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3830 Valley Centre Dr.,
Suite 705 - Box 201,
San Diego,
CA 92130
(858) 643-9790 |
Sponsors:
(revised 2-19-2007)
GENERAL PROVISIONS
The following North Shore Girls Softball
League ("NSGSL") league rules supplement
and augment the Amateur Softball
Association of America ("ASA") rules as
amended year-to-year. If there is a
conflict between league rule(s) and ASA
rule(s), the league rule(s) shall be
controlling. If a situation is not
covered by the league rules, the ASA rules
are controlling. Although the league
rules and the ASA rules are meant to cover
as many situations as possible, they do
not cover all. In the rare
circumstance where a situation is not
covered by the league or ASA rules, the
judgment of the umpire will be
upheld. NSGSL Rules Committee will
later consider the situation so that
future rules can be clarified. All
parties concerned will be provided with a
fair opportunity to be heard. No
protests are allowed, however, in any
NSGSL division. Teams should not deviate from or alter
these rules during the course of any
regular season or post-season game, even
by mutual agreement.
TEAM
RULES
1. PLAYER
EVALUATION:
Players for this division are selected on
teams by way of a draft. In order to
properly evaluate the skill level of the
players, a player preview will be held
prior to the draft and each player will be
given a numerical score. These
scores will be used by the league and
coaches in an attempt to maintain parity
among the
teams.
2.
SCHEDULING:
It is
the responsibility of the team manager to
ensure that his or her team is available
to play at the times scheduled.
Unless there is a league recognized
postponement (rain, field playability,
umpire no-show), a forfeit will be
declared if a team is unable to field at
least seven (7) players within ten minutes
after the scheduled start of the
game. This rule may not be waived or
altered by any one.
3. PLAY-UPS: Managers may
use players from Division 12 to fill
vacancies for particular games.
Managers may use as many Division 12
players as is necessary to have nine (9)
players present for a particular
game. Play-up players must play
outfield positions for at least the first
two innings. After the second
inning, play-up players may play any
defensive position except pitcher.
Play-up players must bat at the bottom of
the batting order. Under no
circumstances will a play-up player be
allowed to pitch in an intra-league
Division 14 game.
4. TEAM VACANCIES: If a
vacancy occurs, the manager is to contact
the Player Agent, who will assign an
appropriate player from the waiting list
on a first-come first-served basis.
If there is no waiting list, the vacancy
will be filled on a case-by-case
basis.
5. HOME TEAM
RESPONSIBILITIES: The home team
is responsible for fields set up before
the game and the field clean-up after the
game. This may include dragging the
field, lining and chalking the field along
with setting the bases for the game, and
putting the bases away at the end of the
game if this is the last game of the
day. Fields should only be chalked
when necessary. The home team also
supplies a new ball for the start of the
game and the visiting team supplies a good
back up ball. The home team is
assigned the first base side of the
field. Time permitting, the home
team may warm up on the infield 15 minutes
before the start of the game and the
visiting team may use the infield the
previous 15 minutes.
EQUIPMENT
1. PROPER
EQUIPMENT:
All
players must wear proper softball
equipment. Proper equipment will
include, but is not limited to; a NOCSAE
approved batting helmet and face mask,
with chin strap. The helmet must be
worn at all times when batting, running
the bases, coaching a base, or when in the
on-deck
circle.
Catchers will wear an ASA
approved catcher helmet and mask, chest
protector and shin guards. If the
catcher’s helmet/mask does not cover the
throat area, then a throat guard must also
be
worn.
Cleats are optional. A
size 12” ball is used in Division 14.
2. JEWELRY: Jewelry may not be
worn.
Medical alert
bracelets or necklaces are not considered
jewelry and may be
worn.
If worn, medical
alert bracelets or necklaces must be taped
to the body so that the alert tag is
clearly visible.
GAME
RULES
1.
REGULATION
GAME:
A
regulation game shall consist of seven (7)
innings or the completion of the inning in
progress at the time the one hour thirty
minute time limit (1:30) expires,
whichever comes first. Under the
time limitation, an inning may not start
after one hour thirty minutes from the
beginning of the game. An inning
starts immediately after the final out of
the previous inning. In addition,
there is a one hour forty-five minute
(1:45) “drop dead”
time.
No
game shall last beyond one hour forty-five
minutes from the beginning of the
game. If the game must continue
beyond that point (1:45) to allow the home
team a chance to bat, or to complete their
at bat, then the game will end and the
score will revert to the last completed
inning. A game may end in a tie.
If the score is tied at the end of
regulation, and there is time available
within the 1:45 drop dead rule, then
ONE additional inning will be
played under international tiebreak rules
(batting teams start with a runner [player
who made the last out] on second
base). If the inning cannot be
completed within the 1:45 time frame, then
the score will revert to the last
completed inning.
2. RUN LIMIT: There is a run
limit of five (5) runs for each inning
until the last inning at which time the
umpire shall declare that inning to be an
“Open” inning (unlimited runs). Play
will be completed before the defensive
players leave the field, but runs scored
after the maximum number of runs allowed
for that inning will not be counted in the
score total. In the event that more
runs are scored and erroneously recorded
than allowed for a particular inning and
the error is caught before the last out of
the game is recorded, only the maximum
number of runs allowed for that inning
will count and be scored. Play will
resume as if the last allowed runs
were the last actual runs scored
(i.e. some girls may be returned to bat in
the next inning because their at-bat did
not count in the previous inning.)
If the error is caught after the end of
the game, all runs scored will stand as
recorded
3.
MERCY
RULE: The game will be called if
(a) the visiting team is ahead by 10 or
more runs at the end of 4 innings or (b)
if the home team is ahead by 10 or more
runs at the end of 3.5 innings. The
mercy rule will be employed during all
regular season and league tournament
games.
4. UMPIRES: There will be
one NSGSL designated umpire per
game. A manager, coach or parent may
not argue any judgment call by an
umpire. The manager may ask for a
clarification of a rule
5.
PROTESTS:
There will be no
protests.
6. NUMBER OF DEFENSIVE PLAYERS AND
COACHES: Up to nine players may
take defensive positions on the
field.
If there are
nine defensive players, three players must
play an outfield position. All
outfielders must begin play on the
outfield grass. Teams need not have
an equal number of players playing
defensive positions i.e. one team may have
nine defensive players and the other team
may only have seven.
7.
PITCHING
: The pitching distance is 40’ from
the point of home plate closest to the
catcher. A pitcher may not pitch
more than five innings in any one
game. A single pitch in an inning
constitutes an entire inning. If a
pitcher is removed from a game by the
manager, she can reenter the game as a
pitcher in a later inning in the game as
long as she has remaining innings of
eligibility for that game. The only
exception to this rule is Rule ASA 5-7
relating to A Charged Conference (i.e. 2
trips to the mound). If a pitcher is
removed from the game because of the A
Charged Conference rule, she may not
return to pitch for the remainder of that
game.
8.
CIRCLE
VIOLATION
RULE
: When a runner is legitimately off
her base after a pitch or as the result of
a batter completing her turn at bat, and
while the pitcher has possession of the
ball with both feet in the pitching circle
(an eight (8) foot [2.44m] radius of the
pitcher’s plate), she must immediately
return to her base or attempt to advance
to the next base. Failure to
immediately
return to
her base or proceed to the next base once
the pitcher has the ball in the pitching
circle will result in the runner being
declared out. Once the runner
returns to a base for any reason, she will
be declared out if she leaves the base,
unless a play is made on her or another
runner (a fake throw is considered a
play), the pitcher no longer has
possession of the ball within the pitching
circle, or the pitcher releases the ball
on a pitch to the batter.
NOTE: A base on balls or dropped
third strike on which any runner is
entitled to run past any base is treated
the same as a batted ball. The
batter/runner may continue past any base
and is entitled to run as long as she does
not stop. If she stops after she
rounds any base, she then must comply with
above.
9.
BATTING
ORDER:
The Manager will
determine a batting order for ALL members
of his or her team before the game begins
and will place this order on the lineup
card. The players will bat in this
order for the entire game, regardless of
whether or not the player is playing a
defensive position in the field. If
a player is late to the game (the first
pitch of the game has been thrown), she
MUST be placed in the last position in the
batting order and will bat when this
position comes up in the order.
10.
BATTING AND RUNNER
SUBSTITUTIONS:
During regular season league and league
tournament play, all players present will
bat. Since all players are on the
batting order, free defensive
substitutions will be allowed and players
may leave and reenter the game as many
times as needed to attempt to achieve the
goal of equalizing the playing time for
all the girls. If it is necessary to
substitute a player for a runner due to
injury, the first girl available in the
line up ahead of the injured player will
be put in as a substitute runner.
The injured player may reenter the game in
her defensive position or may be taken out
of the game in accordance with the Injury
or Absence Rule (see below), but the
player will not be considered removed from
the game unless she misses her next time
at
bat.
11. SUBSTITUTION RULE:
Players are not allowed to sit out two or
more consecutive innings from defensive
play. All players must be entered
into the game in a defensive position by
the 2nd inning. Each
player must play a minimum of two innings
per game in a four inning or longer game
provided she was present for the entire
game. A player who was present for
the entire game and who did not play the
minimum of two innings must be in the
starting defensive line up the following
game and must play a minimum of two
innings in a defensive position.
(The manager is strongly encouraged to
play the player at least three innings in
the subsequent game). Violation of
the rule will cause a forfeit of the
game. A second violation will result
in the manager being suspended for 1
game. A third violation will be
investigated by the league’s player agent
and may result in the manager being
suspended from the NSGSL for the remainder
of the season.
12. INJURY OR ABSENCE RULE:
If a player is injured and cannot continue
in the game, or if a player must leave the
game at the request of a parent, the
manager must inform the umpire, official
scorekeeper, and opposing manager.
This notification that the player is
unable to compete any longer can be made
anytime prior to her next turn at
bat. Once removed, the player will
not be permitted to reenter the
game. If this notification is made,
the player’s turn at bat will be skipped
at no penalty to her team. If proper
notification is not given, she will be
declared out. Once the game has
begun, as long as the team has seven
players, the game will continue as though
the team had a full complement of
players. If the injury is so severe
that a doctor’s care is required, the
player must obtain a release from her
doctor before she can return to her team’s
lineup. If a player is temporarily
absent from the game and her turn at bat
comes up, she will be declared out if she
does not bat. This may happen in
rare instances when a player may have to
use the restroom or leave the field for
other reasons.
13. DROPPED THIRD STRIKE: A
dropped third strike is in effect for the
entire season. The batter becomes a
batter/runner: When the catcher fails to
catch the third strike when there are
fewer than two outs and first base is
unoccupied, or anytime there are two
outs.
14. STEALING/SLIDING:
If a runner leaves a base before the
pitcher releases the ball, she will be
declared out. The Batter/Runner can
steal as many bases on a play as is
physically possible. Stealing home
base on a pitched ball or the return of a
pitched ball to the pitcher is
permitted.
Sliding is permitted. In order to
prevent injury and protect the defensive
player attempting to make a play on a
runner, the runner must be called out if
she remains on her feet and collides with
a defensive player holding the ball and
waiting to apply a tag, or if the
defensive player is about to receive a
thrown ball. In order to prevent a
“collision” ruling, the runner can slide,
jump over the top of the defender holding
the ball, go around the defender (if
outside the three-foot lane, the runner
would be called out), or return to the
previous base touched. NOTE: If the
act is determined to be flagrant, the
offender will be ejected. A runner
may slide into the fielder.
15. INFIELD FLY
RULE:
The Infield Fly Rule
will be in effect all
season.
16.
BATTER HIT BY A PITCH: A base
will be awarded to a batter who has been
hit by a pitched ball, even if the pitched
ball first hits the ground, provided she
attempts to avoid the ball. If the
pitched ball she was hit by was in the
strike zone and would have been called a
strike, the umpire will not award a base
and the pitch will be called a strike.
17.
PLAYOFFS:
These rules shall also apply to all
playoff and championship games except that
there will be no time limit for the
championship game.
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