The reserves the right to modify and/or change these rules at any time. 1. GAME RULES: 1.A. The Town of Little Elm Adult Softball games are played under USSSA rules unless modified with the Town of Little Elm League Rules. 2. HOME TEAM: 2.A. The home team will be determined by a coin flip prior to each game. 3. TEAM ROSTERS: 3.A. Team rosters are limited to 14 players. 3.B. Roster changes must be made prior to game time. Changes must be made with the on-site attendant. Team's have until the completion of their third game to make changes to the roster. 3.C. EACH PARTICIPANT MUST PROVIDE A DRIVERS LICENSE UPON REQUEST. (Make sure to bring your license into the dugout with you to each game. Players will not be allowed to retrieve their ID from their car as this will take too much time away from the game. If asked and you cannot produce your ID, you will be considered an ineligible player for that game). 3.D. Teams that wish to protest another team s roster must do so before the start of the 3 rd inning. After the start of the 3 rd inning, teams can no longer protest the opposing team s roster. If one team questions the eligibility of a player(s), BOTH teams must then produce their driver s licenses for verification of eligibility. If a player is deemed to be ineligible, that player must be removed from the game. If the removal results in a team dropping below the minimum number of players required the game the game will be forfeited. 3.E. No individual may play on two teams in the same league on the same night. Participation by an ineligible player may result in forfeit and/or suspension of the player, team and manager. 3.F. Men s teams should be men only. Women s teams should be women only. Any female wishing to play in a men s league must put a request in writing to the Athletic Coordinator and be required to sign a hold harmless agreement. 3.G. Rosters must be turned in before the start of the first game, you can add to the roster up to the 3 rd game. Rosters are to be turned in to the Athletic Coordinator at 303 Main St., Little Elm, TX 75068 or given to the on-site attendant in the concession stand. Payment in full is required at the time of registration. No teams and/or payments allowed after that cut-off date. 3.H. Refunds will not be given for leagues after the official start date of the season. 4. TEAM WAIVER FORM: 4.A. The Team Waiver Form must be properly completed and submitted to the on-site attendant prior to the first game of the season. 4.B. Players that have not completed the Waiver Form will not be eligible to participate. 4.C. Participation by an ineligible player will result in forfeit and/or suspension of the player, team and manager. If a player is caught doing this a second time, the player will be suspended for the remainder of the season. Town of Little Elm Page 1 of 7
4.D. Players must be 16 years of age to participate. Ages 16-17 must have a participation waiver on file, signed by parent/guardian, prior to participation. 5. UNIFORM CODE: 5.A. Teams must have matching/like jerseys by the third week of the season. 5.B. Players who do not have matching/like jerseys will be ineligible to play that game. 5.C. Metal cleats are not allowed. 5.D. Exposed Jewelry must be removed and may not be worn during the game. Players should remove all jewelry before the game so there is no delay during the game. 6. GAME BALLS: 6.A. Each team must provide.40-core - 325 Compression, Classic M Fluorescent Yellow USSSA approved softballs for league games. 6.B. Each team will provide one game ball for each game. (Co-Ed must provide one 12 for the Men & one 11 ball for the women. 6.C. Game Balls must be submitted to the umpires at the plate meeting prior to each game for approval. 6.D. Umpires may check periodically during a game to make sure USSSA approved balls are in play. If the USSSA Classic M stamp or the specifications of the ball are not legible, the ball will be removed from play and an approved replacement must be used. 7. TIME LIMIT/BAT COUNT: 7.A. Games are 50 minutes or 7 innings. 7.B. All at bats begin with a 1-1 count. No more "extra" foul with two strikes - if the batter has one strike, the next batted ball must be in play or the batter will be called out. 7.C. In the event of a tie game at the end of regulation, a 3/2 count will be played for all extra innings played (Little Elm rule). 7.D. Due to traffic concerns, there will be a ten (10) minute grace period for the 6:45pm and/or 7:00pm games only. Forfeit time is 6:55pm for 6:45pm games and 7:10pm for 7:00 pm games. 7.D.1. Please note the game clock will begin running at the games designated start time. 8. FORFEITS: 8.A. A forfeit will be scored a 7-0 win. If a team only has 7 or 8 players; they may pick up one (1 or 2) player from another team to keep a team from forfeiting. The picked up player must appear on the roster for his permanent team and must show proof of ID. The picked up player must remain in the jersey of his permanent team and must be removed from the game if a permanent member of the team he/she is substituting for arrives. A team with only 6 original players cannot pick up 3 players from another team, in this case the game would be a forfeit. When picking up any players to make at least 9 it must be reported to the on-site league official. If a team has 9 players they may only pick up one player to make 10. 8.B. The penalty for a team forfeiting a game is as follows: 8.B.1. 1st offense Verbal Warning. 8.B.2. 2nd offense Written Warning. Town of Little Elm Page 2 of 7
8.C. 8.D. 8.E. 8.B.3. 3rd offense Team is suspended for the remainder of season. If a team is suspended before the 4th game of the season, a revised schedule will be made for the remainder of the season. Any games played that involve a suspended team will be considered forfeit wins for their opponents. Coaches are responsible for contacting the Athletic Coordinators Office if it is known that you cannot field a team for a game. (214-425-1348 or tniemann@littleelm.org). 9. LINE-UP: 9.A. Please provide your Line-up card to the umpire prior to the start of the game. Line-up cards are available through the Little Elm Athletics & Leagues Softball webpage. 9.B. Teams must have at least eight (8) players to start a game. The 9 th spot is an out the entire game or until a 9 th player arrives. 9.C. Teams can bat a maximum of 12 players on their line-up card. 9.D. Flip Flop Rule: The USSSA flip flop rule states that when the visiting team is leading the game by the run rule at the start of an inning, the visiting team will remain in the field and become the home team and allow the home team batting to become the visiting team. The now visiting team has to achieve enough runs to satisfy the run rule or the game is over. This speeds the game up and does not allow the visiting team to continue to bat when they have already achieved the run rule at the start of an inning. 9.E. Batting out of order must be protested by the offended team. If protested, the umpire will determine if a violation occurred and impose penalties per rule. 9.F. Courtesy Runners you are allowed only one courtesy per inning, you can run for anyone in the lineup. Once you use a courtesy runner you cannot use one again. 10. RUN RULE 10.A. 20 runs after 2 innings 10.B. 15 runs after 3 innings 10.C. 12 runs after 4 innings 10.D. 10 runs after 5 innings 11. HOME RUN LIMITS: 11.A. Men s C Leagues can have up to 4 home runs per game. (All following Home Runs will be considered an out). 11.B. Men's D Leagues can have up to 2 Home Runs per game. (All following Home Runs will be inning ending). 11.C. Co-Ed D Leagues can have up to 2 Home Runs per game. (All following Home Runs will be inning ending). 11.D. Men s Recreation and Co-Ed Recreation Leagues are allowed no home runs. (All Home Runs will be inning ending). 11.E. Tournament play All teams can have up to 2 Home Runs per gender per game with an option to purchase 2 more per game (either gender) allowing a total of 6 per game. (All Home Runs will be an out). Town of Little Elm Page 3 of 7
12. CONDUCT AND EJECTIONS TWO UMPIRE OPTIONS: 12.A. EJECTION: Player(s) will be ejected from a game for unsportsmanlike conduct. Any situation that an umpire deems unsportsmanlike may be cause for ejection. 1st offense = 1 game suspension 12.A.1. NOTE: if a player is ejected, and the team is reduced to 9 players, the team can continue to play. The ejected player s position in the line up will be an automatic out. However, if additional players are ejected or removed at anytime during the game, and the available number of players falls to less than 9, then the game will be forfeited. No exception. The Athletic Coordinator will support the umpire s decision in all cases. 12.A.2. You can only protest a rule interpretation NOT A JUDGMENT CALL! 12.B. Ejected players will automatically be suspended from their next league or playoff game. It is the responsibility of the manager and/or player who was ejected to comply with this policy. Any violation of this policy will result in further disciplinary action to possibly include expulsion from the league. 12.C. Any player who verbally abuses a player, official or staff member, AT ANY TIME will be suspended from their next eligible game. 12.D. Physical abuse of a player, official or staff member will result in EXPULSION of that player(s) from all Town of Little Elm leagues for at least a one-year period and possible legal action. 12.E. The Athletic Coordinator will review any other actions determined to be detrimental to the league. 12.F. Anyone ejected from a game (player or fan) for poor behavior must leave the facility property within two (2) minutes. If they do not or if they leave and return later, their team will forfeit their game for that day (even if game has already been played). If that game was played and lost, the next game will be forfeited. 12.G. Under normal circumstances, the penalty for ejections is as follows: 12.G.1. 1st offense = 1 game suspension 12.G.2. 2nd offense = expulsion from league play for remainder of season 12.H. The Athletic Coordinator reserves the right to increase or decrease the severity of penalties based on previous history, unusual or special circumstances, or to protect the integrity of the league. 12.I. Teams that have 3 or more C players will begin the game with a 3-0 deficit. The Athletic Coordinator will determine who is a C player. 12.J. Teams with any C players will not be allowed to play in the Rec league. 12.K. Warm ups must be done in the outfield, playing catch from the line into centerfield. Any team that plays catch in front of the dugouts will be given an out to begin their first inning at the plate. This rule is in effect to protect both players and umpires. 12.L. Middle Rule: The pitcher must be between both rubbers and not standing outside the width of the rubbers when he is hit by a batted ball in order for the middle rule to take effect. If the pitcher is hit while inside that area the batter is out. 13. PROTESTED GAMES: 13.A. All protests must be submitted in writing and accompanied with a $50 protest fee (Cash only) to the Athletic Coordinators Office at 303 Main Street, within 24 hours of the completion of the protested game. Rule interpretation is the ONLY protestable issue that will be considered. 13.B. Protest fees will be returned to the team ONLY if the protest is upheld. Town of Little Elm Page 4 of 7
14. CO-ED: 14.A. Batting order must be male/female alternating. 14.B. When a male batter receives a walk the following female batter has the option to bat or be walked. This rule is in effect with zero, one or two outs on the team. 14.B.1. At any time that a male batter is walked in a USSSA game, he is automatically awarded 2nd base regardless of what the female batter does. If there is no female batter to follow a male due to automatic out situation, then an automatic out is declared. 14.C. Defensive alignment: There is no longer a defensive alignment you can arrange your players in any manner. For example you can have a male pitcher & male catcher or an all-male infield and all female outfield. 14.D. A minimum of nine (9) players (4 females and 5 males or 5 females and 4 males) must be present and in uniform to play the game. Teams may play 12 Players (an EH for male and female) if they have a full line-up (5 females and 5 males). Note: if you start the game with less than 12 players, you cannot go up to 12 players. If a female or male show up late to give that team 10 players, and the 2 more show up, the last 2 that show up can only be subs. They cannot bat 12 in the line-up. 15. PLAYING FIELD CONDITIONS/RAIN-OUTS: 15.A. The Parks and Recreation Department will make the final decision on playing field conditions by 4:00pm. If weather and/or field conditions are questionable, check http://teamsideline.com/littleelm for field conditions. 15.B. If the first game of the night is canceled, all remaining games on that field are canceled. Likewise, if the second game is cancelled, all subsequent games will also be canceled. 15.C. If a decision is made after 6:00pm, the umpires will make any cancellation decisions at game time. 16. COMPLETED GAMES: 16.A. Games are considered complete when 40 minutes have been played OR 4 innings have been completed. 17. MAKEUP GAMES: 17.A. The Town of Little Elm will do everything possible to make up all games that are canceled due to weather. However, unusual or extreme weather patterns may force permanent cancellation of games. 17.B. All make-up games will be played on an assigned date during the season. 17.C. Make-up games will be played on the first available date. The season will not be extended past the pre-set completion date unless absolutely necessary. 17.D. Prior to the season beginning a makeup day will be set. All rain-out/game cancellations due to weather will be played if the regular season does not allow for enough time to make up these games. No games will be played after that date. 18. PLAYOFFS: 18.A. The top 4 teams in each league will advance to the playoffs. 18.B. The playoff format will be as follows: Town of Little Elm Page 5 of 7
18.C. 18.D. 18.E. 18.B.1. Semi-Final Round 18.B.1.a. 2nd Place Team vs. 3rd Place Team 18.B.1.b. 1st Place Team vs. 4th Place Team 18.B.2. Final Round 18.B.2.a. The two winning teams will play in the final round. All playoff games are single elimination and will be played on the same evening. Mercy Rule is the same as the regular season. The higher seeded team is the Home Team (not a coin flip). 19. TIEBREAKERS: 19.A. Winner of each league will be determined by most games won. 19.B. If two or more teams are tied, the winner will be the team that defeated the other. (Example 'A', 'B', and 'C' have identical win-loss record, but 'A' beat both 'B' and 'C'; 'A' would be the winner). 19.C. If there is a split between two or more teams the winner will be the team that gave up the least amount of runs against the teams involved for that tie. 19.D. If still tied, the team that has given up the least amount of runs to all opponents within the league is the winner. 20. BAT RULES: 20.A. Bucket Rule: Bats must have the 2013 USSSA sticker on it, the bat will be removed by the umpires if it does not have the correct sticker. A bucket is placed on the field at the warm up circle. Each team must bring all the bats they plan to use during the game and put them in the bucket. No bat can be added to the bucket once the game is started. If a bat is added to the bucket, the umpire has the ability to go to the bucket and choose any bat he wants and remove it plus the one that was added. If a team starts with 8 bats in the bucket and this rule is implemented, the team will be left with 7 bats in the bucket. At the beginning of the game, the umpire will check each bucket to make sure that all bats in the bucket are legal bats. Any bat found that is not legal is removed from the bucket. If a bat is taken back into the dugout during the game that bat will no longer be considered a legal bat and must remain in the dugout. 20.B. Bat Testing: Bats will be tested when: 20.B.1. The protecting the pitcher rule is called. 20.B.2. When an umpire is hit by a batted ball. 20.B.3. Any time a batted ball is hit over the outfield fence for an out. 20.B.4. Upon request by a Director or Umpire 1) The player/owner of the bat in question will be asked to give up his bat to be tested. If the player/owner of the bat in question refuses, a two-year suspension from all USSSA activity (without ANY APPEAL) will immediately be given. If the player/owner agrees to have the bat in question tested, go to Step 2. If the bat in question does not belong to the batter using the bat, the batter, too, shall face the same penalties as does the owner of the bat 2) The bat in question will be tested by the bat compression machine. Town of Little Elm Page 6 of 7
3) If the bat in question passes, the bat will be given back to the player/owner of the bat. If the bat fails by a slight margin, go to Step 4. If the bat fails significantly, go to Step 5. Significantly is described as the bat testing at a pressure of 175 pounds or less. 4) If the bat fails by a slight margin, the bat will be returned to the player/owner at the end of the event. However, the player/owner will be told NEVER to use the bat in any USSSA-sanctioned event again. If the player/owner is caught using the bat in the future at a USSSA-sanctioned event, then the player/owner will face a suspension, according to the USSSA rules and guidelines. 5) If the bat fails significantly, the player/owner will be given two choices. a) The player/owner will allow the Director to keep the bat so it will be destroyed with no penalty; OR b) The bat will be sent to the manufacturer for further testing. If the manufacturer s test shows the bat to be altered, a two-year suspension from all USSSA-sanctioned activity will be given to BOTH the player using the bat and the owner of the bat. If the bat comes back from the manufacture unaltered, the bat will be noted and not allowed back in USSSA play. If a player/owner of the bat refuses either choice, a two-year suspension from all USSSAsanctioned activity will immediately be given. 6) Any player/owner can elect to have their bats tested at any time for $5.00 to insure their bats are in compliance but if the bat fails significantly, the same procedure will be followed and the same penalties will be enforced. NOTE: A permission form will be completed by the player/owner anytime his/her bat fails a testing procedure. The player/owner in question will provide a copy of his/her driver s license to the tournament official at that time. 21. AWARDS: 21.A. The winner of the playoffs will receive League Champion T-shirts and a team trophy/plaque. 22. COMMUNICATION / WEBSITE SERVICE: 22.A. Little Elm uses http://teamsideline.com/littleelm to post all schedules, standings, game scores, league bulletins and other important league information. 22.B. All coaches and players are encouraged to use the website in order to stay current with league happenings. 23. LEAGUE CONTACT: Tara Niemann, Athletic Coordinator Phone: (972) 731-1466, cell 214-425-1348 Email: tniemann@littleelm.org Rain Out: http://teamsideline.com/littleelm Town of Little Elm Page 7 of 7