SportsMonkey
Sunday Coed Softball Rules
SportsMonkey will follow USSSA rules at all locations
with the following exceptions:
1.
10 players (at least 4 females) in
the field at all time. (THERE MUST BE AT LEAST 1 FEMALE IN THE OUTFIELD). SM
rules will allow a team to play with a minimum of 8 players (at least 2
females). If only 2 women are present at game time, they must bat twice in the
first 10 batters. If a team has less than the minimum required number of
players it is up to the opponent and/or umpire or SM staff as to what is
allowable.
2. Inning run limit rule: There will be
a 6 run limit per inning through innings 1-4. (Exception: unlimited runs may be
scored if one of the innings 1-4 is declared the final inning of the game.)
Unlimited runs may be scored in innings 5,6,and 7
always. Game mercy rule: 12 runs up after 4 innings or
10 runs up after five complete innings.
3. Home Runs allowed per game are as follows: Rec – 1+1up. On a
Home Run that causes the max of 6 runs per inning situation only the number of
run to 6 will be counted. (ie
4 runs have been scored a home run is hit with 2 people on base causing 7 runs
in the inning. Only 6 runs will be counted for the inning)
4.
All teams must make an effort to
retrieve balls hit for home runs during their game.
5.
Game length is 55 minutes. Should a
team not have enough players to start a game, the clock will start and that
team has until 45 minutes left on the game clock to field the minimum number of
players.
6.
All batters will start with a 1 ball
/ 1 strike count.
7.
Fake tags are not allowed.
8.
Teams may use female pitcher/catcher
combination.
9.
There is no MAX to the # of male or
female batters as long as the team keeps the same guy/girl order. Players may
substitute freely throughout the game in the field. Only one Male & one Female courtesy
runner will be allowed per inning, the courtesy runner must be the same sex and
be the last player to have made a out or the last player in the batting order @
the time the courtesy runner goes in the game.
10. During playoffs, all player protests must occur
before the start of the game. However a player that has not entered the game, may be protested only upon entry into the game.
The
following are changes for the 2009 seasons to adhere to USSSA rules:
1.
A legal
pitch must have an arc of (6’- 10’) by the pitcher. Any pitch that is not
deemed legal will be an automatic ball.
2.
Men’s & women’s size balls will
be used. A female has the option to
which ball she wants to hit.
3.
In the event of a tie at the end of a
regulation game, “one-pitch” extra innings will be used to determine a winner.
4.
Official
softball bats ONLY – Not to exceed 1.20 BPF The Miken Ultra and Ultra 2 softball bats are banned from
league/tournament play
GAMES:
During the regular season games are to be played within
time allotted (warm up time is included).
UMPS:
An umpire will be provided by SportsMonkey to supervise
the game. It will be the umpire’s responsibility to coordinate and run the
games, which include the following tasks:
· Starting games on time.
· Calling outs, making final calls on any disputed balls
or strikes.
· Settling all disputes or disputed calls.
It is understood that umps will assist in the tracking
of the score (i.e. announcing it between innings) and assist in any
discrepancies with regards to the coed line-up ratios. However, it is the responsibility of both
teams to maintain their respective line-ups and scores each inning.
FORFEITS:
If your team forfeits a game during the season, the
following rules apply:
First Offense: Loss of game and warning issued.
Second
Offense: Loss of game and staff reserves the right to
remove team from playoffs.
Third Offense: Removal from the league.
If you know in advance that your team is going to forfeit
a game, we encourage you to call our office
so as to help us schedule your opponent a game.
Teams have until ten
minutes past the designated start time to field a full squad (minimum numbers
of players required to play according to the rules). Refer to rules regarding
guy/girl batting ratio. Anything less
then the minimum must be approved by the SM staff and opposing team.
STANDINGS:
The updated standings will be posted weekly, displaying
each teams rank within its skill level.
Rank is based on winning percentage.
PLAYOFFS:
All eligible teams
make the playoffs (teams that have not abused any policies are eligible).
Playoff rosters must be complete by the third week of regular play. (Players
will only be added after the third week for the purposes of a substitution due
to an injury or other extreme circumstances as deemed acceptable by SM staff.)
In certain situations teams at or near the bottom of
the standings may not advance to the playoffs.
Check with SM league coordinator to see if this applies to your league.
Playoffs are
single elimination.
Seeding: Teams are seeded according to winning
percentage and strength of schedule.
Teams may be dropped from their regular season level
based on the above criteria. Teams may
be moved to a higher division during the playoffs only if permission is
granted.
Skill levels may be divided into separate divisions
based upon size of level.
Teams may
play more than one game per day.
Any questions regarding rules, policies, or eligibility
must be addressed before the start of the game.
SM reserves
the right to schedule playoff games on days other than your regularly scheduled
league night.
WAIVERS:
In order to participate in the league, each participant
must sign the team waiver. Waivers are
provided and must be completed and handed in no later than the first night of
play. Players not present the first week
of play will still be required to sign a waiver with our staff before
participating.
PLAYER ELIGIBILITY:
A
formal protest may be filed before a game if an opposing player’s eligibility
is in question. The player in question
will be required to provide his/her player information (name, address, phone #,
signature) in writing to a SM staff member prior to
the start of the game. This qualifies as
an official protest. The game will then
be played in its entirety as scheduled.
Teams will be notified of all rulings on the identified eligibility
discrepancy by the following business day – decisions will not be made on
site. If the protest is proven to be
legitimate, it will result in the forfeiture of the game in question. Games subsequent to the protested game may be
rescheduled. The above procedure will
also apply for any other “logged” protests.
All rulings by SM staff are considered final. Waivers and Rosters will
be used as acceptable player-team identification during playoffs,
all participants must present ID’s during the playoff tournament in the event
of a roster check. All roster check requests must be made before the first
pitch.
SPORTSMANSHIP:
The idea of SM is to have fun. We
hope that all participants keep that in mind when becoming involved. Although the games may become intense, you
still can be competitive while maintaining good sportsmanship. With this said, any behavior deemed
unacceptable by staff may result in suspension and/or ejection from a game or
the league.
STAFF:
To coordinate and run the league, our refs and/or staff
will be available at all times to help the league run as smoothly as possible.
If you have questions regarding schedules, policies, rule interpretations,
directions to the bar, etc. please ask.
LEAGUE
CANCELLATION/RAINOUT:
Leagues may be cancelled due to existing weather
conditions, dangerous or unplayable field conditions, facility constraints,
etc. SM staff makes every effort to play
all scheduled games, thus we will not cancel games until absolutely
necessary. Therefore, if you are calling
concerning a decision on a cancellation, remember we will not have an answer
until close to the start of the league.
If the league is cancelled, SM staff will change the voicemail
immediately. SM will then call/e-mail
all of the captains. If a league is
cancelled on site, SM staff will attempt to contact those teams still scheduled
to play the remainder of the league day/night.
Depending on the time of cancellation, some teams will have to be
notified on site. If we do cancel,
follow next week’s schedule (ex. If April 13 is cancelled teams should follow
the April 20 schedule for their next game).
The games that are cancelled will be made up at the end of the season if
time allows. In extreme circumstances,
SM reserves the right to run a shortened season without a refund of schedule
matches on days other than our regularly scheduled league day/night.
PRIZES:
The top teams in each division will receive a prize of
great emotional, spiritual, and most importantly, social value.
These
policies are designed to make the league run as smoothly and safely as
possible, and provide continuity for its participants. Each player in the league is responsible for
this information: please advise your team of these rules and thanks for
playing.