2013 Hillsborough Baseball League. Summer B Tournament. Last Chance Tournament

Transcription

1 2013 Hillsborough Baseball League Summer B Tournament Last Chance Tournament FACILITIES PRIMARY LOCATION Hillsborough Baseball League (HBL) Complex Address Willow Road, Hillsborough, New Jersey, Directions from your town can be found by using 7 Baseball Fields Full service snack bar; burgers, hot dogs, pizza, salads, drinks, ice cream, etc Bathroom facilities Basketball Courts Playground 4 batting cages We all have to share the cages, so be courteous with the time. Weather information: visit the HBL Website for up-to-date info: IMPORTANT NOTICE! The following rules will be strictly enforced: Dogs are NOT permitted at the HBL Complex On Sundays, you can NOT enter the HBL Complex until after 11AM. The parking lot will be open earlier. No alcohol on the premises No smoking allowed No soft toss into the fences NO BIG BARREL BATS FOR 11-U or 12-U 50/70. Results & standings will be posted periodically at the HBL Complex and on our website ( If you have any additional questions, please contact the tournament director, Chris Porter at tournament@hillsboroughbaseball.org Game Check In: Before each game please report to the tournament desk which will be under the flag pole. You will receive a game balls and a game summary sheet, used to report your pitchers (name and number of innings) and the final score of the game. You must return this game summary sheet to the tournament desk after each game. Start Times: Teams are to make every reasonable effort to start games at the scheduled time. However, there will be instances where a game will start later than scheduled (a teams previous game runs over, the game on your field runs over, etc)

2 In the case where a game starts after its scheduled time: The official start time will be announced by the home plate umpire to the head coaches and time limits will start from that time. Please have both scorekeepers mark the start time of the game in their scorebooks. Game Duration & Time Limits: 8U to 12U 6 inning games Pool Play - No inning may begin after 1 hr 45 minutes Once an inning is started, the inning will be completed. Extra innings are allowed if needed and time permits. Official time will be kept by the umpires. Playoffs and Championship - No Time limit and the game cannot end in a tie. Consolation Games will have time limits. The Mercy rule is still in effect. In the event of time of inclement weather, a game will be official after 4 innings (or 3-1/2 if the home team is ahead). The Once an inning is started, the inning will be completed provision does apply to games shortened by rain or weather conditions. The score reverts back to the last full inning played. 13U & 14U 7 inning games Pool Play - No inning may begin after 2 hours. Once an inning is started, the inning will be completed. Extra innings are allowed if needed and time permits. Official time will be kept by the umpires. Playoffs and Championship - No Time limit and the game cannot end in a tie. Consolation Games will have a time limit. The Mercy Rule is still in effect. Playoff and Championship Games must have a winner In the event of time of inclement weather, a game will be official after 4 innings (or 3-1/2 if the home team is ahead). The Once an inning is started, the inning will be completed provision does apply to games shortened by rain or weather conditions. The score reverts back to the last full inning played.

3 Pitching: Once a pitcher has been removed from the mound, he cannot return to pitch for the remainder of that particular game. 1 pitch constitutes an inning. For ages 9U thru 12U A player cannot pitch more than 6 innings in consecutive games. For example: (0-6-0), (1-5-1), (2-4-2), (3-3-3), etc. For ages 13U & 14 U A player cannot pitch more than 7 innings in consecutive games. For example: (0-7-0), (2-5-2), (4-3-4), (1-6-1), etc Balks & Stealing: 9U, 10U No balks; No leading; No stealing until after the pitch passes home plate; Dropped Third Strike is an out and the batter cannot advance to first base. 11U (50/70) & 12U (50/70) One warning per pitcher before balks are called in pool play; No warnings in the playoffs & Championship game. Batter can advance to 1st base on dropped 3rd strike, in the proper situations. 13U, 14U One warning per pitcher before balks are called in pool play; No warnings in the playoffs & Championship game. Batter can advance to 1st base on dropped 3rd strike, in the proper situations. Batting Rules: All players present must be in the batting lineup with free defensive substitutions throughout the game. Any player that leaves the game due to injury or personal reason, his turn in the order will be skipped over without an out being recorded. If a player is ejected from the game by the umpire due to conduct his spot in the batting order shall be considered an out. This would be from the point of ejection through the end of the game. Late arriving players can be added to the bottom of the lineup as long as no player has had a 2 nd at bat on the team. Players arriving after this can be used as a substitution for another player in the order no re-entry in the batting order. All teams must have a minimum of 9 players to start the game. If a team cannot supply 9 players within 15 minutes after the official game start time, then that team will forfeit the game by a score of Uniforms: All players must have uniforms identifying their town or team & matching baseball caps.

4 Mercy rule: For all ages 9U thru 12U, A game will be called for a Mercy Rule when: A team leads by 15 or more runs after 3 innings A team leads by 10 or more runs after 4 innings A team leads by 8 or more runs after 5 innings For 13U & 14U A game will be called for a Mercy Rule when: A team leads by 15 or more runs after 4 innings A team leads by 10 or more runs after 5 innings A team leads by 8 or more runs after 6 innings Uniforms: All players must have uniforms identifying their town or team name & matching baseball caps. A coach's shirt makes it easier to see who belongs in the dugout, but it s optional (we'll try to keep it flexible) Pre-Game Conference: The team's manager will go to home plate to go over ground rules with the umpires prior to the game. The manager is the only individual that an umpire will have a discussion with during the course of the game. No Tolerance Rule: Sportsmanship will be strictly enforced. Player ejection from a game will result in that player being suspended from the next tournament game. Manager or coach ejection from a game will result in the individual being removed for the remainder of the tournament. That individual will not be able to attend any games at either the primary location (cannot be within the fenced complex) or the secondary location (cannot be near bench or stands). Location will be based on Umpire's judgment. Managers are responsible and accountable for the conduct of fans. Manager may be warned or ejected if they cannot control their fans. Additional Playing Rules: 1) Playing rules shall be in accordance with current Cal Ripken / Babe Ruth League Rules and Regulations (with the exceptions and/or clarifications listed below).

5 2) Only the on deck batter can take practice swings in the designated area. Please do this safely. 3) Coaches can warm up pitchers in the bullpen. Coaches can warm up pitchers at the plate while the catcher gets the gear on. As a result, there will be no courtesy runner for the catcher. If a player is warming up a pitcher, at any level, they MUST wear a helmet. If warming up a pitcher in foul territory, please send an additional player with a glove to protect your pitcher and catcher. 4) Trips to mound and timeouts Two (2) trips to the mound per inning (per pitcher); After the 2 nd trip to the mound, the pitcher must be removed One (1) offensive timeout per inning 6) No warm-ups or batting practice on the infield prior to the games. There are 4 batting cages at the complex that can be used for batting practice. Please share the batting cages evenly with your opponent (only 1 batting cage per team). If your field is empty because the previous game ended early (or it s the first game of the day), players can soft-toss in the outfield to warm up. 7) Metal spikes are allowed for 13U & 14U only. 8) Bat Sizes and Restrictions: 9U, 10U, 11U (50/70) & 12U (50/70) The bat may not exceed 33 in length, and the bat barrel may not exceed 2 ¼ in diameter. Only 2 ¼ barrel non-wood bats marked BPF 1.15 will be allowed. Wood 2 ¼ barrel bats are allowed. 13U, 14U no bat restrictions. The bat may not exceed 34 in length, and the bat barrel may not exceed 2 5/8 in diameter. All aluminum/alloy barrel bats and all composite handle (only) aluminum/alloy barrels are allowed. Only composite barrel bats certified and marked BBCOR.50 will be allowed. Wood barrel bats conforming to the specifications of Official Baseball Rule 1.10 are allowed. Protests: There will be no protests. The umpire s ruling is final. Any questions about the rules should be addressed prior to the start of the tournament via or asked prior to the game. Home Team: A coin toss will determine home team for each game except for the playoffs, where the home team will be the team with the higher seeding in the bracket.

6 Playoffs:* For age groups with 6 teams or less, the top 4 teams in each age bracket will play in a single elimination playoff round (#4 seed at #1 seed, and #3 seed at #2 seed). The winning teams will meet in the finals to determine the Champion. For age groups with 8 or more teams, there will be 2 divisions of teams (North & South), the top two teams from each division will advance to the playoffs, with the #1 seed from the North division playing the #2 seed from the South division and the #1 seed from the South division playing the #2 seed from the North division. The winning teams will meet in the finals. For each age group, the seeding will be determined by each team s overall record, with the following tiebreakers: 1) Head to Head (In the event of a 3 way tie, the next two tie breakers will be used) 2) Run differential (runs scored minus runs allowed) 3) Least runs allowed 8U Playing Rules Stealing Stealing is allowed of second and third bases only. Stealing of home is not allowed. Base runners may not leave base until the ball passes home plate. Base runners may steal only one base per batter. Cal Ripken leaving early rule applies. The base runner may only score as a result of a play developing off a batted ball, or as a forced advance due to a walk or hit batter. Infield fly There is no infield fly in the 8U division. Pitching rules Pitchers may pitch a maximum of six innings in any two consecutive games (e.g , 6-0-6, are maximum permitted situations). The pitching limits are NOT reset for the playoffs. One pitch to a batter counts as an inning pitched. Once a pitcher takes the mound and delivers a warm-up pitch, the pitcher must pitch at least one pitch to the first batter unless the above rule would be violated. Team managers are responsible for ensuring that eligibility of each pitcher is correctly specified on the line-up card presented to the opposing manager and is followed throughout the game. Any pitching rules contained herein that are violated will result in a game forfeit. Up to 8 warm-up pitches are allowed at the start of the pitching assignment, and up to 5 pitches are allowed between innings. One trip to the mound per pitcher in an inning is allowed. A second trip per pitcher in an inning will result in the removal of the pitcher. A coach must ask the umpire for time before crossing the foul line. (There is no limit on number of trips to the mound per game.) Fielding Teams may use 4 outfielders

7 Overthrows There is no advancing on the overthrow of an attempted steal. We want to encourage catchers to throw to bases. On a play from the field, a runner may advance one base on an overthrow Runs per inning 5 runs allowed per half inning, until the umpire declared final inning, due to darkness or time. Unlimited runs allowed in the final inning. Time Limits No inning shall start after 1:45 minutes from the start of the game. Umpire will keep official time. Mercy Rule Teams must have equal number of at bats, unless the home team is winning 15 after 3 innings 10 after 4 innings 8 after 5 innings Home Team Determination To be determined in the pregame with a coin flip during pool play. In playoffs, higher seed is home team. Dugouts are first come first serve. Recording of Score and Pitcher used Please tournament@hillsboroughbaseball.o