Michelle Fund Softball Tournament Rules – 2017
ASA rules shall be used with the following exceptions:
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4/8/16
Players shall only be on one Michelle Fund tournament roster.
Players shall not wear metal cleats on the Montville High School turf field.
Check-in requirements
o Teams shall present a roster of all team members and a copy of their
team’s certificate of insurance prior to first game.
o Roster must include name, birth date, uniform number and address of each
player. Coaches shall carry roster at all times along with proof of each
girl’s age.
Round robin games will be played to determine seeding for single elimination
round.
Seeding rules
o Overall won/lost record
o Head-to-head record if all tied teams played each other
o Fewest runs allowed
o Total run differential with a maximum differential of 7 runs per game
o Coin toss
o When there are an odd number of teams in an age group, one team will
play 4 games in order for each team to play a minimum of 3 seeding
games, weather permitting. The best 3 results of the 4 games will be used
for seeding purposes.
Game length is 6 innings for 10U and 12U; 7 innings for 14U. The international
tiebreaker shall be used starting in the 7th inning for 10U and 12U, and in the 8th
inning for 14U, provided time permits. A round robin game may end in a tie.
Time limits for games
o Round robin games: no new inning may start after 1 hour and 25 minutes.
o Single elimination games (non-final): no new inning may start after
1 hour and 40 minutes.
o Finals: no time limit; play to completion.
o Final inning shall be played to completion unless the home team is
winning and the visiting team has completed their at-bat; no drop dead
rule. If the home team is winning when time expires, game ends.
o Games shall not be played past the mercy rules.
o The new inning shall be considered to have started immediately following
the completion of the 3rd out of the prior inning.
Mercy rule is 12 runs after 3 innings, 10 runs after 4 innings and 8 runs after 5
innings.
Courtesy runners may be used for the pitcher and catcher at any time. The
courtesy runner shall be a player not in the batting lineup unless there are no
bench players or Cinderella batting is used. The last batted out shall be used
when there are no bench players or Cinderella batting is used.
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Batting lineups
o Each team shall present two lineup cards; one for the umpire and one for
the opposing team. The lineup card shall contain the starting lineup listed
in the batting order and the substitute players, and include each player’s
name and uniform number.
o For 12U and 14U, a 10th and 11th batter or EPs may be used in the batting
lineup. For 10U, an 11th and 12th batter or EPs may be used in the batting
lineup. The EP must be in the starting lineup and can freely substitute to a
field position as long as there is a replacement for the EP.
o Teams may employ Cinderella batting with free substitution. Normal
substitution rules apply when Cinderella batting not in use. There is no
limitation as to the number of players in the lineup when Cinderella
batting is used.
o Coaches must advise opposing team and umpires of all substitutions to
batting lineups (not defensive position changes).
Pitching distance shall be 35 feet for 10U, 40 feet for 12U and 43 feet for 14U.
Home team shall be decided by a coin toss prior to the game in the round robin
games; furthest traveling team shall make the call. The higher seed shall be the
home team in single elimination games.
All appeals shall be handled by the umpires on the field. If there is a question on
interpretation of rules, tournament officials will be available to clarify any issue.
Managers, coaches, parents, fans and players are expected to control themselves.
Failure to do so could result in forfeiture of game.
No smoking is permitted on the playing fields, in dugouts and on tournament
grounds.
Infield practice shall be prohibited prior to the games. Infield warm-ups during
innings shall be permitted.
No soft toss against any fence.
Home team shall maintain the official scorebook. Team coaches shall report the
scores to the Tournament Director or other designated tournament official
immediately after the conclusion of the game.
All coaches are asked to be patient in the event of inclement weather. Games may
be shortened, schedules changed and/or tournament format modified at the
discretion of the Tournament Director to accommodate adverse weather
conditions or other unforeseen problems.
In the event the tournament is not played to completion, trophies shall be awarded
as follows:
o If no single elimination round games have been played, awards shall be
given to the two highest seeds. If there are two brackets within an age
group, the first place trophies for the Gold Division shall be awarded to
the #1 seed, the first place trophies for the Silver Division shall be
awarded to the #2 seed, the 2nd place trophies for the Gold Division shall
be awarded to the #3 seed and the 2nd place trophies for the Silver
Division shall be awarded to the #4 seed.
o Once the single elimination round has begun, awards shall be given to the
two highest remaining seeds in each bracket.
Additional 10U Rules
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Ten (10) players are allowed in the field. A team may have 4 outfielders or 3
outfielders and 1 short fielder. The short fielder must start at least 10 feet behind
the nearest base upon release of each pitch.
A runner may take a lead upon release.
Ball in the pitcher’s circle ends the play. Runner goes to the closest base. If the
fielder attempts to make a play, it becomes a live ball and runners may advance.
Only stealing of 3rd base shall be allowed. Runners may not advance on an over
throw by the catcher on attempted steals. Same applies to pick-off attempts by
catchers for runners on either 1st or 3rd.
No dropped 3rd strike.
No infield fly rule.
The 10-batter rule shall be in effect.
o There shall be no more than 10 batters in an inning.
o The hitting team must announce the 10th batter and she shall hit as a
regular batter (gets on base, makes an out, walk, hit by pitch, etc.).
o Inning ends if batter strikes out, an out is made or an out is attempted and
the ball is thrown to the pitcher in the pitching circle or the ball is thrown
to home plate and that player steps on home plate with the ball.
Slap hitting shall be permitted.
Batters shall not square to bunt and then pull the bat back to take a full swing.