Revision Date 3/04/2018 CERA SOFTBALL RULES 1. LEAGUE RULES 1.1. All USSSA rules will govern league play except as follows: 1.2. Tournaments could negate certain league rules. 2. ELIGIBILITY 2.1. Men and coed league play are open to Associate members of CERA and/or League members of CERA. All softball players must acquire a membership card from the CERA Front Desk prior to participation. The membership card is your access onto CERA property. If a roster check is made during a game, this card will be required for identification. 2.2. All players must be 18 years of age or older to participate. 2.3. A player cannot participate on two teams in the same league. If a player is playing on more than one team, the player must choose one team to play for in the CERA Championship Tournament. 2.4. To play with a team in the CERA Championship Tournament, a player must have competed in at least one regular season game with that team. Exception: Each team may add up to three players to their roster for the CERA Championship Tournament who did not participate in any league games for that team. However, the roster may at no time exceed the twenty player maximum (Rule 3.6). 2.5. *** Violation of Sections 2.1 through 2.4 will result in one or more of the following actions: Probation of player(s) Suspension of player(s) Forfeiture of game(s) Loss of eligibility 3. ROSTER SHEETS 3.1. All team rosters will be managed through the ActiveNet software and each team member must be on that roster. Rosters will be limited to 20 team members Page 1 of 10
3.2. Players can be dropped and/or added to the roster during the season. Players changing from one team to another team of the same league will be removed from the old team roster and added to the new team 3.3. It will be the coach/managers responsibility to make sure the roster turned in for that team contains only eligible players. 3.4. Rosters are limited to twenty (20) players. 3.5. *** Violation of Section 3.1 through 3.5 will result in one or more of the following actions: Probation of player(s) Suspension of player(s) Forfeiture of game(s) Loss of eligibility 4. THE GAME 4.1. USSSA Specifics - Each batter will come to bat with a count of 1 ball and 1 strike. Once the batter reaches 2 strikes, any foul balls is ruled an out and is a dead ball situation. The Pitched Ball must arc at least 3 feet, after leaving the Pitcher's hand and before it passes any part of Home Plate. The Pitched Ball shall not rise higher than ten feet above the ground. 4.2. Line ups are to be turned in immediately upon request by the umpire. 4.3. Regulation time is 55 minutes for all games. In case of a tie game after 7 innings or time has expired, each batter will receive only one pitch for all following innings. 4.4. Any player sliding into any base must be in contact with the ground before contact is made with an opposing player. If a player sliding into any base, either feet first or head first, is on the ground and then makes contact with an opposing player, it will be considered as part of the game. However, if any player sliding into any base makes contact with an opposing player while still in the air, either feet or head first, that player will be subject to immediate ejection from the game, by the umpire. Page 2 of 10
4.5. A team must have at least 8 players to start or continue a game for men and coed league play. If a team starts with 8 players, the following rules apply: A 9 th and/or 10 th player may be added at any time during the game, but the team cannot go from 8 or 9 to 11 or more players. The 9 th and/or 10 th player shall occupy the 9 th and/or 10 th spots in the batting order. A team may not drop below 8 players for injury or any other reason. Once a team starts with 8 or 9 players, adds its' 9 th and/or 10 th player during the game, it can drop below 9 or 10 players at that point due to injury only. For Coed League play, a team starting with 8 players must have 4 females and 4 males, a team starting with 9 must have 5 females and 4 males. A team may drop down to a minimum of 8 players due to an injury. Once that team resumes legal play with one less player, they can continue the game with that number of players. A team may not at any time drop below 8 players. When a team drops players due to an injury, the vacant spot(s) in the lineup is NOT an automatic out. A team may not go from 10 to 11 or more players during a game. (Additional Hitters must be announced at the beginning of play). If a team has a player ejected from the game for any reason, the team with the ejected player may continue to play as long as they have 8 or more remaining players. The ejected player is removed from play for the rest of the night and a minimum of one additional game. In the event of an ejected player, an out will be recorded in the slot of the batting order of the ejected player unless a legal substitute is placed in that slot of the batting order. A team may have up to 16 batters in the batting order but a maximum of 10 players may take defensive positions in the field. Any player in the batting order may rotate in and out of the defensive alignment throughout the game. For coed only, lineups with extra hitters must have an equal number of girls and guys. (e.g. 6 females and 6 males, or 7 females and 7 males, or 8 females and 8 males) For league play only, a player shall be considered a legal member of a team for a game once they have completed their initial at bat in that game and a legal pitch has been delivered to the next batter in the lineup. 4.6. Game time is forfeit time!!! Both teams involved must agree in order for a game to be started earlier than the scheduled start time. Scheduled start times for weekday games are normally either 6:45, 7:30, 8:30 or 9:30 PM. 4.7. CERA Softball Run Rules are as Follows: Page 3 of 10
20 runs after 2 innings 15 runs after 3 innings 12 runs after 4 innings 10 runs after 5 innings 4.8. CERA Home Run Rules are as follows: Any Leagues labeled Raptor are 3 HRs with 1 Up Rule Any Leagues labeled Lightning are 2 HRs with 1 Up Rule Any Leagues labeled Falcon are 1 HR with 1 Up Rule 4.9. Metal cleats are NOT allowed. 4.10. Men's league play will use a 12" ball with both USSSA Classic M and CERA stamped on the ball. These balls must be purchased from CERA. 4.11. Mixed league play will use a 12" ball with both USSSA Classic M and CERA stamped on the ball for all men batting and an 11" ball with both USSSA Classic W and CERA stamped on the ball for all women batting. These balls must be purchased from CERA. In coed play, it is each team s responsibility to exchange balls during the game, not the umpires. It is the responsibility of both teams to know whether or not the wrong ball is in the game. An appeal may be made by either team if the incorrect ball is hit prior to the next pitch to the next batter only. 4.12. The batter may request an out from the umpire after presenting himself and taking one pitch at his time at bat. 4.13. In the event of inclement weather, power outage, etc., a complete game may be ruled after 4 innings, 3-1/2 innings if the home team is ahead. 4.14. COURTESY RUNNERS: One courtesy runner per inning (one time) may be used. The courtesy runner can be any player in the lineup. If the courtesy runner is still on base at the time his/her turn at bat comes up, that spot in the batting order will be an out. In the Mixed Program, any male player in the lineup can run for any male, and any female player in the lineup can run for any female. 4.15. Protection of the Pitcher A batted ball that is hit directly back at the pitcher that strikes the pitcher on the body or puts the pitcher in a defenseless position before hitting the ground will cause the batter who hit the line drive to be called out if in the judgement of the umpire the pitcher was defenseless. This penalty is an out each time it occurs. Ejection of players will NOT happen. Confiscation of bats will NOT happen. Page 4 of 10
4.16. Bat Clarification Rule Refer to the USSSA rule book Rule 2 Section 2 regarding bats. USSSA Rules may be found at http://www.usssa.com/slowpitch/announcements/#/?gdsport=17&aa=43 8 CERA Softball League Legal Bats All bats utilized within the CERA league must have the following stamp. These are the only bats that will be legal to use for 2017 CERA Softball League Policy regarding bats Any bat utilized in a CERA Softball League game must be legal for USSSA play as defined in rule 2.2 of the USSSA rule book. Any use of illegal or altered bats within a league at CERA will be subject to the following penalties. Use of an illegal bat will be penalized by the player using the illegal bat will be called out upon hitting the ball with the illegal bat. Use of an altered bat will be penalized by the player being called out and ejected from the league for the remainder of the current league. Also, the coach of the team involved in using an altered bat will be ejected from the game as well and incur the same suspension for the remainder of the 2018 league (spring, summer, fall). Anyone that repeats this offense of using an altered bat will be suspended for 1 year from the date of the second infraction. Players and coaches responsibilities are as follows: Coaches have the responsibility to make sure all bats being utilized by your team are legal and meet the USSSA specifications. The list of approved Page 5 of 10
USSSA equipment may be found on the USSSA website @ http://www.usssa.com/slowpitch/announcements/#/?gdsport=17&aa=517. It is also your responsibility to fully pursue with the umpires if you believe that an illegal or altered bat is being utilized. This can be raised at any time by any player. If the umpire will not address the request, please contact the CERA Softball commissioner immediately. The commissioner can be reached at (817)980-9993. Umpires Responsibilities are as follows: The umpires will fully address any request by any player regarding the legality of a bat. The umpires have the right to remove any bat at any time that they deem questionable for that game. Umpires may at any time remove a bat from play for the remainder of that game or night in the case of double headers. 5. SECTION 5 - PROTEST 5.1. All protests must be reported to the home plate umpire by the Coach/Manager prior to the next pitch. 5.2. All protests must be submitted in writing to the commissioner within 48 hours of game termination and shall be accompanied by a $50 fee. The fee will be returned if the protest is upheld, otherwise it will be forfeited. 5.3. Submittal of protest should be directly to the CERA Softball Commissioner or other CERA Softball League Representative. 5.4. Protest will be decided by the CERA Softball Committee. The CERA Softball Committee will consist of the following representatives: CERA Softball commissioner, All CERA Softball coordinators (Men s and Co-Ed), and 2 league coaches not involved in the protested game. 5.5. Decisions made by the CERA Softball committee will be sent to the teams within seven (7) days of submittal. 6. RAINOUTS/MAKE-UPS 6.1. Condition of the fields is determined by the groundskeeper and the CERA Manager with the decision submitted to the Softball Commissioner for consideration. 6.2. Questions concerning league play on wet fields will be answered at the CERA Main Office (phone number 732-7731, extension 117) after 3 PM on the day games are scheduled for. It is the team s responsibility to find out if they will play on any given day. Page 6 of 10
6.3. No game shall be started and any game in progress shall be immediately suspended when lightning is observed in the area by league officials. 6.4. No game shall be started and any game in progress shall be immediately suspended when severe weather warning sirens are audible from the CERA softball fields. 6.5. Games postponed due to inclement weather will be rescheduled at a later date and could result in an extension of the season schedule. A reasonable attempt will be made to play all games scheduled. However, persistent weather-related issues may cause some games to be cancelled outright and the season shortened. In this event, final standings will be based on games actually played and teams will receive a refund of a portion of their team registration fee. 6.6. The coach/manager of each team is responsible for acquiring dates and start times for rained out games. 6.7. Games that are not considered regulation shall be replayed from the beginning. 7. COACHES/MANAGERS 7.1. Coach/Managers are responsible for the conduct of their players and fans. Any request made by the umpire to the coach concerning a player should be dealt with immediately. 7.2. This responsibility shall extend to team behavior off the field but within the confines of the CERA facility. All teams will be held responsible for any actions of their members off the field and within the CERA facility that result from events which occurred during a game. 7.3. Any question/discussion concerning the action of the game will come from the coach/manager only - no one else. 7.4. Coach/Managers shall prohibit children and non-participants from entering the dugout. 7.5. Coach/Managers are responsible for explaining these rules to their players before the season starts. 7.6. *** Violation of Section 7.1 and 7.2 will result in one or more of the following actions: Ejection of player(s) Suspension of players(s) Forfeiture of game(s) Page 7 of 10
Loss of eligibility 8. GENERAL INFORMATION 8.1. Alcoholic beverages will be allowed to be consumed during play subject to the following: 8.2. No alcoholic beverages will be allowed in the dugout or on the playing field. Any player that brings alcohol into the dugout area or on the playing field will be subject to being ejected from the game. 8.3. Anytime a player is on the playing field and in the judgment of the umpire is considered to be in jeopardy of their safety, as well as the safety of the others, they will be requested to leave the game and/or park facilities. This request will be made to the coach/manager by the umpire or league representative. 8.4. USSSA national rules prohibit electronic equipment with photo/video/audio capabilities from being on the field of play. CERA rules on this matter are as follows: 8.5. No electronic equipment is allowed on the field of play. Audio equipment used to play music during games will be allowed as long as the music being played does not contain profanity. In the event, music is played with foul language or offensive content, the offending team will lose music privileges. 8.6. Any person initiating or participating in a fight will be considered in violation of these rules and dealt with accordingly. 8.7. Any person displaying irrational or unsportsmanlike behavior will be considered in violation of these rules. Excessive profanity will be considered a violation. 8.8. Any person who verbally abuses or harasses an umpire or a league representative will be considered in violation of these rules. 8.9. *** Violation of Sections 8.1 through 8.6 will result in one or more of the following actions: Ejection of player(s) Suspension of players(s) Probation of players(s) Forfeiture of game(s) Loss of eligibility 8.10. *** Note: Any instance that the commissioner deems severe and/or unwarranted will be forwarded to the CERA Council for appropriate disciplinary action. Page 8 of 10
8.11. Any player or manager ejected from a game due to violating one or more of the Section 8.1 through 8.6 rules will automatically be suspended from CERA League play for the remainder of that day and for the next seven days. At a minimum, should there be rained out games, the individual is suspended for the next game that he/she is scheduled to play with their team. 8.12. No glass bottles or containers will be allowed in any of the softball areas, especially on concrete areas. Please protect our children from broken glass by cooperating with this rule. 9. FIELD RESERVATIONS 9.1. Field reservations can be made by calling Samar Mashni at CERA at 732-7731 Extension 102 during office hours. Identify your team as a CERA League team. 9.2. CERA League teams must pay for use of the lights at the rate of $22 per hour. Light charges begin at published sundown for that day. 9.3. Only the coach/managers are allowed to make reservations for one field per week/per team. 9.4. The CERA front office can request proof of identity if there is a question concerning the time reserved. 9.5. *** Violation of Section 9.1 through 9.4 can result in forfeiture of privilege. 10. TOURNAMENTS 10.1. Persons may reserve the fields for tournaments according to the following fee schedule $175 per day for one field. $300 per day for two fields. $10 for field preparation (raked and lined, any number of fields) If the lights for the softball fields are used, an additional $20/hour per field will be charged. 10.2. A request form shall be submitted to CERA with the following information: Date(s) requested Number of fields Tournament Director Phone Number Page 9 of 10
10.3. A deposit of $200 will be required at the time of submittal. 10.4. The deposit will be refunded in case of a rainout only. 11. LEAGUE STANDINGS 11.1. In case of a tie for team standing at the end of the regular season, the following tie-breakers will go into effect in the order listed: Head-to-head series Number of runs scored/scored upon in head-to-head series Number of runs scored/scored upon for entire season Single elimination game 11.2. League Prizes If a league has at least 6 teams, prizes will be awarded to the first and second place teams. If a league has five teams or less, then only the first-place team will receive prizes. Prize winning teams will have a choice of 1 of the following prizes. T-shirts (limit 16 per team) $60 CERA Gift Card Requests for either T-shirts or gift cards must be put in writing (email) to commissioner such that commissioner can process request. Page 10 of 10