CURRENT TEAMS SIGNED UP
Holy Sox (Mosley), Smashers (Ortiz), GrandSlammers (Taylor), Psalm’s Beach (Hinson), LeftOvers (Frausto), Ralls (Clint Yokum) Mexicoons (Adam Beauchamp), Team Burton (Paul Burton)
2018 SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT RULES
We wish to STRESS that this tournament is purely for recreation and enjoyment. It was established to help raise money for the summer camps that the children and youth of First Baptist Church will be attending. These rules are given only to preserve a fair, even, timely, and fun experience for all participants. We appreciate you helping us keep it that way.
FIELDING
• Each team shall field an even number of men and women. There must be at least 5 men and 5 women in the field at all times (4 & 4 will be allowed, but there cannot be more women than men, or men than women.)
• There are no stipulations as to what positions your team members can play.
• We also keep rosters “open” throughout the weekend. Unfortunately injuries happen as well as people with prior commitments. You may “borrow” a player from another team to play your game should a member of your team have to leave and you need to field the required 10 players.
BATTING
• The batting order must alternate male and female, with no two members of the same sex batting next to each other.
• You may bat everyone on your team as “extra hitters” if you choose to do so, even if they do not play the field, but you must still maintain an even number of males and females.
• Each batter will come to the plate with a count of 1-1 (1 ball, 1 strike).
• If a male batter earns a walk, he will automatically take 2nd base. The female batter who follows will have the choice of automatically taking first base, or batting.
• If a female batter earns a walk, she will automatically take 1st base, and the following male batter must bat.
• We have a very short field, so there will be a Homerun Limit of 1 per game (with all additional homeruns posting as outs)
• There are no rules stipulating what bats may be used, but we supply all the softballs to be used. In the past we have always played with “Gold Dot” softballs, but we may even downgrade to “Gray Dot” softballs this year to keep any balls from being too hot off the bat and getting someone hurt.
• The Home Run limit will be lifted for the 7th inning.
• Pinch runners are allowed under the following stipulations. No player currently in the batting order or field may pinch run, only a player from the bench. The player who gets pinch run for must exit the game for at least 6 outs in the field and 1 at bat (1 time through the entire batting order). We don’t allow curtesy runners. I mean seriously, the fact that we’re all old and slow is part of the competition!
GAME LENGTH
• We will play a 7 run rule with runs accumulating each inning. For example if Team A only scores 3 runs in the first inning, they can still score 11 runs in the second inning, bringing their total to 14.
• Game length will be 1 hr. 15 min. or 7 innings. No new innings can be started after 70 min.
• Maintaining the schedule is essential for fun play, so all teams must be ready to play at their scheduled start time. If one team is missing players and cannot start on time, that team will automatically be the “visiting” team, will forfeit their first at bat, and the game clock will begin on schedule, with play starting when players arrive, and ending on schedule.
• If both teams are tied going into the last inning (of regulation or time limit) AND both have reached the maximum runs scored, the run rule will be removed for the final inning in order to establish a clear winner. If both teams are tied going into the last inning and have not reached the maximum runs scored limit, the game will end in a tie with the tie being broken in the following manner. The team scoring the most 1st inning runs wins, if still tied, it will move to the 2nd, then 3rd etc. If a tie still remains the winning team will be decided by coin toss.
• Tie breakers for pool play are determined by head to head outcomes. If this still results in a 3 team tie in the pool, the tie breaker is determined by points. The team which allowed the fewest points during their 3 pool games will be awarded 1st place in the pool. The team which allowed the second fewest points will be awarded second place in the pool.
• If we do not have 8 teams we cannot do pool play and will return to the previous double elimination format with a 3 game minimum.
COURTESY RULES
• This is a fun and family friendly atmosphere, so we ask all players and spectators to follow these guidelines. Blatant offenses are grounds to be removed from the park and/or tournament with a forfeiture of all fees paid.
• All umpires will be on a volunteer basis and will do the best they can, please do not harass them. (After each game the winning team is required to supply 2 umpires for the next game and the losing team is required to supply two score keepers. 1 for the book, 1 for the scoreboard.)
• This will be an alcohol free event
• Profanity while playing or watching will not be tolerated
• Above all remember, “There is no crying in baseball”
• In the event that weather cancels games, the first course of action will be to skip games 13-15 and simply let the 1st place teams from each pool play 1 championship game. The second course of action will be to reschedule the tournament for a later date.
