ARKANSAS USSSA BASEBALL TOURNAMENT RULES Revised for 2004 Season HOME TEAM Home team will be determined by coin toss. Home team scorekeeper will be the official scorekeeper and must record starting time in scorebook. GAME TIE BREAKERS During the initial round of pool play, at the end of regulation time limit if the score is tied, ONE extra inning will be played utilizing International Rules to determine a winner, if the game is still tied, it will be ruled a tie. *** International Rule: The last out in the lineup is placed on second; the game is then played as usual. After the visitors bat and three outs have been made., the home team does the same thing. POOL PLAY TIE BREAKERS 1. Head to Head 2. Fewest runs allowed 3. Highest run differential 4. USSSA Points 5. Coin toss SPORTSMANSHIP GOOD sportsmanship is expected by players, coaches and fans at all times. The umpire will handle any disputed calls immediately and finally. Razzing, heckling, chanting, or making rude remarks towards opponents is strictly prohibited. Arkansas USSSA 1
Sports will hold to a ZERO tolerance policy. We believe in stopping the problem BEFORE it starts. Unruly coaches, fans or players will be removed from the park for the duration of the game in which their conduct was inappropriate. ROSTER / WAIVER Managers are to turn their team roster in prior to their second game. No exceptions. Upon winning a World Series qualifier your roster will become frozen. A copy of your frozen roster will be mailed to you. All rosters are required to be entered on line through the National site. Call the AR office for more information. LINE UP CARDS Each manager must prepare a minimum of three written copies of his line up, listing first and last names and numbers of all players and subs on his roster, prior to each game. Please check each copy to make sure the writing has gone through ALL copies. SCOREBOOK / SCORE BOARD The home team, determined by the coin toss, is responsible for the scorebook, which is located in the scorekeepers tower or box. Visitor team will be responsible for the scoreboard (if field has one). COACHES are responsible for checking the score at the end of each inning. 2
GAME TIME LIMITS Game time limits are as follows: AGE GROUP GAME LENGTH FULL GAME IN EVENT OF RAINOUT 6, 7 & 8 year olds 6 innings / 1 hour 15 9 through 12 6 innings /1 hour 30 13 7 innings / 1 hour 30 14 and over 7 innings / 1 hour 45 4 innings 4 innings 5 innings 5 innings Championship games will be played out to the full amount of innings indicated above. PITCHING LIMITS Pitchers are allowed the following: AGE GROUP NUMBER OF OUTS 8 and under 24 9 and under 24 10 and under 27 11 and under 27 12 and under 27 13 and under 30 14 and under No Limit 15 and under No Limit 16 and under No Limit 3
PITCHER CHANGES DURING A GAME Coaches are responsible for notifying the home plate umpire of ALL pitching changes during the game. The umpire will record pitchers name and number and the number of outs pitched and return this information to the tournament director for future reference. Outs are tracked for ages 9 through 13. NEW PITCHER RULE ***As of 2003 Season*** The starting pitcher, when removed from the mound on the coaches FIRST trip to the mound, may re-enter the game as long as he has remained in the line up PITCHER S RECORDS AND FINAL SCORE Managers, please check the pitching records and final game score before the umpire turns it in. YOU must request to see it. The umpire will not look for you. ALL stats will be final once they are turned in to the tournament director. The game scores will be taken from these records. Scorebooks are for umpire s reference during the game and as a secondary reference for the tournament director. 4
RUN RULES AGE GROUP WINNING TEAM DECLARED 6 through 8 15 after 3 8 after 4 9 through 12 15 after 3 8 after 4 13 through 16 15 after 3 12 after 4 8 after 5 RUNS PER INNING 7 runs per inning N/A N/A BRACKET GAMES Bracket games will be played out until there is a winner. The international rule will be used if the game time is up and there is a tie, International rule will be used each inning after game time until a winner is declared. CHAMPIONSHIP GAME All Championship games will be played out the full number of innings allowed for that age group. If the game is tied after that number of innings, the game will continue until a winner is determined. International rules will not be used. Run rules are still in effect. GAME BALLS Each team must provide two new or good condition baseballs per game. USSSA stamped balls are preferred. All baseballs must be USSSA approved. 5
AWARDS Awards will vary depending on the tournament format. However, individual awards will always be given to the top two finishing teams in each division. TOURNAMENT FORMAT ALTERATIONS Arkansas USSSA Baseball Directors reserve the right to alter, change, or abbreviate the tournament format, when necessary, in order to complete the tournament. GATE ADMISSION Gate admission will be charged each day; Admission is subject to change depending on event type. Most common gate admission rate is $4.00 for adults and $2.00 for children ages 6-12. State Tournaments, AA Nationals and World Series rates will generally be higher. COACHES PASSES Each team will receive three coaches passes in their tournament packet. Coaches must have these passes to enter free. TOBACCO Use of any tobacco product is prohibited in the park, on all fields and in the dugouts. Smoking is allowed outside the fenced in area, IN THE PARKING LOT, AWAY from the dugouts and bleachers. 6
FINAL NOTE Our city has been very generous in allowing us to host these tournaments here. We thank them for the opportunity to use these facilities. Please urge your players and parents to pick up their trash and leave the dugouts, fields and facilities as you found them. We believe that the respect of a ballpark and ball fields, is something that coaches and parents by example, can teach young players along with learning to play the game that we all love. 7