball are less black and white than people would expect. Typically, the game is nine innings, but games can be shortened depending on different factors. If there are doubleheaders, the length of the game could be different, as there could be seven innings for each game.

However, that's not the only way games could be seven innings, as non-conference games can be scheduled for seven innings as well.

MLB

Major League Baseball is more of a concrete rule, as games are going to be nine innings.

In both MLB and college baseball, if a game is tied after the nine innings, it will continue until a team gets the lead. Both teams get a chance to hit and whichever team scores the most runs that inning is declared the winner.

Youth baseball

Youth baseball has different rules depending on the youth league it's associated with. Typically games are played to seven innings but could be different depending on the league.

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Impact of college baseball duration on fans and players

The length of the game has differing factors for players and fans. In terms of players, it can really factor into a pitching staff as the length of a game can differ how many pitchers are going to be used in the game.

For fans, it simply is how long they should expect a game to go as the difference between seven and nine innings could be anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour-plus.