Equipment

• All necessary equipment (bats, gloves, helmets,etc) must be provided by the teams playing. United Sports will supply bases, lineup cards, scorebooks and game balls. (Helmets are not required)
• Footwear- Metal cleats are not permitted. Players are to wear sneakers, turf shoes or gel/plastic bottom cleats.
• Approved Bats- All bats must be Amateur Softball Association of America ( A.S.A ) approved. Approved bat list is available at the A.S.A website asasoftball.com.

Men – Single Wall/One Piece Slow Softball bats only or all wooden bats are allowed. By definition, a single wall bat is a bat that has a hitting surface composed of one continuous, single shell or layer composed entirely of the same material without the use of any type of glue or bonding system. Any bat that is more complex than this definition is NOT single wall bat.

Women- ASA approved- Two-piece (Composite) slow-pitch softball bats are legal for Women ONLY. Women ONLY will be able to use non-single wall bats as long as they are not altered and are on the ASA approved bat list. A two-piece bat refers to the bat’s handle and the bat’s barrel being constructed separately and then connecting them through some means or another.

Any player that steps in the batter’s box with an illegal bat will be warned once and asked to switch bats. If the play steps in again with an illegal bat it will be an automatic out and the player will be removed from the game and their position in the lineup will be an automatic out

• All players will hit 12-inch low compression softballs

Gameplay

• All players must be registered in United Sports database and be on the current team roster with liability waiver signed.
• A regulation game shall consist of 7 innings or a 75 min time limit whatever comes first. No new inning will be played after 60 mins.
• Games are played in a 10 v 10 format. Pitcher, catcher, 4 infielders and 4 outfielders. Teams should maintain at least a 7 male/3 female ratio.
• If a team only has 9 players, then the team will have a 10-person batting order and the last spot in the lineup will be an automatic out.
• Three women must play in the field and bat unless a team only has two women, in which case the third females spot in the line-up is an automatic out and the team can only field 9 players. (i.e. they lose a male fielder).
• 2 women must bat in the top 5 batter and 3 women must bat in the top 8. If there are only 2 females, then the 8^th spot in the lineup will be considered an automatic out.
• Teams may start the game with as many as FOUR extra players (EPS) in the lineup. In order to bat all 14 people, at least 1 of the 4 must be female. If a team choses to bat all 14 players the 11^th,12^th,13^th or 14^th batter has to be female. EPs must remain in the same position in the batting order the entire game.
• Any player may be substituted for or replaced and reentered once, providing players occupy their same batting positions in the batting order. The starting player and their substitute may not be int eh game at the same time. If a player is removed from the game and not replaced, then that batting slot will be considered an out.

Pitching

• All pitches must have a perceptible arc and reach at height of at least 6 feet and not exceeding 12 feet.

• Pitchers will have 3 pitches between innings (in no more than 1 minute) unless there is a pitching change. Relief pitchers will get 7 pitches from the mound.
• This is a slow pitch league, please treat it that way.

Batting

• All batting lineups will be shared between teams before the game starts. Any players with designated runners and assigned as designated home run hitters will be shared at this time
• The balls and strikes count start at 1 ball and 1 strike for all batters.
• Third strike foul is an out for men, women have one third strike courtesy foul.

• If the pitcher walks a man and the next batter is a woman, the man automatically advances to second base, all runners forced to advance do so and the woman bats. If a team has only 2 women batters, then the automatic out spot is still considered a ’women’ position in the batting order. If a pitcher walks a man before the automatic out, the man advances to second base as above.
• Women cannot be thrown out at first base by an outfielder after hitting the ball. Force plays are still in effect, so outfielders can throw to second, third or home for force outs. Once a woman rounds first base, she is “in play” for plays at first base.
• You are allowed to designate one player per game as a designated Home Run hitter. This person is allowed to hit as many home runs as they want. Otherwise, there is ONE homerun an inning. Any homerun hit after that will be considered an out
• No Bunting
• The ceiling is in bounds. A player can catch the ball after it hits the ceiling and it will be recorded as an out. If the ball hits the ceiling and drops in the field of play then it is a fair ball. If the ball hits the ceiling and drops out of the field of play then it will be considered a foul ball

Baserunning

 Scoring

• EIGHT RUNS IS THE MAXIMUM RUNS PER INNING. The fielding team is automatically up to bat after the eighth run has scored. (Does not apply in the seventh inning if a team is trailing by more than the run-ahead “mercy rule” runs). In the seventh inning both teams can score as many runs as possible.
• RUN-AHEAD RULE (“Mercy Rule”): If one team is ahead by 20 runs after 3 innings, 15 runs after 4 innings, or 10 runs after 5 innings the game is over. 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 an inning, the home team must have their opportunity to bat in the bottom half of the inning. Also applies for playoff games.

  Forfeits & Penalties

• Forfeit Time – Umpire waits 1 minutes for game to start – Game MUST start when both teams have at least eight (8) players available – 2 women must be in lineup. When the third woman spot comes up in the lineup, it is an automatic out.
• If a team forfeits more than two (2) games in the regular season without notifying the league commissioner in ample time prior to the game, that team is eliminated from further league play for the remainder of the current year and is not eligible to return for the following year.
• Fake Tags: A form of obstruction by a fielder who attempts to tag a runner without the ball and thereby impedes a runner advancing or returning to a base. If a fielder is caught attempting to deceive a runner they will be ejected, given a 1 game suspension, and the runner will be awarded the next base.
•  Crashing Into A Fielder With the Ball (Interference): In an effort to prevent injury and protect a defensive player attempting to make a play on a runner, a runner must be called out when they remain on their feet and crash into a defensive player who is holding the ball and waiting to apply a tag. To prevent the out ruling, the runner may slide, jump over the defender holding the ball, go around the defender or return to the previous base touched. If the act is determined to be flagrant, the offender shall be ejected. A runner may slide into the fielder.

League Policies and Behavior

• • All participants must be 18 or older
  • Everyone needs a liability waiver to play in the league
  • All players need to check in with the Umpire or Manager on Duty. If you are not checked in before the game you will not be able to play
  • Yelling and screaming at the Umpire is strictly prohibited. Understand that mistakes can be made but this is a rec league and should be treated as such. There is no reason to attack an umpire. Anyone accused of this will be suspended for the next game and any repeat offenders will be suspended from the league. (This does not mean you cant argue a call and ask questions to have an explanation)
  • No Fighting– Anyone who touches another player or even instigates a fight will be suspended. Length of suspension will be up to the League Director
  • All Subs that are not on the original roster need to be communicated with league director. If not , they will not be allowed to play in the game. A player has to play a minimum of 4 games to be allowed to play n the playoffs.