Millennium Softball Message Board: 2018 Millennium Sunday Fall Softball League

2018 Millennium Sunday Fall Softball League - Rules & Regulations

This league is a Slow Pitch Class "D"/"E" League and a sanctioned member of USA Softball of Pennsylvania. The following rules and regulations have been adopted and approved by the League Committee and will be adhered to in all cases.

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1. The home team listed on the schedule has the responsibility for setting up the field with home plate, pitcher's plate and bases; providing one new game ball and one backup ball; and general overall care and maintenance of the field.

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2. On the league schedule, the team listed on the right, will have the choice of being the home team in the first or second game of the doubleheader. Note: This does not apply to league (Best-of-3) playoff series, where the higher seeded team must be the home team in Game 1 and Game 3 (if necessary).

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3. Playoff Eligibility and Open Roster: The league will have an open roster for the regular season. A player must have played in six (6) games in the regular season schedule to be eligible to participate in the playoffs.

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4. Official Scorebook: Scorekeepers must give their teams starting line-up and any substitutions made with players' names as they appear on the teams roster. If only one team keeps score, then that book will be the official scorebook for the game.

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5. Batter starts with a one-one count (no extra foul).

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6. Extra Player (EP): The 11-man batter rule (EXTRA PLAYER) may be used by any team. Teams may also use 2 EPs and bat 12 players. The extra player(s) must be made known prior to the start of the game and be listed on the scoring sheet in the regular batting order. An EP cannot be added once the game has started. If the EP is used, the EP must be used the entire game. The league will follow the USA Softball Extra Player Rule whether a team uses 1 or 2 EPs.

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7. Courtesy Runner: The league will follow the USA Softball Courtesy Runner Rule.

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8. TIME LIMIT: A new inning will not begin after one hour from the start of the game. Time begins after the ground rules are taken with the umpire.

Note: The only time a new inning will start after one hour is if a minimal of 5 innings have not been played, which is needed in order for the game to be official and when the game is tied - when it will then be continued using the international tiebreaker rule until a winner is determined.

a) The exception to the use of the TIME LIMIT bylaw is the following:

When a doubleheader is not preceded or followed by another doubleheader there will be no time limit and in all playoff series.

b) Three warm-up pitches to start a game, after which at the beginning of each ½ inning, no more than one warm-up pitch.

c) No infield or outfield warm-up ball after the first inning.

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9. Clean up your trash.

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10. No drinking on ANY field, (automatic team ejection from league).

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11. Run Ahead Rule: 20 after three innings, 15 after four innings, and 10 after five innings. Complete innings must be played unless the home team scores the run ahead limit while at bat. When the visiting team reaches the limit in the top half of the inning, the home team must have their opportunity to bat in the bottom half of the inning.

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12. Forfeits will result if a team is unable to field (9) nine players by 15 minutes after game time. Once the first game of the doubleheader has been forfeited, there will be an additional 15 minute time period given before the second game is declared a forfeit. Any team that forfeits two (2) or more games will be brought before the league committee to determine possible league suspension.

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13. Rain Outs: Teams will be notified on the MillenniumSoftball.com message board one hour prior to their start time if the games have been rained out. It is each team's responsibility to notify its players that the games have been rained out. Regular season and playoff game rain outs and postponements will be rescheduled through the league commissioner.

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14. The league will follow the USA Softball of Pennsylvania District 6 Player Ejection Policy.

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15. When the batter is discovered using an ASA non-approved bat, the batter will be called out.

To be approved for play in the League, a bat must:

a. Have an ASA 2000, ASA 2004 or ASA 2013 certification mark.

b. NOT appear on the ASA non-approved bat list (even though it might have a certification mark).

The safety of our players is paramount. This rule will be enforced, without exception, especially to protect the pitcher.

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16. Any player found using an altered bat will be banned from the league for life. The league has the right to confiscate any bat it feels may be altered. The league will then send the bat to the manufacturer of the bat for a final determination on whether the bat is altered.

This rule was implemented to keep our players safe and to make this game the safest it can be. With the one word "SAFETY" in mind, the league will not tolerate anyone who would embark in any manner that would put our players in peril.

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17. An altered bat is considered altered when the physical structure of the legal bat has been changed in any way or when an illegal or non-approved bat has been made up in such a way as to appear to be a legal bat. Examples of altering a bat are, but not limited to the following: Painting a bat, replacing the handle or shaving the handle or barrel or the taper changed in any way such as by sandpapering or applying a solvent to the surface such as fingernail polish remover or by any other means; had the plug removed/replaced or changed in any way; had the knob removed/ replaced or changed in any way or had anything removed or added to the inside or outside of the bat other than the legal way to tape the bat at the specified and appropriate place.

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18. The Millennium Sunday Fall Softball League is a USA Softball of Pennsylvania Class "D"/"E" League. The league will not allow any team's roster to include players who were on the roster of a USA Softball of Pennsylvania Class "C" or higher team.

Any team that does not abide by this rule will forfeit any games that the illegal player(s) played in. There will be no exceptions to this rule.

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19. Any rules and regulations not listed will be governed by the USA Softball Rulebook.

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20. Appeal(s) of the Rules and Regulations: Any appeal(s) arising from the Rules and Regulations will be brought before the League Committee for a ruling.