SoftballRulesandRegulationsofPlay
GAMETYPE
Ø Modifiedarcpitchingrules–arcmustbebetween6’and12’
EQUIPMENT
Ø PlayersmustweartheNoIdeaSportsSoftballT-Shirtswhenplayingoncereceived.Anyplayer
whodoesnothaveanNISteamshirtonwillbedesignatedasasubstituteplayerduringthe
regularseason(Seesubstituteplayerrulesbelow).Duringplayoffsfullyregisteredplayersmust
havetheirNISteamshirtontoplayinthegame.
Ø Playerisresponsibletobringhis/herownglovetothegame.
Ø OnlybatsallowedbytheASAareallowed.Theycanbefoundat
www.softball.org/about/certified_equipment.asp
Ø Participantsmaywearsneakersorrubbercleats.Nometalcleatsareallowed.
Ø Catchersarerecommendedtowearamaskatalltimeswhenbehindtheplate.NISwillprovidea
mask.Ifacatcherchoosestonotwearamask,he/sheisresponsibleforanyinjuriesthatmay
occur.
Ø Helmetswillbeprovidedbutareuptotheindividualplayeriftheywanttowearit.
TEAMANDPLAYERS
Ø Allplayersmustbeatleast21yearsofagetoparticipate.Teamsmusthaveaminimumof11fully
registeredplayersontherosterwithatleast4beingfemale.
Ø Teamsconsistof10playersonthefieldwithotherteammembersassubstitutes.Allplayersmust
beinuniform,registeredplayerswithNISteamshirtsandsubswithasimilarcolor(ifpossible).
Ø Any fully registered player who has received a team shirt and does not wear it the day of the game can
be asked for photo ID during check in.
Ø Thereisnomaximumnumberofplayersallowedonyourroster.Eachteammusthaveaminimum
of4femalesontheroster.
Ø Co-edteamsarerequired;atleast2femalesmustparticipateatthestartofeachgame.
Ø CaptainswillsubmitanofficialteamrostertoNISpriortothefirstnightofthesession.Roster
changesareallowedupuntiltheendofthefifthweekofplay.Afterthethirdweek,nonewnames
maybeaddedtoateam’srosterbesidessubstituteplayers.Onlyplayersontherosterwillbe
eligibletoplay.
Ø Ifateamdoesnothave11fullyregisteredplayersbyweek3theywillautomaticallyloseweeks4
and5ifrosterminimumisnotfulfilledpriortothestartofthosegames.
Ø Iftheteamminimumnumberofplayersisnotfulfilledpriortoplayoffs,theteamwillberemoved
fromschedulefortheremainderoftheseason.Thisincludesplayoffandfriendlygames.
Ø Ateammustfieldatleast7ofitsownplayerstobeginagame.
Ø Substituteplayersmustsignawaiverpriortoplayingandpaythe$10/dailyfeethedayofthe
game.Subsareeligiblefortheplayoffsiftheyparticipateinatleast3regularseasongames.A
maximumof2subsisallowedeachweekunlessateamneedsmoretoreachtheminimum
numberofplayers(10).SubswillbedesignatedasanyplayerwhodoesnothaveanNISteam
shirton.
Ø Playerswhoarefullyregisteredforateammaysubforanotherteamduringtheregularseason.
He/shewillnotbepermittedtoplayforanyotherteamduringtheplayoffsbesidestheonethey
registeredfor.
Ø If a team is short players for a playoff game and no sub has qualified by playing in 3 regular season
games, the captain may ask the opposing captain for approval of subs. This is up to the opposing
captains discretion. If he/she approves an email must be sent to NIS prior to arriving at the game.
GAMENIGHTS
Ø Teamsmaybeginagamewithaminimumof7playersbutnotfewerthan7,andtwoofthesemust
befemale.
Ø Ifateamarriveswithfewerthan7players,itwillgiveuparunevery5minutesuntiltherequired
numberarrives.
SUBSTITUTIONS
Ø Substitutionsmustbemadepriortothestartofthegameorinbetweeninnings.
Ø Nosubstitutionsmaybemadeduringagame,exceptincasesofinjury.
Ø Subs may not be from a team playing in the same league and season as the team needing the sub.
Ø IfyouareshorthandedduringtheseasonyoumaypickupanotherNoIdeaSportsplayernoton
yourrosterforthegame.Thiswillbeallowedonlyiftheotherteamisinagreement.
Ø Anynon-rosteredNoIdeaSportssoftballplayermayalsoplayonagivendayaftersigninga
waiverandpayingthe$10dailyfee.
ROSTER REQUIREMENTS
Ø CaptainswillsubmitanofficialteamrostertoNISpriortothefirstnightofthesession.Roster
changesareallowedupuntiltheendofthethirdweekofplay.Afterthethirdweek,nonew
namesmaybeaddedtoateam’sroster.Onlyplayersontherosterwillbeeligibletoplay.
Ø Allteamsmusthaveaminimumof11fullyregisteredplayersfortheseason.
Ø Ifateamisshorttheminimumnumberoffullyregisteredplayersbythestartoftheirgamefor
week4theywillautomaticallyforfeitthatgame.Thisruleappliesforweek5aswell.
Ø Ifateamisstillshorttheminimumnumberoffullyregisteredplayersattheendoftheirweek5
game(endoftheregularseason)theteamsseasonwillendandwillberemovedfromthefinal3
weeksoftheleagueschedule.
LINEUPCARDS
Ø Lineupcardswillbefilledoutbeforethestartofeachgame.Everyonepresentontheteamwill
bat.Allchangestothelineup(i.e.additionsofplayerswhoarrivedlate)mustbereportedtothe
umpirebeforetheymayparticipateinthegame.
GAMES
Ø Allgamesareseveninningor75minutes(warmuptimeincluded).Allgameshaveaminimumof
5fullinnings.Thelastinningwillstart10minutespriortothenextscheduledgame.Thatinning
willbecompleted.
Ø NoIdeaSportsfollowsASARulesofSoftball,withtheexceptionofthesespecificleaguerules.
FIELDINGATEAM
Ø Themaximumnumberofplayersinthefieldis10,includingatleast3women.Thereareno
positionrequirementsforanyplayers.Theminimumnumberofplayersinthefield/yourstarting
lineupis7(atleast2ofwhommustbewomen).Thereisnomaximumnumberofwomen
allowedonthefield/inyourlineup.Nomorethan7menareallowedonthefieldatonetime.
Ø Ateammaybeginwith2femalesbutthethirdfemalespotinthebattingorderwillbean
automaticout.
Ø Ifateamhas8orfewerplayersacatcherisnotrequired/9or10playersateammusthavea
catcher.
Ø Positionscanbechangedbetweeninningsatanytime.Duringaninningplayersmaymovefrom
onefieldpositiontoanother.Thebattingorderremainsthesameregardlessofpositionchanges.
BATTINGORDER
Ø Battingline-upsmustbegiventotheumpirepriortothestartofthegame.
Ø Ateammaybatmorethantenplayersiftheyhavemorethantenonagivendaybutyoumust
haveaminimumof7playerstobeginagame.
Ø Thebattingordermustalternatebetweenmaleandfemaleplayers.Nomorethan2malescanbat
inarow.Femalescanre-hitifnecessary(Allfemalespresentmusthitbeforeanyfemalere-hits).
Ifafemaleneedstorehittomakethebattingordervalid,thesamefemalemusthitinthesame
spotthroughoutthegame.Thefemalemaynotberotated.Allplayersmustbat.
Ø Alllatearrivingplayersmaybeinserteduponarrival.Theymustbeplacedintothebottomofthe
battingorderorascloseaspossibletoensurethemaletofemaleratio.Noplayersmaybeadded
aftercompletionofthe3rdinning.
PITCHARC
Ø Thearconpitchesmustbebetweensixfeetandtwelvefeetabovetheground.Theumpirewill
callaballnotwithintheprescribedlimitsasan“illegalpitch”.Ifthebatterswings,thepitchwill
betreatedasalegalpitchanditwillbecalledastrike.Ifanillegalpitchiscalleditwillbeaball.
STRIKEZONE
Ø Iftheballhitsanypartofthemataftergoingoverthe6-ftminimumarcitwillbecalledastrike.
WALKS
Ø Thereisa3-limitwalkperinningperteam.Afterthelimitishit,therestofthebattersthatinning
musthit.
Ø IntentionalWalkstoamalebatterwithafemalebatterbehindhiminthebattingorder
•Malebattergetsatwobaseaward.Thefemalebatterhasthechoiceoftakingawalkorbatting.
Ø Thisruleonlyapplieswhentherearetwooutsandistodiscouragewalkingmalebatterstopitch
tofemalebatters.
FOULS
Ø Fourfoulsandthebatterwillbedeemedout.
Ø Thefirsttwofoulscountbothasstrikesandfoulstowardsthefourfoulrule.
Ø FoulBallsthathitthetrees/leavesonthe3rdBaselineofDelphoFieldwillbedeemedadeadball.
BUNTING
Ø Intentionalbuntingisnotallowed
HOMERUNRULE
Ø Thereisa5HomeRunruleperteampergame.
Ø Everyonehitoverthefenceafterthe5thhomerunwillbedeemedasingle.
RUNSPERINNING
Ø Thereisamaximumof7runsperinningateamcanearnininnings1-6.Onceateamreaches7
runsteamswillswitchandbeginthenexthalfoftheinningorfollowinginning.
Ø The7thandfinalinningwillnothavearunlimitforeitherteam
INFIELDFLYRULE
Ø Thebatterwillautomaticallybecalledoutonanyflyballwithintheinfieldthatisdeemedan
“easycatch”withlessthan2outsandrunnersonfirstandsecondorbasesloaded.
Ø Followingthecatchrunnersmayrunattheirownriskofbeingthrownout.
BASERUNNERS
Ø Thereisnoleadingoffpriortoapitchorstealingofbases.Ifarunnerleadsoffthebaseor
attemptstostealtheywillbecalledout.
Ø Baserunnersmustusethe“safetybase”atfirstbase.Thisistohelpavoidunnecessarycontact
andcollisions.
Ø Baserunnersshouldtrytoavoidcontactatallcosts.Ifafielderisblockingthebaseorisinthe
basepath,fielder’sinterferencewillbecalledandtherunnerwillbedeemedsafe.
Ø Runnerswhointerferewithafielderattemptingtofieldabattedballorinterfereswithathrow
willbecalledout.Interferencecanbephysicalcontact,verbaldistraction,oranyothertypeof
distractionthatwouldhinderthefielderintheexecutionofaplay.
Ø PlaysatSecondBase–Thebatterandprecedingrunnerwillbecalledoutiftherunner
intentionallyinterfereswithafielderwhoisattemptingtocatchathrownballortothrowaballin
anattempttocompleteaplay.Therunnergoingfrom1stBaseto2ndBasemustslideand/oravoid
gettinginthewayoftheplayorthrow.
Ø Injuredrunnersmayreceiveapinchrunneroncetheyreachthebase.Maleplayersmustbe
replacedwithamaleplayer.Femaleplayersmustbereplacedwithafemaleplayer.Thelastoutof
eachgenderwillrunfortheinjuredplayerneedingareplacementrunner.
Ø Ifaballisoverthrownorathrowgoesoutofplaytherunnerwillbeawardedoneextrabase.
SLIDING
Ø Headfirstslidesarenotallowedwhenapproachinganybaseonthefield.Ifarunnersmomentum
causesthemtooverrunabase,theymay“diveback”inaheadfirstmannertoregainpossessionof
thebase.
Ø Slidingintofirstbaseisnotallowed.Runnerswhodowillbecalledout.
Ø Intentionalcontactwiththecatcherathomebaseisnotallowedandtherunnerwillbecalledout.
Ø Anycloseplaysat2ndBase,3rdBase,andhomeplaterunnersarerequiredtoslideoravoid
contact.Runnerscanalsoexitthebasepathat2ndor3rdtoavoidcontactanddonotneedto
slideinthisinstance.Theywill,however,be“givingthemselvesup”andbecalledout.
CO-EDLINE
Ø A“co-ed”lineexistsapproximately10yardsintotheoutfield.Nooutfieldermaystepinfrontof
thislineuntilaftertheballishit.
Ø Violationsofthisrulewillresultinasinglebeingawardedtothebatter,andALLrunners
advancingonebase,regardlessiftheawardedsinglecausedaforcedadvanceornot.Ifateamis
playingwith10players,threemustbebehindtheline.Thisistopreventunfairpositioningof
playersonafield.
WINNINGTHEGAME
Ø Theteamwiththehigherscoreattheendof7inningsor75minutes(andatleast5innings)will
bedeemedthewinner
Ø If a team is winning by 15 or more runs at the end of the 5th inning or 10 or more runs after the 6th
inning the game will end due to the mercy rule.
EXTRA INNINGS
Ø Extra Innings will not be played during the regular season unless time allows. Example: If a game is
tied at the end of 75 minutes of play or a full inning can’t be completed before the allotted time, the
game will end in a tie. If the game is tied after 60 minutes and there is still 15 minutes left another
inning can be played to determine a winner. If it is still tied after the extra inning/s then the game will
end in a tie.
Ø Extra Innings will be played in the playoffs to determine a winner. If the games run over time California
Rules will be implemented during the extra innings. (each team will start with a runner on second base)
PLAYOFFS
Ø Allrosterplayersareallowedtoparticipateintheplayoffs.
Ø PhotoID,FacebookPage,orEmailfromNISsenttotheplayerwillberequiredforcheckinduring
theplayoffs.DuringplayoffsfullyregisteredplayersmusthavetheirNISteamshirtontoplayin
thegame.
Ø Allteamswillmaketheplayoffsina4,5,6,and8-teamleague.Ina7-teamleaguethetop3teams
willmaketheplayoffs.Thenumberofteamswhomaketheplayoffsinleagueswithatotal
numberofteamsabove8willvary.
Ø Finalstandingsandteampositionforplayoffswillbedeterminedinthisorder:Win/LossRecord,
ScoreDifferential,HeadtoHead(ifapplies),Points/RunsAllowed,Points/RunsScored.
Ø Substitutesmayparticipateintheplayoffsiftheyhaveparticipatedinatleast3regularseason
games.Subswillhavetoplaytheweeklyfeetoparticipateintheplayoffsaswell.
FORFEITING
Forfeit is strongly discouraged. Your teammates and opponents count on you to have a full team and
competitive game. Each team must have at least 5 players, including 1 female to start a game.
FORFEITINGINADVANCE:
Ø Ifateamknowsinadvancethatitisgoingtoforfeitandnotshowup,ateammembermustcontact
NISby12:00pmthedaybeforethegame.IfNISisnotifiedontime,theteamwillbegivenlosses
forallscheduledmatchesbutnofurtherpenalty.
Ø Ifavoicemailmessageisleftorane-mailsent,itisnotconsiderednotificationunlessareplyto
theteamisreceived.Failuretodosowillresultinforfeitingallmatches,andtheteamwillbe
ineligibleforleagueplayoffsand/orremovedfromtheremainderoftheschedule.
Ø AnyteamthatdoesnotnotifyNISinadvanceoftheirscheduledgameoratallwillneedtoprovide
onefull-rateindividualdepositforthenextseason/sporttheyregisterfor.
FORFEITINGATGAMETIME/AFTER12:00PMDAYBEFORE:
Ø Anyteamthatforfeitsafter12:00pmthedaybeforethegamewillbeassesseda$50feethatwill
begivendirectlytotheiropponent.Thismoneywillgodirectlytotheteamwhichdidnotreceive
noticethattheywouldnothaveanopponentthatgivennight.Allparticipantsareexpectedtobe
abletomakearrangementsforsubsortonotifyNISpriorto12:00pmabouttheirplansto
participateinthatweek’sgames.
Ø Captainswillforfeithis/herfreeseason/creditifthisoccurs.
Ø Ifateamshowsupshortplayers,theremainingmemberswhoarepresentshouldmixwiththe
opponentandplayascrimmage.
REFUNDS
Refunds are not provided once the season begins or day the season is scheduled to start. If you need a refund
because you are unable to play prior to the season we are very happy to reimburse you for your registration as
follows:
Ø Up to 2 Weeks Prior to League Start: FULL REFUND (minus $5 processing fee)
Ø Up to 1 Week Prior to League Start: REGISTRATION MINUS $20
Ø Less than a week until League Start through the Season: Refunds Not Available. Credit available for a
future season if no longer to play due to injury.
SportsmanshipandFUN!!
Aboveall,thisleagueisforFUNandtheenjoymentofallthoseinvolved.NISanditsofficialswill
eject/expelplayersforinappropriatebehavior.Inaddition,NISwillremoveanyplayersand/orteams
whocannotadheretoitspoliciesandstandardswithoutrefund.