A riseball is a pitch thrown by a pitcher in fastpitch softball. Upon release by the pitcher, the ball has backspin. The backspin on the ball affects the flight of the ball toward the batter. To a batter, the ball appears to "rise".

Although called a riseball, a riseball does not, in fact, rise. The softball simply falls less than expected. E.g., over the 40 foot distance from the pitcher to the batter, a softball thrown horizontally at a speed of 50 miles per hour would be expected to drop about 48 inches. If sufficient backspin is put on the ball by the pitcher, the amount of drop over the same distance is reduced by about 12 inches.

Some baseball pitchers throw a variation of the riseball known as a "backspin fastball."

Related articles.

• Magnus_effect