SportsMonkey
Thursday Coed Softball Rules
ASA
rules apply unless otherwise stated
1.
An
umpire will determine all balls and strikes.
All judgement decisions are final.
Any excessive disagreements will result in an ejection from the game
and/or league if deemed necessary by SM staff.
A legal pitch must have an arc of (6’-10’). Any pitch that is not deemed
legal will be an automatic ball.
2.
All
batters will start with a one ball, one strike count.
3.
If
a male is walked, the female that follows him in the batting order has the
choice to take a walk or bat at any time.
If the female decides to bat, the male advances to 2nd base
regardless.
4.
A
batter with two strikes is allowed one foul ball, two fouls with two strikes,
the batter is out.
5.
All
games are seven innings or 55 minutes (warm up time included). The ump will enforce this rule and will make
the call at the top of the final inning.
Note: Due to differing
circumstances in each and every game, some games will finish short on an hour
in length, while others might run over the hour mark. Please respect your ump’s call in this matter. He/she must keep all games on time in
fairness to teams playing later hours and due to facility permit restrictions.
6.
10
players (at least 4 females) in the field at all time. (THERE MUST BE ATLEAST 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.
7.
Teams
may bat more than ten players; however, these teams must continue to bat with
the same guy, girl, guy, girl rotation, unless their opponent allows it (i.e.
in the case of only 8 players). In
situations where additional players wish to bat, the line up must continue to
reflect the guy, girl, guy, girl rotation, even if some women need to bat twice
in the rotation. All
players in the field must be listed in the batting order.
8.
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, 10 runs up after five
complete innings.
9.
No
leadoffs or stealing, runners can leave the base once the ball is hit by the
batter. If a runner leaves early, the
ball is dead and the runner is declared out.
If this is the 3rd out of the inning the batter will be first
up in the next inning.
10.
Games
start on time!!! Teams must be prepared
to play.
Forfeit rule: 10
minutes after game time. If one team
has less than the minimum number of players (8 total-2 females) at ten past the
designated start time, it is up to the staff and opposing team as to what is
allowable - this decision will ultimately be made by the staff.
11.
Base
runner to defensive player contact will be closely watched by the ump. Any excessive contact or collision will
result in an “out” and/or ejection. This includes contact with the catcher. Sliding
is allowed. Any sliding into a base
to break up a double play, or any intentional (in the eyes of the monitor)
interference with the defensive player, the runner and the batter will be
called out.
12.
NO
METAL SPIKES ARE ALLOWED.
Any equipment in
question should be brought to the attention of the umpire. The umpire or SM staff will make all final
decisions with regard to equipment discrepancies.
13.
A
foul ball above the batter’s head may be caught for an out.
14.
All
thrown balls are deemed out of play when:
end of the backstop (if there is no fence).
·
This
imaginary line applies to overthrows and caught fly foul balls.
·
If
the ball is overthrown and hits the fence behind the 1st or 3rd base lines,
this is NOT considered out of play and the runner may advance, BUT at
his/her own risk.
·
On
overthrows out of play, the runner is granted the base he/she is going to (at
the point of the throw) plus one more.
Note: in cases where a base
runner runs past first base, he/she must make a clearly aggressive turn towards
second base to be granted 2nd and 3rd in overthrow
situations.
15.
On
an infield fly (any fly ball within the infield with significant arc and deemed
an “easy catch”) with less than 2 outs and runners on 1st and 2nd or 1st, 2nd
and 3rd, the batter is automatically out and runners can advance, BUT at their
own risk.
16.
Home Run Limit – 2 + 1up.
17.
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.)
18.
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.
20.
Official softball bats ONLY – Not to exceed 1.20 BPF The
Miken Ultra (original model and Ultra 2 softball bats are banned from league
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).
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.
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.