2011 Williamsburg Church Softball League Rules
Regular Season: May 14 - August 6. Rainout weeks scheduled for July 2 and August 6. Tournament scheduled Aug 13 & 20.
League Fee: $250, due May 7th, 2011. League fees will be accepted no later than May 14th.
1. The main purpose of this league is to uplift the name of Jesus.
Each home team will provide the opening prayer for the game.
2. All players must attend 3 services per month. There is no limit as to how many players from other churches can be on the roster. However, only two players from other churches are allowed to play simultaneously. Coaches, we are counting on you to enforce this rule. We are allowing churches to combine with another church if necessary with prior approval. In this case, players attending either church would not be restricted by the two-player limit rule above.
*A full roster is to be given at the beginning of the season to Tricia Shaffer, with the pastor’s signature. No new player can play without first prior permission – this would include an email or phone call from the pastor of that church and a confirmation is given from the league commissioner – Tricia.
3. All teams must start with a minimum of 7 players. Of the 7 players, at least one must be female. A team playing with only 7 players will take automatic outs in the 8th and 9th positions in the batting order. If a team starts with 8 players, at least one must be female. A team playing with only 8 players will take an automatic out in the 9th position in the batting order. A team may play with 9-10 players; at least one must be female. A team may play with a maximum of 11 players in the field; at least 2 must be female. A team fielding 11 players may bat a 12th player as an extra hitter during the game; the 12th batter in the lineup must be declared at the start of the game, and the spot in the batting order must be filled the entire game. An injury is an exception to this rule. This rule allows more people to participate.
4. Each batter will start with a count of 1 ball and 1 strike. A foul ball after the second strike will result in an out. Base runners may tag on foul fly outs at their own discretion.
5. If a male walks, a female following has the option of taking a walk.
6. A complete game is 7 innings. In the event of a tie, extra innings will be played.
7. Run rule is 15 runs after 4 complete innings or 10 runs after 5 or more complete innings during the regular season. During the tournament, the run rule is 10 runs after 4 or more complete innings.
8. Games are to start at the scheduled times; if a team does not have enough players to field a complete team, the umpire will call a forfeit. Teams are allowed three forfeits for the season. Upon the fourth, the team will be eliminated from the league. No refunds will be issued for games not played.
9. Pinch-runners will be used in case of injury or pre-existing conditions that heavily restrict the ability to run. A male may only serve as a pinch-runner for a male. A female may only serve as a pinch-runner for a female. The pinch runner will be the last out of the same gender. Exception: If all females on a given team are on base and a pinch-runner is required, a male may serve as a pinch-runner for a female.
10. On a play at the plate a runner does not have to slide or give up (surrender). However, the runner is not permitted to make deliberate contact (without sliding) with the catcher and must avoid a collision; if, in the opinion of the umpire, the runner does make excessive contact with the catcher, the runner is out, and other runners will return to the previous base. Also the catcher is not permitted to block the baseline (plate) to prevent the runner from reaching the plate. The catcher is to stand in front of or to the side of the plate and apply a swipe tag. If the catcher is illegally blocking the plate, the umpire is to declare interference and the other runners are awarded another base. Per ASA rules, both the runner and the catcher are to avoid contact. The umpire may eject the runner and or person covering the plate if the umpire feels the person deliberately generated too much contact.
11. We do not argue with the umpire…Umpire decisions are final. Any player who becomes a problem on the field, through their actions or words, will be ejected by the umpire and issued a warning by the league. Upon the second infraction, the player will be disqualified for the remainder of the season and tournament. See rule 1.
12. There are no practices at our church diamond any time on Sundays or on Wednesday nights. Also, there are no practices during Vacation Bible School or other special events.
13. Schedule: to be determined. Please notify Tricia Shaffer by May 1 if you need to have certain weeks as bye weeks. We are building in two rainout weeks this year – July 2nd, and August 6th, the week before the tournament. If you have a rain out before July 2, it will be played on July 2. If you have a rainout after July 2 it will be played August 6th. We will not play games Memorial Day weekend. Please check the website on game day for updates related to weather.
Once the schedule is set there will be no revisions, but if an emergency arises you can call Tricia and try to have a game rescheduled.(forgetting about an event does not constitute an emergency)
14. No metal cleats are permitted to be worn.
15. While we strongly encourage players to wear pants due to the material on the field, however shorts are permitted.
16. A contact list of coaches will be provided before the first game day of the season.
17. We will tentatively start the season on Saturday May 14, 2011.
18. The first game is scheduled for 9 am. Games are scheduled to start every 75 minutes.
19. There will be a double-elimination tournament scheduled at the end of the regular season, over two weekends, Aug. 13 & Aug. 20.
20. The distance from the front of pitchers’ mound to the back tip of the plate is 50 feet. The height of the pitch is to be between 6 and 12 feet. Pitch to the strike mat; the catcher must let the ball hit the ground before catching the pitch.
21. The distance between bases is 65 feet. The outfield line is 73 feet behind the bases.
22. All outfielders must be behind the outfield line until the batter makes contact with the pitch. All infielders must be in the infield (dirt) until the batter makes contact with the pitch.
23. We will use a 12” yellow ball. The league provides the softballs as part of the entry fee for each church. This year we will be using Worth Grey Dot .40 core softballs.
24. Age limit is 12 years.
25. Players need to play at least 3 regular season games in order to play in the tournament.
Coaches: We will need three items to be submitted on gameday.
- Names of players participating in the game(used to track player involvement)
- Winning team and score of game(Coach of home team is responsible for this)
- Homerun count(player name & # of HRs)
Forget? These will be accepted up to the Sunday evening after the game.
At the end of the season, we will be sending each team a roster of eligible players for the tournament. (In the event of a forfeit, please record players that showed up and they will get credit for a game played.)
26. The following bats are not approved for league play; the following link contains a list of non-approved (banned) bats: http://www.asasoftball.com/about/build_batlist.asp
ASA Bat Testing & Certification Program
The official bat in ASA Championship Play must meet all of the requirements of Rule 3, Section 1 and:
1. must bear either the ASA approved 2000 certification mark or the ASA 2004 certification mark as shown below, and must not be listed on an ASA non-approved list, or
2. must be included on a list of approved bat models published by the ASA National Office; or
3. must, in the sole opinion and discretion of the umpire, have been manufactured prior to 2000 and if tested, would comply with the ASA bat performance standards then in effect.
Beginning January 1, 2004, all bats in ASA Championship Play must pass the ASA 2004 bat standard. All bats having the 2004 certification mark will be allowed in ASA Championship Play except for those that are on the following list: http://www.asasoftball.com/about/build_batlist_w_pics_2004.asp
Bats that have the 2000 certification mark will not be allowed in ASA Championship Play unless they are listed on an approved bat list on the ASA website. For convenience, the ASA website has a listing of bats that do not pass the ASA 2004 bat standard.
All wooden bats will continue to be approved for ASA Championship Play regardless of whether they bear an ASA approved certification mark or are included on a list of approved bats published by the ASA National Office
Again, none of the bats listed on the following link are permitted:
http://www.asasoftball.com/about/build_batlist.asp
Additional information about certified equipment may be found at the following URL: http://www.softball.org/about/certified_equipment.asp
LET’S PLAY BALL, HAVE FUN,
AND REACH OTHERS FOR CHRIST!