HARTLAND SENIOR SOFTBALL LEAGUE RULES AND REGULATIONS. May 18, 2017

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1 HARTLAND SENIOR SOFTBALL LEAGUE RULES AND REGULATIONS May 18, 2017 Mission Statement The Hartland Senior Softball League (HSSL) is organized to provide a slow-pitch softball league for the benefit and enjoyment of seniors in the Hartland and surrounding areas, providing fun, social opportunities, competition, and above all, good sportsmanship. Governance 1. The HSSL shall be administered by a Board of Directors, consisting of a Director, Assistant Director, Secretary, and Treasurer, and a Board of Governors consisting of the Managers of the Member Teams. The number of Member Teams will be determined as of Opening Day of the past season, thus determining the number of Managers and voting members of the Board of Governors in the subsequent Winter Meeting. a. The Board of Directors shall be responsible for all administrative aspects of running the daily operations of the League, such as determining fee structures, league and playoff schedules, coordination with Tags Field officials (or any other fields to be used by the League), providing a final appeal for all rule challenges during the season and all other miscellaneous duties required to successfully operate the League. From time to time, as appropriate, the Board may ask players and/or Managers to chair or participate in select committees. b. The Board of Governors shall be responsible for electing the Board of Directors and approving the Rules and Regulations of the League. In case of a tie vote, the Director shall cast the deciding vote. The Board of Governors may be consulted on all other matters by the Board of Directors from time to time as needed. The Board of Directors shall serve a term of one year, with elections being held in December of each year. 2. Rulings. The HSSL, through its Board of Directors and with the advice of the Board of Governors, reserves the right to rule on any situation or circumstance not expressly covered by these Rules and Regulations. The National Softball Association (NSA) Official Softball Rule Book will be used when an issue is not covered by the HSSL Rules and Regulations. If there is a conflict between HSSL and NSA rules, the NSA rules shall prevail. Such decisions shall be final. a. All discretionary game decisions, such as fair/foul, ball/strike, safe/out, etc. shall be decided by the umpire(s) on the field and such decisions shall be final without appeal to the Board of Directors.

2 b. All game decisions governed by the HSSL Rules and Regulations may be appealed to the Director or the Assistant Director. The Board of Governors may, at the discretion of the Board of Directors, be consulted in any rule dispute. There shall be only one rules appeal per team, per game. Rules appeals may be brought only by a Manager and shall be settled on the field prior to key personnel leaving the facility. 3. Fees and Forms. Team fees shall be determined by the Board of Directors for each season. Team fees and all required NSA forms shall be due to the League Treasurer prior to the beginning of the Regular Season. Any player or team not providing appropriate fees or other documents required by the League shall be ineligible to participate in any League games or activities. Should any team fail to provide said fees and forms to the League once the Regular Season has started, that team shall forfeit its games until such fees and forms are provided to the League. Any team forfeiting a game twice in the season shall be subject to removal from the League, at the discretion of the Board of Directors. 4. Liability. The HSSL, its officers, managers, assigns, sponsors, or anyone else affiliated with the League, shall not be liable for any player, coach, umpire, field employee, or spectator injury resulting from participation in this program. All players will be required to sign a waiver of liability as part of the NSA Membership Application Form and accept the assumption of risk while participating in this program. Player Eligibility and Selection 1. Gender and Age requirements. A player may be male or female and must be at least 60 years of age or older as of December 31 of the current season calendar year. Each team shall be allowed to have a maximum of three players on its roster that are under 60 years of age but at least 55 years of age as of the start of the Regular Season (first game), not as of December 31. A 59-year old who will turn 60 by December 31 of the current season will be considered to be in the part of the roster. 2. Minimum/Maximum number of players. There are not a minimum number of players required on a given team, but there is a maximum of 20 players allowed on a team roster. Fifteen players may be in a team s lineup at one time, i.e., 11 fielders and 4 Designated Hitters (DH). If a team has all 20 players physically present at any given game, 5 will be extra players. If any or all are inserted into the game at any point of time the player being replaced is out of the game and may not return. The 15 players in the lineup may interchange fielding and/or DH positions with each other at any time, at the Manager s discretion. If an ineligible player is found to be in a team s lineup in a Regular Season or Playoff game, the team shall forfeit that game. 3. Player Pool. New players may join any team at any time as long as they sign the NSA Team Roster prior to playing in the HSSL. The Player Pool will be published by the League Director and forwarded via to the team Managers. It may be used for teams wishing to add players to their roster, substitute for players who are injured, on vacation, etc. during the season, or to create an entirely new team. 4. Roster Changes. Once the Regular Season begins, any and all roster changes (adding or dropping players) must be submitted to the League prior to the game in which any new player(s) will play. New

3 players may be accepted at the field prior to a game if all of the above conditions are met. The correct age of the new player must be determined by the accepting team Manager and the NSA Team Roster must be signed before the new player is allowed to participate. Once players have registered to play for a specific team, they may not move to another team during the season without written approval from both Managers and the Director. A Player Transfer Form has been approved for Regular Season and Playoffs for this purpose. 5. If a team drops out of the HSSL during the Regular Season, its players who wish to continue to play will be placed in the Player Pool and the other teams may use this pool to replenish their rosters if they have less than the maximum of 20 players. Teams will select each player in reverse order of their current league standing. The Game 1. Game schedule. A game schedule shall be determined following the confirmation of teams participating in the League. The field number for each game will be included in the game schedule, as well as home/visitor designations. 2. Game days. All games will be played on a designated day and time (typically Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.) determined by the Board of Directors, with advice of the Board of Governors. Make-up games will be played as the second game of a doubleheader on a following Wednesday (date determined by the Director). The make-up game shall be five innings in duration. All regularly scheduled games will be seven innings without a time limit. In the event of a tie game, a maximum of two extra innings will be played. If a winner is not determined after two extra innings, the game shall be recorded as a tie in the Regular Season Standings. An exception is made for the Playoffs, in which games will be played out until there is a winner. 3. Grace period prior to start of game. There will be a grace period of fifteen minutes for the start of each game, after which the game shall be forfeited by the team that is not available to play. Should circumstances require discretion of this rule, the opposing Manager may agree to allow a reasonable amount of time for the potentially-defaulting team to arrive. 4. Pre-game warmups. No pre-game practice or warmup shall be allowed on any groomed infield during game day. 5. Home team responsibilities. The home team is assigned to occupy the third-base dugout. The home team is also responsible to provide the home plate strike mat. Each team must provide a brand new NSA softball to the umpire prior to each game. New NSA softballs will be supplied to the Managers by the League. 6. Exchange of line-ups. Managers shall exchange line-ups prior to the start of each game. The line-up shall include each player s name and number. There shall be no duplicate numbers on any one team. Each Manager must have his/her updated roster at every game and available for the umpire, opposing team, and/or League official to review.

4 7. Team line-ups. Teams must field at least nine players but not more than eleven position players for a game (not including a maximum of four Designated Hitters). If a team has less than eleven players it may borrow a legal roster player or players from the opposing team, or from another HSSL team, if the affected Managers agree prior to the start of the game (a game in which a player plays for a team other than his own shall count toward that player s Playoff eligibility). If the managers do not agree, the shorthanded team must play with its own nine or ten players or forfeit the game. Should any game result in a forfeit, the final score shall be 7-0 in favor of the non-forfeit team. 8. Designated Hitters (DH). Teams may utilize up to four designated hitters in its line-up. The designated hitters must be shown on the scoresheet as DH. At any time in the game, the Manager may replace a defensive player with a DH and the defensive player would become a DH and would maintain his/her same position in the batting line-up. A DH may bat anywhere in the line-up. The utilization of designated hitters in the line-up is at the discretion of the Manager, i.e., the Manager may play only eleven players if he/she desires. The opposing Manager or scorekeeper must be advised of any line-up changes prior to the change. 9. Minimum playing time. Players are not required to play a minimum number of innings in any given game. Playing time for each player shall be at the discretion of the team s Manager. 10. Substitute/courtesy runners. All batters must run for themselves to first base. Once a batter becomes a baserunner and time is called by the umpire, a courtesy runner may be substituted for the baserunner. Anyone who is on the team roster may be used as a courtesy runner but if the courtesy runner is still on base when his/her turn to bat comes up, then he/she will be declared out as a batter (not as a baserunner) and the next batter in the line-up comes up to bat. An individual courtesy runner may substitute for a baserunner only once in an inning; if found running as a substitute (the courtesy runner may run more than once in his/her own right) more than once in an inning, that player shall be declared out as a runner and be removed from the basepath. Teams may not substitute for a substitute runner unless there is an injury to the original substitute runner that is serious enough for that runner to leave the game and not return. 11. Any player injured during the course of the game and who cannot continue to play will be skipped in the batting order without penalty unless that player s team can substitute another player who has not been in the line-up. Any player who has been ejected from the game will have an out recorded for that position in the batting order unless that player s team can substitute another player who has not been in the line-up. 12. Five-Run Rule and Mercy Rule. A half-inning shall consist of three outs or five runs by the batting team, whichever comes first. Once the fifth run is scored the ball is dead and that half-inning is considered complete. The five-run rule is not in effect in the last regulation inning of the game or any subsequent extra innings. There will be a fifteen-run mercy rule after five completed innings. If the home team is ahead by 15 or more runs after the top of the 5 th inning is completed or if the visitor team is ahead after the bottom half of the 5 th inning is completed, the game shall be considered complete.

5 The Mercy Rule shall not be invoked in the seventh or later innings since the team that is behind would be allowed to score as many runs as it is able to score. 13. Pitching Rules. A pitching distance of fifty-three feet from the home plate mat to the front edge of the pitching rubber shall be in place. The pitcher must have at least one foot in contact with the pitching rubber. For a legal strike the pitched arc must be between six feet and ten feet high and must hit the strike mat at home plate. Prior to making a pitch, the pitcher must present the ball to home plate, with a one-second complete stop, then pitch within five seconds. The delivery must be a continuous underhand motion toward home plate. Complete pitching rules are in the 2017 NSA Rule Book. 14. Intentional Walk Rule. The pitcher may issue an intentional walk by merely motioning to the umpire. This is an assumed 4-0 count and no pitch is required. However, an individual who is walked more than once on a 4-0 count, i.e., with less than one strike, shall be awarded second base when walked on a 4-0 count in each at-bat subsequent to the first at-bat. At the discretion and agreement of the two team Managers prior to the beginning of the game, and with the knowledge of the umpire, this rule may be waived under certain weather conditions, e.g., heavy winds. 15. Home Run Rule. An individual hitter may hit only one home run over the fence per game. Subsequent home runs by that individual in the same game shall be declared Ground Rule Doubles. Each runner already on base will move up two bases (e.g., first to third, second to home) on a Ground Rule Double. This rule does not apply to inside the park home runs. 16. The batter s count will be four balls and three strikes (starting at 0-0). One foul ball is allowed after the batter has two strikes. A second foul ball after the batter has two strikes shall be declared a strikeout. 17. Stealing bases is not allowed. Baserunners may leave the base only when the batter makes contact with the pitched ball. There is a relaxed movement rule whereby a runner can take a step if the batter swings and misses the pitch, but a running start prior to the pitched ball reaching home plate shall not be allowed. The umpire shall give a first warning to violators of this rule, but the second instance shall result in calling the baserunner out. 18. Base Running. A) Except for first base, runners who over-run a base are subject to being called out if tagged off the base. Runners may slide into a base at their discretion, but they are to slide to be safe, not to break up a double play or take out the fielder. If the umpire deems a runner to have done this he/she shall be called out at the umpire s discretion. B) Interference by a baserunner: The runner shall be ruled out if he/she is ruled to have attempted to hinder, confuse, or otherwise impede a fielder in any way while the fielder is attempting to make a play. If the baserunner is attempting to break up a double play in such a manner, both runners shall be called out. 19. Personal contact. Any player deemed by the umpire to make contact with a player on the opposing team that causes injury or creates intimidation (whether or not considered to be deliberate) shall be declared out and ejected from the game. A second incident by that player during the season shall result

6 in suspension from the League for the balance of the season (including Playoffs) and a third incident shall result in permanent banishment from the HSSL. 20. Scoring. To score a run, a base runner must have a foot down on or beyond the scoring line (breaking the plane) before a defensive player in possession of the ball touches the strike mat. The strike mat belongs entirely to the catcher or any defensive player (the runner may not violate that area under any circumstance). If a baserunner touches the strike mat while attempting to score, he/she will be called out. The runner may not slide or dive over the scoring line (defined as a line extending twenty feet from the third base foul line even with the top corner of home plate). The fielder in possession of the ball is not allowed to tag a runner once the runner has crossed the commitment line but merely touches home plate to retire the baserunner. The commitment line is a line extending perpendicular from the third base foul line twenty feet from home plate; once the baserunner crosses this line, he/she is committed to attempt to score and may not return to third base. 21. Official Score. Each team shall maintain and use an official score book. The designated Scorekeeper from each team shall consult with each other and the Umpire every half-inning to assure accuracy of the score. In addition, it shall be the duty of the Umpire to mark the score every half-inning on a scoreboard provided by the League. The scoreboard shall be temporarily attached to the backstop screen at home so as to be visible to both dugouts. It is the responsibility of the Manager of the winning team to provide the final score to the Director so that it can be certified and posted by the Webmaster to the HSSL website. 22. Out of Bounds Dead Ball Rule. A) Once a fielder carries the ball out of bounds (outside the playing field as determined by the Umpires and Managers in their Ground Rules discussion prior to the game), the ball is considered dead and each baserunner shall be awarded the base he/she was advancing toward. The fielder may not make any further play once leaving the playing field. B) If a ball is thrown out of play by a fielder, the ball is ruled dead and the runners may advance to the base to which they were advancing plus one base. Umpires 1. Umpires shall be certified and sanctioned by the NSA. The HSSL Umpire Facilitator, appointed by the League Director, shall coordinate with the NSA all issues pertaining to its Umpire Rules. Rain-Outs 1. Network. An network has been established in an attempt to notify all parties of a rainout postponement in a timely manner. Upon notification of rain or poor field conditions by NSA field personnel, the Director will send a mass to the HSSL Management Team and to the Umpire Team. Team Managers will contact their teams and the Website Administrator will post this information on the HSSL website. An attempt will be made to make these calls by 8:30 am. If the weather is questionable at 8:30, the decision whether or not to play will be made at the field by 9:00 am. 2. Rescheduling games. See The Game, Rule #2.

7 3. Rain interruption. A game shall be deemed official after it completes 4-1/2 innings with the home team ahead or five innings if the visiting team is ahead. If the game is called by the umpire before it meets the minimum number of innings played, the entire game must be rescheduled. Equipment 1. All players have the option of wearing protective gear (shin guards, face masks, etc.). 2. Team jerseys. All players are required to wear team jerseys or the same colored shirts. All jerseys must have readable and unique numbers (only one player per number) and, in the event of inclement weather, the jerseys shall be worn over a jacket or sweatshirt. In the case of exceptionally cold or inclement weather, the Director or Assistant Director may allow the teams to wear cold-weather gear over their team jerseys. Alternatively, the games may be postponed due to harsh, inclement weather by the Director. A player who cannot comply with this rule shall be ineligible to participate in the game. It is recommended that each team have an adequate supply of jerseys to outfit all of their players (note the 20-member roster rule). A shortage of jerseys shall not be deemed an excuse for a player to participate without the required, numbered, jersey. 3. Approved balls. All softballs shall comply with NSA Rules, i.e., the balls will be NSA 44/400 Senior balls or NSA 52/275 softballs. 4. Approved bats. Bats may be used ONLY if they have an NSA 2012 stamp/certification mark indicating that they are approved/certified by the National Softball Association. The umpire, at his discretion, or at the request of one or both team Managers, shall inspect each team s complete set of bats. Unidentifiable bats will be considered illegal and must be removed from the team s dugout. The umpire will be the final judge in determining the status of any bat. Additionally, during the pre-game conference at home plate, the umpire shall require from each Manager the assurance that no illegal, altered, or non-approved bat will be used. The umpire may inspect any bat at any time during the game. The final responsibility lies with the team Manager. Field Preparation All field dimensions, lines, and ground rules shall conform to NSA rules and field management. Playoffs 1. The Playoffs shall consist of a single- or double-elimination format depending upon the season scheduling time restrictions. The first four seeds will be taken from the American Division Final Standings and the next four seeds will be taken from the National Division Final Standings. In the event of a tie within either Division s Final Standings, the tie-breaking procedure is as follows: (a) head to head competition between the tied teams; if still tied (b) the difference in runs scored in head to head competition; if still tied, (c) the higher seed is awarded to the team allowing the fewest runs during the entire Regular Season; if still tied, (d) a coin toss.

8 2. Home-Team Status. To begin the Playoffs, the top-seeded team will play the lowest-seeded team, or draw a bye if appropriate. The second-highest seed will play the second-to-lowest seed, etc. The home team designation in all initial games and then all Winners Bracket games shall be the higher seed status. Home-team status in the Losers Bracket shall be determined by a coin toss prior to each game. In the final, championship round of play, if the last undefeated team in the Winners Bracket loses to the final team to come out of the Losers Bracket, thus requiring a second game to determine the championship, both teams, having each lost one game, shall be deemed to be in the Loser s Bracket, and a coin toss shall determine home-team status. 3. Player Eligibility. Players must play in at least four Regular Season games in order to be eligible to play in the Playoff tournament. Tournament rosters will be submitted by the team Managers to the League prior to the start of the Playoffs. 3. Playoff Umpires. There will be two umpires assigned to the Semifinal Game and to the Final Game or Games. All other Regular Season and Playoff games will utilize only one umpire. 4. Tie games shall not be subject to the two-extra-inning rule and instead, shall be played until there is a winner. 5. Playoff brackets will be prepared by the League at the conclusion of the Regular Season with seeding determined as noted above. Revised May 18, 2017 FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF THE HARTLAND SENIOR SOFTBALL LEAGUE: Stan Dobby, Director