ARENA SOFTBALL A HIT; You can star in this new sport without being a slugger, and the nonstop action is a great antidote for those who find traditional softball, well, a bit slow-pitch.(NEWS)

Byline: LIZ ROLFSMEIER

Special to the Star Tribune

"Crush that one, slugger!" yells James Anderson of Woodbury over the music at Eagan Civic Arena.

But even if his teammate hits a lazy foul ball, no matter. In arena softball -- there's really no such thing as a bad hit.

"We'll tell them just swing at every one," said facilities manager Mark Vaughan. "You can be a terrible softball player. Just foul tip it and you can still get on base."

The sport, which has quickly gained popularity since Eagan introduced it locally in 2008, is a faster, more aerobic, and certainly more offbeat version of its outdoor cousin.

A few days after they take the hockey ice out, the Eagan Ice Arena crew rolls out artificial turf and curtains off the rink area down the center line, creating two small ball fields enclosed by hockey boards and lacrosse netting.

"There's really no outfield. It's all infield," said Paul Bailey, a player from Apple Valley, who calls the game a cross between baseball and racquetball.

Balls put into play will ricochet off nets, curtains and walls and spin out into the field in unexpected ways, keeping players fully engaged, intent on the action, and always running.

"It's quick, but it keeps your reflexes going, which is nice," said Anderson. "Regular softball is a little too slow. I quit playing regular."

Novel rules

The rules of arena softball stray considerably from the traditional game:

- Each team gets 16 pitches per inning (games last four innings), so players shuttle in and out of the dugout, batting about twice as often as in outdoor games.

- Teams can score on defense, too, gaining a half run for every out.

- Two strikes result in an out, as do fly balls caught in the air off the netting.

- The batting side gets a half run for every walk.

All that can add up to some big scores. "Scores will be like 56 to 30," Vaughan said.

Plenty of action

"More at-bats is good. Knock all the rust off the swing," said Jeff Becker of Farmington, a member of a team called the Blind Squirrels. "I like it. It's fun. It's fast."

Fast, and slightly dangerous.

Joe Neely of Woodbury pulls up his pant leg, revealing a red welt on his calf from a stray ball. "It's fun. I'm just not used to it," he said, grinning. "I'll tough it out."

Becker's advice to new players: "Wear a cup."

As players hustle, umps walk around with headsets, constantly fiddling with an iPod touch that updates the scoreboard, yelling "Live ball" in a continuous refrain, and generally trying to stay out of the way.

"We can't get traditional umpires in here," Vaughan said. "It's too wacky."

Batters can aim for the instant home run squares -- small black tarps in the corners of the curtain -- but in general, "the superstar gets taken away," said Vaughan.

"I'm a power hitter. I'm worthless here," sighed Sean Callander of Lakeville. "[Hitting] slow bloopers is what gets you on base."

He considers it training for summer ball. "We're here to have fun and get in shape," he said. "It doesn't count for anything. Next season counts."

Spreading fast

Greg Joseph of Roseville, Calif., who started the sport with a partner there in 2002, has bigger goals. Now 100 teams play in their California arena, and they just opened a new facility in Colorado. They also plan to expand the sport into the Pacific Northwest. He would like to see it go national.

"We've grown the sport so much that we've had to turn people away," Vaughan said. They added an extra night this year to accommodate extra teams.

Vaughan also hopes to start live-streaming arena softball games on the Internet.

He said the scoreboard/website technology has been so popular that he hopes to start using something similar for hockey.

"They are requesting the same thing," he said. "They want stats, and they want it live."

Liz Rolfsmeier is a Minneapolis freelance writer.