NORTHERN SUN INTERCOLLEGIATE CONFERENCE
BASEBALL HANDBOOK
2017 EDITION
(July 2016)
I.
The NCAA Baseball rules book shall be adhered to for all conference games.
II.
The chair of the coaches shall be elected to a two-year term, and may serve no more than two
consecutive terms if elected (four-year maximum). Paul Blanchard, Southwest Minnesota State
University, was elected to serve the term of 2015-16 and 2016-17.
III.
The baseball coaches will have three scheduled conference calls throughout the academic year: fall,
around February 1 and prior to the NSIC Summer Meetings.
IV.
A coach of an NSIC institution cannot provide film, DVDs, written or verbal scouting reports on
Conference members to Non-Conference opponents.
V.
The 2017 and 2018 conference schedules were approved by the Athletic Administrators Council in
January 2016. The conference schedule includes 38 or 40 games for each season.
The following provisions apply to contests scheduled around Easter Sunday:
A. NSIC conference baseball games cannot be played on Easter Sunday.
B. During Easter week, midweek games will be scheduled on Tuesday with Wednesday as a
make-up day.
C. Conference games scheduled for Easter weekend shall be played on the Thursday/Friday
prior to Easter Sunday with Saturday serving as the make-up day. A contest may be
scheduled on Friday/Saturday with no make-up day if weather does not appear to be a
factor. Both schools must agree to the change, and the decision to utilize the
Friday/Saturday option must be made by Wednesday of that week at noon. If no team has
used an overnight, the series may be completed on the Monday after Easter Sunday as long
there is no team travel on Easter Sunday.
VI.
Game Routines.
A. Start time for conference games shall be as follows:
1. Preferred game time for Saturday games shall be noon if the visiting team travels
to the game site the day before. Game time shall be 1:30 p.m. if the visiting team
travels to the game site the day of the game, unless mutually agreed upon by both
teams. Game time for Sunday shall be noon.
2. The starting time shall be 1:30 p.m. for weekday games unless both coaches
mutually agree upon a time change. Weekday games may be played on Tuesday,
Wednesday or Thursday. If the team travels the night before, teams may
mutually agree to switch batting practice times.
3. Starting times may be altered if mutually agreed by both teams.
4. Coaches shall exchange lines-ups before pre-game infield. Teams will also
exchange lineups as soon as possible between the first and second games of a
doubleheader.
B. The pre-game routine shall follow standard procedures: home team batting practice,
followed by visiting team batting practice, followed by home team infield, followed by
visiting team infield.
Pre-game protocol and uniform assignments shall be as follows:
Noon start
1:30 p.m. start
Home BP
10:00 – 10:40
11:30 – 12:10
Visitor BP
10:40 – 11:20
12:10 – 12:50
Field Prep
11:20 – 11:30
12:50 – 1:00
Home In/Out
11:30 – 11:38
1:00 – 1:08
Visitor In/Out
11:38 – 11:46
1:08 – 1:16
Field Prep
11:46 – 11:56
1:16 – 1:26
Line Up/Anthem
11:56 – 12:00
1:26 – 1:30
First Pitch
12:01
1:31
First day of series: Home team wears light.
Second day of series: Home team wears dark.
Midweek games: Home team wears light.
C. One seven-inning conference game followed by one nine-inning conference game shall be
scheduled each day with 20 minutes between games. The 10-run rule will be in effect
following the seventh inning of the nine inning game. If the first game goes extra innings,
the second game becomes a seven-inning game.
D. Make-up Policy.
1. Weekend Games: If a team travels on Friday for a Saturday/Sunday series, the
two teams only have Saturday/Sunday to complete the games. If a team can
travel on Saturday, the two teams can use Saturday, Sunday and Monday to
complete the four-game series. The two schools also have the option to play a
doubleheader on Monday. If an originally scheduled 9-inning game is halted
prior to the seventh inning it will be completed as a 7-inning game on the next
scheduled date, followed by a doubleheader of 7-inning games. If the suspended
game is past the seventh inning it can be finished as a 9-inning game, followed
by a doubleheader of 7 inning games. Teams are not to spend more than two
nights on the road. *This policy trumps NCAA rule 5-8 during NSIC regular season
contests.
2. For the first two weekends of the NSIC season, the dates are expanded to
Thursday through Tuesday to complete the weekend series.
3. For the last weekend of the NSIC season, the dates are expanded to Thursday
through Sunday to complete the series.
4. A game called after five innings may be made up the following day, regardless
of the score. If the second day is rained out, the game then becomes official.
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The new set of umpires shall be informed of situation if a game is continued on
second day. In the event of an unfavorable weather forecast, teams may mutually
agree to play on Friday but it is not permissible to play past Monday. A
Wednesday conference game postponed due to poor weather, may only be made
up on Tuesday or Thursday of that same week. If it is not possible to make up
the game on Tuesday or Thursday, it shall be cancelled. If a team has already
traveled to the host city and weather conditions change, both teams must agree
that the games cannot be played in the allotted timeframe before the traveling
team returns home. If teams cannot agree, the traveling team must stay until the
originally scheduled game time.
5. Conference games are not restricted to any mile-radius policy. Conference
games may be played at any site as long as both teams agree upon the change.
6. Reversal/neutral sites are allowable under the following criteria:
a. The NSIC Baseball Re-Schedule Form must be completed, signed by
both team’s administration and the conference office before a team
departs for a game. The form may be communicated electronically.
b. The original visiting team shall reimburse its budgeted costs for travel,
meals, and lodging minus the cost of the umpires.
c. The team that becomes the host site team shall be responsible for
scheduling the umpires, providing an athletic trainer, all game
expenses and keeps all revenue.
d. The originally scheduled home team shall remain the home team in
competition and provide game balls.
e. A game administrator shall attend contests played at a neutral site. It
is preferable that the game administrator be an individual who does
not have other game-day responsibilities; and further, may not be a
member of the coaching staff. The home team shall designate the
neutral site game administrator, unless approved by the participating
institutions and conference administrator.
f.
Home team responsibilities:
i. The home score book shall be the official book for
conference games. Every effort shall be made to consult
with the visiting score book whenever questionable
judgments arise during a game. The coaches are obligated
to secure a responsible person to maintain the home
scorebook.
ii. A current NCAA Baseball Rules Book must be available
for each conference series.
iii. The home team must supply water and ice for the visiting
team.
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iv. Include the names of the umpires in the box score of all
NSIC baseball games.
7. Cold Weather Game Day Policy. It is recommended that all conference games
will not be started if the “feels like temperature” is at or below 32 degrees
Fahrenheit.
The official source for the “feels like temperature” is
www.weather.com. The game may still be played if both coaches are in
agreement, but the “feels like temperature” is not reached. Once a game is
started, the umpire-in-chief along with the on-site administrator will be the judge
as to the suspension, resumption or termination of the play due to poor weather.
8. If games must be rescheduled, the coaches and administrators from the involved
institutions must make every effort to agree upon a reasonable solution to play
the games. If the two institutions cannot come to an agreement, the conference
office will be informed.
VII.
VIII.
Conference Baseball – Rawlings FSR1NCAA Official Collegiate Baseball.
Selection of the Player and Pitcher of the Week.
The NSIC Office will select the player/pitcher of the week based on the following criteria:
A. Player of the Week
1. Overall performance throughout the week. (Ex: BA, H, HR, 2B, 3B, etc.)
2. Performance of individual led to team success.
3. Milestones/school records achieved.
4. Quality of the opponents faced.
5. Number of games played during the week.
B. Pitcher of the Week
1. Overall performance throughout the week. (Ex: ERA, Ks, Hits, Walks, etc.)
2. Performance of individual led to team success.
3. Milestones/school records achieved.
4. Quality of the opponents faced.
5. Number of innings pitched during the week.
IX.
Selection of All-Conference Team.
Nominations. A coach may nominate any number of individuals from their team for All-Conference
and specialty awards. Please submit nominations from your institution only. A coach may note
vote for his player in any award category.
The NSIC Office will send out a nomination form two weeks prior to the baseball tournament.
Nomination forms are due to the Conference Office at [email protected] one week prior to
the first day of the baseball tournament. Nominations for specialty awards will be accepted up until
10:00 a.m. on the Monday following the conclusion of the regular season. A draft of the ballot will
be sent out the Monday of the baseball tournament and the final voting ballot sent before 5:00 p.m.
on that Monday. The Tuesday prior to the conference tournament the final voting will be due from
coaches. The All-Conference team will be released one day prior to the first day of the baseball
tournament.
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All-Conference
All-Conference awards include a first-team (17), second-team (17) and specialty awards of Golden
Glove Team (nine), Pitcher of the Year (one), Player of the Year (one), Freshman of the Year (one)
and Newcomer of the Year (one). Additional information about each award and the voting process
follows.
The First- and Second-Team All-Conference include:
One first baseman
One second baseman
One shortstop
One third baseman
One catcher
One relief pitcher
One designated hitter
Four outfielders
Four pitchers
Two at-large players (from any position)
At-Large – following the first round of voting for All-Conference, the coaches will receive a ballot
with all second-team players (no pitcher) listed (with stats). Coaches will rank their top two players.
The top vote receivers will be named first-team all-conference. The second-team at-large players
will be the players (not pitchers) with the most votes, not making the second team.
Voting for All-Conference will be done via electronic ballot. Coaches shall rank players in each
position with a “2” for a first-team selection, and a “1” for a second-team selection. In the case of
pitchers and outfielders, select four first-team with a “2” on the ballot and four second-team
selections with a “1” on the ballot. The first tie breaker, if needed, will be the number of “2” votes
versus the number of “1” votes received.
Specialty Awards
The Golden Glove Award is provided to eight position players and one pitcher. A player may only
be nominated at one position. To vote for a Golden Glove Award, place a “1” next to the selection.
A coach may nominate individuals for Pitcher of the Year, Player of the Year, Freshman of the
Year and Newcomer of the Year. The Freshman of the Year shall be a true freshman or redshirt
freshman. The Newcomer of the Year shall be a transfer student-athlete (junior college or
otherwise). The Newcomer of the Year does not have to be nominated for all-conference, but may
be.
Also, please note that the official voting ballot will be sent to NSIC coaches after all nominations
are submitted to the conference office. You may obtain the most up-to-date conference and overall
statistics on the NSIC web site (www.northernsun.org).
X.
Conference Champion. The regular-season conference champion shall be determined by the final
regular-season standings.
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XI.
Conference Tournament.
A. An eight-team post-season conference tournament shall determine the conference’s
automatic qualifier to the NCAA Regional Tournament. The tournament shall be a double
elimination format and all games shall be nine innings in length. The 10-Run Rule {Rule
5-7-b- (4)} shall not be used in NSIC Tournament games.
B. The post-season conference tournament for 2017 will be played in St. Cloud, MN on the
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday preceding the NCAA Regional Tournament.
C. For an institution to host the NSIC Tournament, there must be two fields with lights for the
first day of the tournament.
D. The roster limit is 28 for the NSIC Baseball Tournament. Rosters must be sent to the
conference office by noon the day before the conference tournament.
E. The conference tournament shall use the following format with game-times pre-determined
(times listed are tentatively based on the 2016 tournament schedule):
F. The host institution will play on the field as the bracket dictates. Prior to the start of the
tournament, the home team will identify one of the two fields as the championship field.
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G. The top eight teams in the conference standings, according to conference winning
percentage, determine the conference tournament field. Teams are required to play 50
percent of the conference schedule to be eligible for the conference tournament.
H. The following tiebreaker shall be used in determining the top eight seeds in the conference
tournament:
1. Head-to-Head Competition.
2. Record versus common conference opponents in descending order, starting with
the first-place team, or No. 1 seed, in the conference standings based on win/loss
percentage. The criteria shall break the highest ties first. If a tie exists for the
No. 1 seed, the criteria shall use the No. 3 team. Teams with less than 50 percent
of games played in the conference shall be counted in the criteria.
3. Team ranked highest in the regional rankings.
4. Overall record against all DII opponents played with a record above .500.
5. Overall record against all DII opponents.
I.
Northwest Association Umpires shall be scheduled for the tournament with the exception
that if Wayne State is the host, other qualified umpires may be scheduled.
J. Determination of Home Team: The high seed will be the home team in each game of the
tournament. The home team will occupy the third base dugout.
K. On the first day of the tournament all teams will be allowed to take full batting practice on
the competition field. The home team will hit 2 hours prior to the scheduled start and the
visiting team will hit 1 hour and 20 minutes prior.
L. Length of Game Halted Game Rule.
1. All games shall be nine innings. If play has been stopped before nine innings
have been completed, the halted game rule (rule 5-9) shall be used. (Note: The
10 run rule Rule 5-8-f shall not be used for the conference tournament).
2. In Division II, the games committee will make the decision as to when a game
will be started, suspended, restarted, or declared completed. If the conference
tournament cannot be completed, the team who receives the AQ in the NCAA
Regional will be based on the following:
0 games played
1 game played
2 games played
3 games played
4 games played
5 games played
6 games played
7 games played
8 games played
highest seed
highest seed
highest seed
highest undefeated seed
highest undefeated seed
highest undefeated seed
highest undefeated seed
highest undefeated seed
highest undefeated seed
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9 games played highest undefeated seed
10 games played highest undefeated seed
3. Games Committee: Conference Representative, Host Athletic Administrator,
Umpire Crew Chief, Head Coach Home team and Head Coach Visiting team.
M. All-Tournament Team.
1. All-Tournament team designation will follow the regional format recognizing 11
players, one of which is MVP.
2. Once a team has been eliminated, the coach can nominate up to three players
from his team for All-Tournament consideration.
3. A player does not have to be nominated to be selected. The media and sports
information directors on-site at the tournament will select the team.
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