Softball Tournament - Rules

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Updated 4/28/2017

COLOMA ALL-STAR SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT RULES All rules for the Coloma All-Star Tournament will follow Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Softball rules with the exceptions / clarifications below. 8 and under - Instructional Division: Pitching machine will be at 35 feet with a mph setting of 35 (41 RPM) (These settings are set by the dial on the machine, variations do occur from machine to machine due to wear and tear, no external measurement of speed will be used). Bases will be at 60 feet and an 11” ball will be used. A circle with an 8-foot radius will be made around the pitching area. Ten players will be allowed on the field. Coaches are not allowed on the field. No stealing will be allowed. Play stops once the pitcher has control of the ball within the pitcher’s circle. The umpire will determine the position of each runner, with mid-way hash marks being used. Runners will advance to the next base if more than half way to the base. You do not have to bat your roster, but you can. In the case of injury, the injured batter will be skipped in the batting order with no penalty (the injured player is no longer eligible to participate in the remainder of the game). Bunting is allowed. No Infield fly rule in effect. Should a batted ball hit the pitching machine (thrown or hit), the umpire will call a dead ball and the batter will get 1st base (all other runners will only advance if forced). Drop third strike rule does not apply. NO LEAD OFF, but the player may leave the base once the pitch crosses the plate in anticipation of a hit and will not be called out. Pitcher must be on first base side of machine. Pitcher must wear helmet with mask. 10 and under – Live Pitch: Live pitching. Pitching mound will be at 35 feet, bases at 60 feet, an 11”ball will be used. A circle with an 8-foot radius will be made around the pitching mound. Ten players will be allowed on the field. Stealing and bunting are allowed. No Infield fly rule in effect. The runner may not leave the base until the pitch crosses the plate. Play stops once the pitcher has control of the ball within the pitcher’s circle. The umpire will determine the position of each runner with mid-way hash marks being used. Runners will advance to the next base if more than half way to the base. Drop third strike rule does not apply. Pitcher must wear face mask. 10 and under – Machine Pitch: Pitching machine will be at 35 feet with a mph setting of 42 (56 RPM) (These settings are set by the dial on the machine, variations do occur from machine to machine due to wear and tear, no external measurement of speed will be used). Batted ball hit off pitching machine will be a dead ball, with runners advance one base if forced. Pitchers must wear a Helmet with a Mask. Pitcher must be on first base side of machine. Use all other 10 and under live pitch rules. 12 and under – Major Division: Live pitching. Pitching mound will be at 40 feet, bases at 60 feet, an 12” ball will be used. A circle with an 8-foot radius will be made around the pitching mound. Nine players will be allowed on the field. Stealing and bunting are allowed. The runner may not leave the base until the ball leaves the pitchers hand. Play

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stops once the pitcher has control of the ball within the pitcher’s circle, and the base runners must commit to a base or be called out. Drop third strike rule applies. Pitcher must wear face mask. 14 and under – Junior Division: Live pitching. Pitching mound will be at 43 feet, bases at 60 feet, a 12”ball will be used. A circle with an 8-foot radius will be made around the pitching mound. Stealing and bunting are allowed. The runner may not leave the base until the ball leaves the pitchers hand. Drop third strike rule applies. All High School rules apply. Pitcher wearing face mask is recommended but not requited.

This is a tournament open to all female players age 6-14. Age determination is as of January 1, 2017. 1. Any violation of age limitation for any bracket shall disqualify the entire team from

further participation in the tournament. No games will be replayed as a result of the team being disqualified. 2. Tournament officials shall have the right to request a copy of a birth certificate to

verify age. Team managers are requested to supply proof of age prior to the team’s next scheduled game. In no case shall this exceed 24 hours. 3. Registration Fee is $200 – non-refundable. All fees are to be paid by June 7, 2017. 4. Each team is responsible for providing their own insurance and their own equipment. 5. Team rosters can have a maximum of 15 players, 1 manager, 2 coaches, one

scorekeeper, and one bat person. A bat person may not be used as a player. Bat person must wear a helmet. Only those people on the roster are allowed in the dugout. 6. All team members must have been participants in your league this year with a

minimum of five games played. 7. There will be no protested games. Disputes will be resolved as they arise. 8. HOME TEAM: During Round Robin play home team will be determined by a flip of

the coin by the Umpire and team representatives, as both teams arrive. Home base – 3rd base dugout, Visitors – 1st base dugout. Bracket play higher seed will be home team. 9. All equipment and team personnel must stay in the dugout except the base coaches. 10. LINE UP: Starting lineup must be presented to the official scorekeeper (Home Team

if score keepers are not used) and the opposing team at least 15 minutes before the

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start of the game. You must include the player’s full name, uniform number and playing position. 11. TIME LIMIT: NO NEW INNING WILL START 90 MINUTES AFTER THE START OF

THE GAME. EXCEPTION: GAMES PLAYED FOR PLACEMENT OF THIRD PLACE AND UP WILL PLAY UNTIL GAME IS DECIDED BY REGULATION GAME. 12. GAME LENGTH: 1. 8U 6 innings 2. 10U 6 innings 3. 12U 7 innings 4. 14U 7 innings 13. TIE GAMES: 1. Pool Play: WILL NOT start any NEW inning after time has expired. Games

CAN end in a TIE during Pool Play. 2. Bracket Play: Games will be played with run rules and time limits. Once the inning limit or time limit has been met and the game is tied then we will use international tie breaker rules. Last batter from previous inning will start the inning on 2nd base and NO OUTS. 14. WARM UP: Pitchers are allowed 5 warm up pitches to start the game or when a new

pitcher is brought into the game. 3 warm up pitches are allowed between innings. There will be no infield warm up before the start of the game. 15. DARKNESS: If a game is called due to darkness, it will be resumed the next day on

the first available field from the exact point it was suspended. 16. WEATHER: If a game is called due to weather it is an official game if: 1. Four innings have been completed 2. 3 ½ innings have been completed and the home team is ahead. 3. If conditions 1 & 2 are not met, the game will resume at the point it was

suspended as soon as possible. If the fields cannot be made playable within a reasonable time, the game will resume the next day on the first available field from the point it was suspended.

17. MERCY RULE: A game will be considered complete when a team is ahead by 1. Eight (8) or more runs anytime after the 5th inning (4 ½ if the home team is

ahead) 2. Ten (10) or more runs anytime after the 4th inning. (3 ½ if the home team is

ahead).

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3. Fifteen (15) or more runs anytime after the 3rd inning. (2 ½ if the home team

is ahead). 4. Twenty (20) or more runs anytime after 1 complete inning.

18. SUBSTITUTIONS: 1. A starting player removed from the game may return anytime but she must 2. 3. 4. 5.

6.

return to her original position in the official starting line-up/batting order. A starting pitcher who is removed from the pitching position may return to the pitching position only once. A substitute removed from the game may not return to the game. A substitute pitcher, once removed from the pitching position, may not return to the pitching position for the remainder of the game. If illness, injury or the ejection of a player prevents a team from fielding nine players, a player previously used in the lineup may be inserted, but only if there are no other eligible substitutes available. A player ejected from the game is not eligible for reentry into the game. If a player becomes injured and is removed from the game due to injury, that player may not participate for the rest of that game.

19. COURTESY RUNNER: A courtesy runner may be used for the catcher in any

division and pitcher positions (in live pitch divisions) only. This can be done at any time. Courtesy runner will be a player who has not been in the batting order during the game. If no such player exists, courtesy runner will be the player who made the last out or furthest from batter(in situations where you batted your whole lineup and maybe the last out is getting ready to bat). 20. APPROACHING THE PITCHER: A manager may only approach and converse with

their pitcher twice during a game. The third time means the pitcher must be removed. Once a pitcher has hit 3 batters in a game, they must be removed from the pitching position for the remainder of that game. This rule does not apply to the 14U division. See High School rules. 21. TIME OUT: A manager may call time out only once during an inning, except for

changing a pitcher or player injury. 22. FAKE TAGS: No fake tags are allowed. 23. COLLISIONS: Runner must avoid malicious contact with the defensive player.

Umpire discretion.

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24. SLIDING: 1. Runners must slide on any close play to avoid malicious contact. 2. Runners may be called out for not doing so. Umpires discretion. 3. No head first slides unless returning back to a base, head first slides are

allowed in the 14U division. 25. BASES: 1. We will be using double bags at first base. 2. Runner must touch orange bag unless advancing to second base. 3. Fielder must touch the white bag to record the out.

26. LATE ARRIVAL: You must be ready to play 15 minutes prior to your scheduled

game time. A team not ready to play within 10 minutes of the scheduled (or revised) game time will result in a forfeit. 1. A team must have at least 8 players to be considered “ready to play”. 2. If a team starts the game with 8 players, the 9th position in the batting order will be considered an automatic out. 3. If a team is reduced to fewer than 8 players during a game due to ejection or injury. The game is considered complete at that point (regardless of innings or score), with the team fielding fewer than 8 players forfeiting the game. 27. DRESS CODE: Players must be dressed in appropriate softball uniforms. Bathing

suits, inappropriate tank tops are not allowed. Metal cleats are not allowed. Tournament officials will determine when inappropriate attire is being worn. 28. JEWELRY: Jewelry is not allowed. 29. OTHER INFO: Batting cage may be available to practice on a first come basis.

There will be a 1hour time limit for team use of the batting cage. 30. EJECTIONS: If a player or coach is ejected from a game for any reason, that

player/coach will not be eligible to participate in the remainder of the current game, nor will the player/coach be eligible to participate in the next game. Managers are responsible for their fans. If a fan is asked to leave the park, the manager has ten minutes to make sure this happens. 31. POOL PLAY: 1. A “Win” in Pool Play is worth 1 point

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2. 3. 4. 5.

A “Tie” in Pool Play is worth ½ point A “Loss” in Pool Play is worth 0 points Maximum Run Differential per game: 10 runs A forfeit or “Bye” is considered a “Win” with a score of 6-0 in a six inning game and 7-0 in a seven inning game.

32. Advancing out of Pool Play: All brackets are different so this may or may not apply 1. The top team in each pool will advance out of Pool Play to a single

elimination championship round. 2. Depending on the number of pools, additional teams will be taken from

each pool –OR- an “at-large” team selected from all pools will advance out of Pool Play into a single elimination championship round. 3. Four Teams from each age group will advance to the Championship Round. 4. The top teams will be chosen based on the following criteria: 1. Pool Winner (win-loss-tie record) 2. Points earned (win-loss-tie record) 3. Head-to-Head competition (not used if more than two teams are 4. 5. 6. 7.

tied) Fewest Runs Allowed Run Differential (Runs Allowed vs. Runs Scored) Most Runs Scored Coin Toss

EP Clarification 12U and 14U Divisions 1. THE BATTING ORDER MAY INCLUDE UP TO 11 BATTERS. This would consist

of the starting 9 defensive players plus (2) EP's. The use of EP's is not required, however, a team must begin and end the game with the same number of filled batting positions. A substitute may not enter a game to replace an EJECTED player when EP is your selected strategy. A violation of this rule will result in an "out" being called for any open batting position during the course of the game. The batting order will be continuous throughout the game. 2. Unlimited defensive substitutions of EP's "Extra Players" is allowed, but the original batting order must be followed. 3. Nine players are the proper number of players to field a team. At least nine players on a submitted and approved roster must be present at the beginning of the game. Failure to field the proper number of players will result in outs for missing spots in the lineup, if this is because of an ejection it will be cause for forfeiture (injuries do not apply). A substitute may not re-enter a game to replace an ejected player.

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Code of Conduct No smoking is permitted. No alcohol or other types of tobacco product. No questioning of an umpire’s call. Only managers are allowed to discuss a play with the umpire. No dogs. No grills.

Please clean up the dugout after you leave each game. The dugout must be vacated promptly to allow the next game to get started. Please refer all questions to: Tournament Director: Brenda Crisenbery 269-470-0471 (Cell) Head Umpire: Rick Radde 269-338-3962 (Cell)