www.usi.edu/rfw
www.imleagues.com
Rec Front Desk (812) 461-5268
MEN’S, WOMEN’S AND COED INTRAMURAL SOFTBALL RULES
General Guidelines:
1. All team members must be listed on their Imleagues and on-site roster before playing their first game.
2. All players must have their USI Eagle Access ID card and check-in with an Intramural Sports Supervisor
and leave it with a game scorekeeper.
3. Players are allowed to play for one (1) Men’s or Women’s team and for one (1) Coed team only.
4. Former Collegiate Baseball and Softball athletes are eligible to play, however they must play in the “A”
league (limit 3 per team), If there is no “A” league, they may play in the “B” league (limit 2 per team).
5. Any team that forfeits will not be allowed to advance to playoffs. They will also be fined $15.00 and
suspended from all Intramural Sports activities until fine is paid. A second forfeit will result in a team
being removed from the league, fined another $15.00 and all team members being suspended from future
Intramural Sports activities until fine is paid and meeting with the Intramural Sports Advisory Council.
6. To avoid a forfeit, call the Rec Front Desk by 2 p.m. and the game will be considered a loss/default.
7. Good sportsmanship is expected and after each game your team will be rated on a scale of 0-4 by officials
and scorekeepers. Teams must average a 3.5 or higher during league play to be eligible for playoffs.
8. All equipment for play will be provided including bats, balls and gloves. Players can checkout gloves with
a USI Eagle Access ID card.
9. Participants are strongly encouraged to wear cleats (non-metal), a t-shirt and shorts/pants while playing.
10. It is encouraged to remove all jewelry prior to Intramural competition.
11. Intramural Sports programs are voluntary and participants assume risk by participating. Therefore,
everyone is advised to have proper medical insurance coverage.
12. Concussions are a serious matter and anyone suspected of having one by an Intramural Sports Staff
member will be removed from play and will be advised to be evaluated by a medical professional.
13. Any player that is bleeding must leave the game immediately. The bleeding must be stopped and the
wound securely covered with a bandage before the player can continue. If there is blood on any clothing or
jersey, it must be changed before the player resumes play.
14. USI is a tobacco free campus and their use is prohibited at all facilities.
15. The use of alcohol and/or drugs is prohibited at or in the vicinity of Intramural Sports activities.
Participants who are considered under the influence of alcohol or drugs will not be permitted to participate.
16. Team captains are responsible for knowing all the rules, taking the captain’s quiz, attending the captain’s
meeting and reading the captain’s manual before the season begins. It is their responsibility to
communicate all this information to their teammates prior to their first game.
17. The Recreation Fitness and Wellness conduct policy and process can be found on the Dean of Students
website and in the captain’s manual. It addresses issues of student conduct while participating in the
Intramural Sports program.
Rules: All play will be governed by ASA rules unless otherwise specified below:
1.
A team can have ten (10) players in the field but must have seven (7) players to start a game. Opponents
will provide a catcher for the team playing with seven (7) players when they are in the field.
2.
Game time is forfeit time; however there will be a five minute grace period. The game clock begins at the
scheduled time of the game and continues until either enough eligible players arrive to play or for five
minutes when a forfeit is declared.
3.
All games will be seven (7) innings or 50 minutes in length.
4.
Paper, Rock and Scissors will determine which team will be the Home team and the Visiting team.
5.
No inning will start after the time limit has expired. If the time limit is reached with an inning in progress,
the inning and game shall be finished according to the following rules:
a. If the home team is at bat and ahead, the umpire shall declare the game over, regardless of how
many innings have been played.
b. If the home team is behind, the inning will be completed.
c. If the score is tied, the game shall continue using the Intramural tie breaker rule as follows:
1. The visiting team will begin the inning with the last batter from previous inning at second base
with one out.
2. After that, the home team will do the same. These extra innings will continue until the tie has
been broken.
6.
Games not considered official will be replayed from the beginning at a later date. Original game line-ups
may be changed for replayed games.
7.
A game will be considered official if:
a.
b.
c.
d.
A team is ahead by 15 runs after three innings.
A team is ahead by 12 runs after four innings.
A team is ahead by 10 runs after five innings.
The game is called by the umpire due to rain or any other situation which puts the players in peril
after 4 innings, or 3 ½ if home team is ahead.
8.
Batters will start with a 1 Ball and 1 Strike count when they step into the batter’s box.
9.
All leagues will play under the “Third Strike Foul Rule”. Any foul on the third strike and the batter will be
declared “out”. There is no courtesy foul.
10.
All teams will utilize the Everybody Bats Rule for each game. The following guidelines apply:
a. The batting order must contain every team member listed on the official roster that is present.
b. The first ten (10) players listed in the batting order do not have to be the ten (10) starting fielders.
c. Do not place any player’s name in the line-up that is not present at game time; any player arriving
late must be placed at the bottom of the batting order.
d. The line-up must remain as originally entered in the scorebook, regardless of changes made in the
field. If a player must leave the game due to injury, ejection, or other reason, a line will be drawn
through their name and the next batter will move up in their spot in the batting order with no penalty
to the team.
e. When a team is utilizing the “Everybody Bats Rule”, free substitution will be allowed at all times
throughout the game. This means that all players may be interchanged defensively as often as
desired throughout the game without reporting such changes to the scorekeeper.
f. Pinch running be allowed when a team utilizes the “Everybody Bats Rule”. A player that is injured
while running the bases may be replaced by a teammate who made the last out.
g. When a team utilizes the “Everybody Bats Rule”, the following offense will result in an “out” if the
offended team brings the offense to the attention of the umpire after it occurs and prior to the next
pitch: A team skips a player in the line-up.
11.
Batters are not allowed to “dig” a foot position in the batter’s box. Digging the dirt out from the batter’s
box causes inconvenience to many hitters, and the depressions left by such digging can be very dangerous
to people crossing home plate. The first batter in each game that digs in the batter’s box in any manner will
be given a team warning. Any batter thereafter from that team will be called out immediately.
12.
Foul balls and homeruns are the responsibility of the team at bat and must be retrieved by them.
13.
Players will only be allowed to bat using an Easton bat that will be provided for play.
Co-ed Rules:
1.
Teams should use ten (10) players, but may play with as few as seven (7) players. Teams may play with as
many female players as they choose, male players should never outnumber female players except for when
a team has (7) or (9) players, then it may play with one more male player than female players.)
2.
Field position requirements are as follows: No more than 2 males in the infield (3B, SS, 2B, 1B), no more
than 2 males in the outfield. (Note: There are no requirements as to which infield or outfield positions
males must occupy.) Pitcher and Catcher positions must be filled by both a male and a female. (If a female
is pitching, a male is catching and vice versa.)
3.
The batting order must be drawn up alternating male and female players. (Exception: When beginning a
game with 7 or 9 players, two players of the like sex may follow each other; however, they must be the first
and last batters in the batting order.
4.
Males must bat opposite handed from their normal batting style. In the case where a team is suspect of the
normal batting style of an opposing male batter, an appeal may be made at any time, and the batter in
question must then turn around and bat from the other side for the remainder of the game.
5.
When a male batter receives a walk, he will be awarded 1B and 2B, regardless of whether a male or female
batter follows in the batting order. If there are 2 outs, the next female batter will have the option to walk, or
bat. She loses this option once she steps into the batter’s box. She must bat if there are less than two outs.
6.
A team can only score seven (7) runs per inning during the first 4 innings.
Cancellations & Postponements: (Teams may call Rec Front Desk at (812) 461-5268 for more information)
1.
On days when weather conditions are questionable, your team captain will be contacted by the Intramural
Sports office only if games are postponed or cancelled.
2.
You can also check on Imleagues.com, www.usi.edu\rfw and Social Media to see if games have been
postponed or cancelled.
3.
Games that are postponed will be made up at the earliest possible time based on facility availability.
4.
In the case of continuous inclement weather that forces games not to be played, leagues or tournaments
may not be finished completely. All efforts will be made to play games and determine winners if possible.
5.
If the University is closed for any reason all Intramural Sports activities are cancelled as well.
League Tie Breaker:
Should there be a tie in league standings, tournament teams will be determined by:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Head to head competition
Winning percentage
Sportsmanship rating
Runs allowed vs teams tied with
Runs allowed vs all teams
A coin flip
Tournament:
1. The top two teams from each league will qualify for the post season single elimination tournament however
the Intramural Sports staff reserves the right to include more teams.
2. All players listed on the roster must have played in one league game to be eligible to play.
3. During the tournament, teams must average a “3.5” or higher sportsmanship rating. Any team receiving a
sportsmanship rating lower than a “3.0” will be removed from the tournament and be required to meet with
the Intramural Sports Advisory Council.
4. The final four teams in all leagues will receive t-shirts provided they have good sportsmanship.
All Campus Points:
Men’s A:
1st
2nd
3rd – 4th
Qualify for Tournament
Participation
Forfeits
150 points
125 points
100 points
75 points
50 points
- 50 points
Men’s B & Women:
100 points
75 points
50 points
25 points
15 points
- 15 points
* Teams who do not forfeit any games receive +25 All Campus points.
* Teams who receive perfect 4.0 Sportsmanship ratings every game receive +25 All Campus points.