CSA SPORTS LEAGUES

SOFTBALL GAME RULES

MEN'S LEAGUES & TOURNAMENTS
updated for the 2006 fall seasons*

CSA MEN'S SOFTBALL GAME RULES

OFFICIAL GAME:
Regular Season: A game is considered official once three innings have been satisfactorily completed. This means that three full innings have been played and the visitor is ahead, or 2 and 1/2 innings have been played and the home team is ahead.

Playoffs: A game is considered official once five innings have been satisfactorily completed, unless one team has won the game based on the "Mercy" rules (see below). This means that five full innings have been played and the visitor is ahead, or 4 and 1/2 innings have been played and the home team is ahead.

If a game is halted because of weather, field problems, injury, etc. and less than three complete innings have been played, the game will be restarted from the beginning. If a game is halted after three complete innings, but less than the mandatory five, the game will be restarted at the beginning of the half inning in which it was stopped.

MERCY RULE: A game will be stopped because of the "Mercy" rule in the following instances:

• One team is leading by 21 or more runs after 3 innings.
• One team is leading by 15 or more runs after 4 innings.
• One team is leading by 12 or more runs after 5 innings.
• One team is leading by 10 or more runs after 6 innings.

The "Mercy" rules will be enforced. It is not the discretion of the teams to waive the rule.

PITCHING: The legal pitch arc is 6' - 12'. Pitches that are too low or too high will be called "illegal pitch" by the umpire and are automatically balls. However, the pitch is live and can be put into play by the batter. If the batter swings, the "illegal" status NO LONGER applies. (If the batter swings and misses it is a strike.)

No quick pitching is allowed. The pitcher must allow the batter a chance to get set or reset. The umpire will stop play if a pitcher is not allowing the batter time to set and will issue a warning. Repeated warnings may result in ejection.
However, once a batter is set in the box, the pitcher may pitch.

ELIGIBLE PLAYERS: All players must be 19 years of age or older. Their are no roster restrictions and a team can have as many players as they wish. ALL players are required to sign a release of liability waiver before participating.

ROSTERS: Roster additions will be open during the regular season, but no players can be added prior to the playoffs.

• Teams can field a maximum of 10 players.

• Teams can bat as many players as they want. *-See line-up addition rules.
  
• If a team cannot field ten players, they are permitted to play with as few as 8 players.

Batting rules:

• If you have a question about a bat, contact CSA for a ruling prior to using it. Here is the current Banned Bats list.
• Once a batter is in the batter's box, play is live and the pitcher can proceed. The batter must ask for time, and be granted it, by the umpire. The simple act of stepping out of the batter's box does not mean time is called.
  A batter will be allowed to step out once during an at-bat, but repeated delays will not be allowed.
• All batters start with a 1-1 count.

HOME/AWAY: The home team is pre-determined by CSA and will be noted in a schedule distributed prior to the season.

SUBSTITUTION: Players are free to enter and re-enter the game without penalty. The following substitution rules apply:

• Players re-entering the game must do so in the field before they can take a turn at bat
• If a player is injured, the normal substitution rules may not apply

LINE-UP: Teams can bat as many players as they want. Line-ups must have a minimum of eight batters and no limit on the maximum number of batters. Teams can field a maximum of 10 fielders. All other hitters in the line-up are Extra Hitters (EH).

Late line-up additions: Once a team goes through the line-up once, they can not add any Extra Hitters. Teams that start with less than 10 players can add those players to the bottom of the line-up when they arrive.
    Example: If a team starts the game with nine (9) players, and their 10th
    player arrives after they have turned the line-up over, the 10th player
    may be added to the bottom of the line-up

    Example: If a team starts the game with 10 or more players, no players
    may be added to the line-up once the line-up has been turned over.

SPECIAL SAFETY RULES

BASE COACHING: Teams are permitted to have ONE base coach at first and third base. The coaches are not allowed to physically assist the base-runner in ANY WAY. If the umpire decides that a team is abusing the base coach privilege, they can decide that the team can no longer have any base coaches during that game.
Assisting the runner is touching them during live play or blocking the running path so that they do not attempt to advance.
Also, if a base coach at either first or third base enters the playing field during live play (before the umpire calls time), the lead base-runner is automatically out and all the runners have to return to their bases.

Base coaches may NOT have their mitt (glove) on or visible to the fielding team. If they want to bring the glove out with them, have the player leave the glove on the ground by the fence in front of the dugout.

RUNNER SAFETY ZONE (FIRST BASE): On all fields a line will be placed approximately four feet before first base. This is the RUNNER SAFETY LINE. Once the batter is past this line going towards first base, the fielder MAY NOT cross into foul territory to make a play. If the fielder crosses into foul territory, the base runner is automatically safe.
This is designed to protect the base-runner and the fielder.
Also note that the orange "safety" base is for the runner ONLY and is not for the fielders. A fielder making a play on the orange base will be considered to have crossed into foul territory.

If a fielder illegally crosses into foul territory and creates a collision with the runner, that fielder will be ejected from the game. No exceptions to this rule.

ON DECK BATTER:
Rule #1 - The next batter due up, "the on-deck batter", must be outside of the dugout and clear to the opposing team and the umpires. If after one pitch to the batter, the on-deck batter is not clear, all special "walk" rules are no longer in effect. This is the umpires discretion. If, in the opinion of the official, it is clear who the next batter is, but they are not on deck by the first pitch, they can keep the special rules in effect for one additional pitch.

The on-deck batter needs to be in the designated "on-deck zone" by their teams dugout.

The on-deck batter may not be one of the two designated base coaches.

starting with the Spring 2006 season
ON DECK VIOLATION: An area will be denoted by each dugout as the "on-deck zone". The next batter is asked to remain in this area during live play. If the on-deck batter leaves the "on-deck zone" AND approaches the field of play before the umpire has called time-out, this is considered interference and that player is called out.

The on-deck batter is NOT allowed to assist runners at home plate or cross into the field of play to retrieve the bat.

DUGOUTS: Other than the batter and the players on base, the only players from the batting team that should be out of the dugout are the on-deck hitter and the base coaches.

GAME EQUIPMENT:
Balls - CSA will provide the game balls.
Gloves - Players are required to provide their own ball gloves. Every player in the field MUST have a ball glove. Bats - CSA will have game bats available, but it is suggested that teams provide their own.
    Click here for a list of bats that are not allowed in CSA game play. Banned Bats.
Sneakers/Cleats - Proper shoes are required for all players. Players are not required to wear cleats or spikes. Metal spikes are prohibited. Players may not play in sandals or open toed shoes.

*COURTESY/SUBSTITUTE RUNNERS: At the discretion of the umpire(s), courtesy runners may be allowed for players that are injured during the game. Substitute runners will not be permitted for any other circumstances.*

RAIN-OUTS: CSA has three services to alert teams about rain cancellations. The first is the Rain-out Hotline, players and coaches will be given this number prior to the season. The second is the Weather Update page on the web-site. The third is the e-mail alert - CSA will e-mail team captains if games are cancelled before 4PM.

If games are rained out, CSA will attempt to reschedule all games. CSA may not be able to reschedule all games. If that occurs, appropriate adjustments will be made.

*CONFERENCE WITH OFFICIAL(S): Only the player designated as the captain by the team prior to the game is allowed to conference with the umpire(s) during the game.*

*FORFEITS: If a team is unable to field enough players by the scheduled game start time, then the game is considered a forfeit (see the minimum player rules)*

*PLAYOFFS: To be eligible for playoff and/or tournament play, a player must meet the minimum eligibility requirements. Players must have appeared in at least two (2) regular season games AND submitted a valid waiver form prior to competing.*
*Teams must have a record of .500 or better to qualify for any playoff, play-in, or tournament games*

OFFICIALS: CSA will provide at least one paid and certified umpire for every game. All officials must be certified by CSA prior to working games.