A standard professional baseball game consists of nine innings. Each inning is divided into two halves: the top half where the visiting team bats and the home team fields, and the bottom half where the roles are reversed. Each half ends when the defensive team records three outs. The team with the most runs after nine innings wins the game
. If the score is tied at the end of nine innings, the game goes into extra innings, which continue until one team leads at the end of a completed inning
. At other levels of play, the number of innings can vary:
- College and most professional leagues follow the nine-inning standard, though games can be shortened or extended depending on circumstances
- High school baseball games typically have seven innings
- Little League games often have six innings
Games can also end early due to mercy rules or weather conditions, and some special formats like doubleheaders may feature seven-inning games
. In summary, nine innings is the standard length for professional baseball games, with variations depending on the league and situation.
