There are seven innings in high school baseball. In this answer, we will go into some more detail about why that is and the differences that there are between each baseball league.
We will answer this with the basics to start with and lead up to the big answers as we go.
What is an inning in baseball?
In baseball, as well as softball, an inning is the name of the unit of play. There are two halves to an inning in a game of baseball, in which the first half is called the top half and the second half is called the bottom half.
In each of these halves, one team will be up to bat until there are three outs that have been called in the half inning. Then the second team will be up to bat for the bottom half of the inning.
How long is each inning in a baseball game?
There is no set time limit on an inning in baseball, the way that the end is measured is when six outs are made in the whole inning across two teams, three outs each.
This is three outs per half inning, in each the top and bottom inning, and a total of six in the whole inning. It tends to be the away team that will bat first.
How many innings are there in a Major League Baseball game?
There are nine innings in a Major League Baseball game. This means that each team will be up to bat nine times, since there are eighteen half innings, and a team will bat in a half inning until three outs are made.
This can even be extended if the game ends in a tie after nine innings.
So, how many innings are there in a high school baseball game?
This is where the differences start to show. High school baseball is different to Major League Baseball, not only because of the different levels they are at, but also because of the different age groups that will inevitably be playing in high school baseball compared to Major League Baseball.
Like we said at the beginning of this answer, there are seven innings in high school baseball instead of nine. This is interestingly the same amount of innings as a softball game.
Do the seven innings work the same as the nine innings that are in Major League Baseball?
Yes! The only difference is that there are fewer innings in high school baseball. The innings themselves are the same in that they are split into two halves: a top and bottom half of the inning.
And that they are still ended when there are six outs called in the space of a whole inning. A high school baseball game having less innings than a Major League Baseball game just means that the game will not last as long, and that teams do not have as many betting half innings.
Do other leagues have different amounts of innings too?
Yes, college baseball tends to have the same amount of innings as Major League Baseball, since the age of the players has gone up since high school. Because of this, the innings go up to nine from the seven that are played in high school.
Below high school baseball, there is Little League Baseball, which has a different number of innings again. Little League baseball has a total of six innings in each game.
How long could each inning be?
As stated before, an inning is officially over when three outs are called by the umpire. But in terms of a time frame, the average time for an inning in baseball is around twenty minutes.
Of course, this will fully depend on how quickly the out calls occur in the inning, but this is the average amount of time that one inning can take.
So, how long is a game of high school baseball?
Since a game of high school baseball has seven innings, and we have established that an inning will last approximately twenty minutes, it follows that a game of high school baseball will last around 2 hours and 20 minutes.
A game could even be longer than that if some innings take longer to complete, or if an extra inning is added in the event of a tie after the seventh inning.
This time could also be less if the innings themselves take less time thanks to the six outs being called in a shorter time frame.
Conclusion
There are a few factors that can affect the amount of time that a high school game of baseball will last. But there are usually always seven innings, only more if the seven innings result in a tie between the two teams.
The innings will, on average, last around twenty minutes. This can be less or more time depending on how quick the six outs are called in the innings. Therefore, on average, a game of high school baseball will last around three hours.
