Pleasure Island Sports Co-Ed Softball Rules 1. Co-Ed Requirements -There must be at least 3 females on the field at one time to field 10 players. If a team only has 2 females, they must play with 9 players. If only 1 female, team must play with 8. -A team must field at least 8 players to begin the game. Less than 8 players will result in forfeit. -A team playing with only 9 players will incur an automatic out in the 10th batting spot and a team playing with only 8 players will incur an automatic out in the 9th and 10th batting spot. -There will be no double switches allowed. If a female is replaced in the lineup, another female must take her spot in the batting order, except if there are already more than 3 females in the lineup at that time. Teams must have at least 1 female in lineup at all times. -If a pinch runner is needed for a player, the pinch runner must be the last out of the same sex. (Female players replaced with female pinch runner, male players replaced with male pinch runner). Players needing pinch runners must be identified to the umpire before the beginning of the game or whenever that player enters the game if he/she doesn t start the game. -Teams must finish the game with the same number of people in the lineup that they started with. Meaning, if a team starts with 10 players and incurs an injury, that team can substitute another player (of the same sex if female or a female can be substituted for a male) on the roster that has not played, or started the game in the batting position of the injured player, with no penalty. If the injured player cannot be replaced then their spot in the batting order the team will incur an automatic out each time through the lineup. -In the event that a male batter walks without having at least 1 strike thrown, if a female batter follows next she will be given the option of taking 1st base automatically. This is only the case when the 2nd batter is a female.
-Teams may choose to bat 10 or 12 batters through the lineup. There is no option for 11 batters. If a team chooses to bat 12, there must be 1 male and 1 female extra hitter or 2 female extra hitters. Teams must list all hitters on lineup card before the beginning of the game and given to opposing coach. A team must finish the game with the same number of batters it began the game with. If a team loses a player to injury who cannot continue to play, that spot in the order will incur an automatic out each time through the lineup unless there is a replacement player available (male for male, female for female). Extra hitters can enter the game as a position player but must remain in the same spot in the batting order and can only do so for a player of the same sex. Extra hitters are viewed as non-starting players and cannot re-enter a game after being removed. The position player can keep his spot in the order and just hit or another player can sub for that position player and take his/her spot in the order. All other substitution rules remain the same. 2. Rosters -Team rosters must be turned in before the start of the season. -Rosters may consist of no more than 20 players. -Each team must designate at least 1 person as team manager/coach and one person as an assistant manager/coach. -Players must be listed on the roster by legal first and last name. Each player must sign the provided roster prior to the regular season beginning. Players must have proper ID on them at all events they participate in. 3. Equipment A: Softballs: -PIS will provide all softballs for official games. Softballs will be 12.44 cor 375 compression. B: Bats: -All bats to be used MUST be 100% alloy and have prior approval by the PIS Committee. NO COMPOSITE BATS. Bats must be brought to the Captain s Meeting before the season. PIS Committee will inspect each bat, log the bat into the official league approved bats database, and place a PIS sticker with a committee member s initials on approved bats. Only bats on the official database and with approved PIS stickers are eligible to be used during the regular season and playoffs. Bats that cannot be brought to the Captain s Meeting can be approved 30 minutes prior to each team s first regular season game. Two other dates will be determined for bat approval after the regular season schedule is made. For a list of approved bats, reference: http://www.teamusa.org/usa-softball/play- ASA/Certified-ASA-Equipment.aspx. Only bats listed as single wall or multi-wall Aluminum are acceptable.
-Should an altered or unapproved bat be discovered, the game is forfeited immediately by the offending team and the following penalty will be enforced: A: Any player that steps into the batter s box with a bat that has been altered in an attempt to disguise the bat s original identity or improve its performance will be banned from any and all PIS athletic leagues for no less than 1 year. This includes removing or replacing the original PIS approved sticker. B: The manager/coach (that person listed on the original registration form) will also be banned for no less than 1 year. C. Regarding bats/equipment, ASA rules will be used. C: Footwear -Players must wear either tennis shoes or rubber bottomed cleats. No flip-flops, bare feet, or steel bottom cleats are allowed. D: Uniforms -Teams shall all have uniforms with team name on the front and numbers on the back. Only players with matching team jerseys and numbers will be allowed to participate in games. Numbers shall be permanent (ie: iron-on numbers or stenciled numbers). -No teammates may be allowed to wear the same number. 3 and 03 are examples of the same number. Numbers from 00-99 are approved, no triple digit numbers are allowed. 4. Conduct -In the event of verbal abuse and/or misconduct by a player, his or her team will be given 1 team warning by the umpire. The next occurrence will result in the ejection of the offending player from the game. The ejected player CANNOT be replaced in the lineup and his/her spot in the lineup will incur an automatic out each time through the order. The ejected player must leave the Mike Chappell Park premises immediately, per Town of Carolina Beach Parks and Recreation park rules. -Throwing a bat or starting a physical altercation will result in ejection without prior warning. -Any player ejected from 2 games in one season will incur a 1 year suspension from all PIS athletic leagues. -Misconduct is within the umpire s full discretion. Ejections and/or suspensions issued by the umpire are final and not subject to protest to PIS. 5. Tiebreakers -Tiebreakers between teams for the regular season are as follows in descending order:
A: Head to Head record B: Total Runs scored in Head to Head match ups C: Total Runs scored for the regular season D: Total Runs allowed for the regular season E: Coin Toss -No regular season tiebreaker games will be played. 6. Tournament -At the conclusion of each regular season, there will be a single elimination tournament. Seeding for the tournament will be based on regular season record. -PIS will provide the schedule for the tournament at the conclusion of regular season play. The tournament schedule will also be placed on the PIS Facebook page. -All tournament games will be played for the entire 7 innings, regardless of time constraints. However, the 15 run mercy rule is still in effect after 3 1/2 innings during the tournament except for the championship game. 7. General Rules -A player is allowed 2 over the fence Homeruns per game. All Homeruns by the player afterwards will be deemed an out. -Sliding is allowed. In the event of a play at the plate, runners must avoid contact. Definition of a play at the plate is the discretion of the umpire. In the event of a play at the plate in which the player does not avoid contact with the intent of interfering with the catcher or dislodging the ball, he/she will be declared out. A player that intentionally runs over a catcher or a player occupying the catcher s position will be ejected from the game. -No bunting allowed. It is an automatic out and runners on base are not allowed to advance. -Players must be at least 18 years old. -Games must start no later than 5 minutes after they are scheduled. Teams will be given 5 minutes after the previous game ends. The late team will incur a forfeit. -All games will last at least 1 full hour or 7 innings. An inning will be started as long as the full time of 1 hour has not expired. The umpire will declare official start time and begin the timer at the beginning of each game. Home team always bats last. In the event of a tie after 7 innings or the time limit we will play one extra inning. We will play international rules: Each teams will start with 0 outs and the last batted out from the previous inning on 2nd base. In the event that the last batted out uses a courtesy runner then it will be the
2nd out from the previous inning. Same sex for the courtesy runner. From that point it is played just like standard rules. In the event that it is still tied after the additional inning the game will then end in a tie. -Playing time will be paused for injured players who need help leaving the field or extenuating circumstances such as weather delays. -Legal pitch is minimum of 6 to maximum of 12. Pitches outside of the legal pitch zone may be batted at the batter s discretion. -Home team will always occupy the dugout along the 1 st base line and Visitor team will always occupy the dugout along the 3 rd base line. -Lineups must be exchanged between teams before each game. -Substitutions: Starting players may exit and re-enter the game 1 time. If a player re-enters the game, he/she must re-enter in the same spot in the batting lineup. He/she may re-enter in a different fielding position. Players that do not start may only enter a game 1 time. - Any scoring issue must be addressed before the end of a team s inning. Meaning, if a batting team has a question about a scoring issue it must be addressed before the 1 st pitch of their next turn in the field and vice versa for a fielding team. Once the 1 st pitch is thrown, the score cannot be questioned. -There is a 15 run mercy rule at any point after 3 1/2 innings. The mercy rule is not challengeable because of tiebreaker implications for the regular season. -Makeup games will be on a TBD basis. Cancellations because of weather will be made by PIS no later than 4pm on game day. -Each game will be declared an official game after 3 ½ innings if home team is leading, 4 innings if home team is losing. In the event of a weather situation after a game is legal, the score at the time of the situation will be deemed the final score(except in tournament games) In the event of a rain situation during a playoff game, the game will be resumed at the same point as it was stopped on the next available day. Any game that is cancelled before the game is official will be completely re-played. Teams can alter their lineup for the makeup games. -Each at bat will begin with a 1-1 count. Foul Out Rule: Each at bat will begin with a 1-1 count. The batter will get 1 extra foul ball. Meaning if its a 3-2 count and you foul it off then you get one more that must be fair.
-Defensive alignment shifts are allowed if done in a timely manner. There may be no more than 6 defensive players in front of the outfield line at any one time. If there are defensive shifts that the umpire believes to be delaying the game the team will be given one warning. If the umpire deems intentional delay of game continuing then the offending player may be ejected.