Softball Rules

10 players play at time. 6 men and 4 women play on the field. Teams may start with 8 players, but 3 must be women. A maximum of 6 men may play on the field.

Teams must have at least 3 women playing to start and continue a game. Teams playing with 3 women must take an automatic out in the batting order in the spot that the 4th woman would bat.

Teams may bat as many batters as they want as long as they do not bat more than 2 males in a row at any point of the batting order. This includes the wrap around from the bottom to the top of the order. Teams may move players in and out of any fielding position as long as they remain in the same spot in the batting order.

BATTING ORDER RULES– Any late arriving players must be placed at the end of the batting order. No player may re-enter the game once removed from the batting order. If the male to female ratio is greater than 2:1, there is no way to have everyone bat legally in the line-up without taking an automatic out.

Batters begin with a 1 and 1 count. A foul with 2 strikes is a strikeout.

Pitchers may not use any type of fake, jump or intentional hesitation while pitching. The Pitchers mound is approximately 15 paces from home plate and no further then 20 paces from home plate.

The arc limits for a pitch is:

Pitches outside these limits will be called automatic balls, unless the batter swings at the pitch.

Strike Zone/Strike Mat: Pitches that touch home plate or the strike mat and are within the arc limits will be called a strike. To help avoid contact at the plate, the runner is permitted to touch the strike mat to score in addition to the home plate

Intentional walks are not allowed. If, in the opinion of the umpire, a pitcher is intentionally missing the strike zone in order to walk a batter, the next batter is automatically awarded 1st base.

There are no lead-offs. Runners may only leave the base when the batter has hit the ball and may only advance to the next base if the ball has been hit into fair territory. A fly ball hit in foul territory is in play and can be caught for an out; baserunners can advance as on any other fly ball out. If it drops to the ground, it is simply a foul ball, and runners cannot advance.

There are no restrictions on what positions are played by men or women.

Coed 16" - women may wear baseball fielding gloves or baseball batting gloves while in the field. Men cannot wear a baseball fielding or baseball batting glove in the field of play. When a woman is batting, 3 outfielders must be behind restricted line (cones) until the ball is contacted. Otherwise, first base is awarded to the female.

A full game is 7 innings. A game can be considered final as long as 5 innings get played (4.5 if the home team is leading). Slaughter Rule is 10 or more runs after 5 innings - 4 1/2 innings if Home team has 10 run lead. If the game does not go the required innings, it will be reschedule and start new. If a regular season game can not be rescheduled it will be scored a tie. The only suspended situation would be if a PLAYOFF game was tied at the time of the stoppage. If during a playoff game there is a stoppage due to lights, injury, weather or any other circumstance, PSSG will communicate with the captains. The game will either be replayed in full, restart from the stoppage point or the season will be deemed over. If the season is deemed over one or both teams will be awarded with the championship.

Regular season games can end in a tie. Playoff games will be played until a winner is determined.

No Metal Spikes or metal tipped spikes are allowed under any circumstances.

BAT RESTRICTIONS - SEE IF YOUR BATS ARE ALLOWED!

Coed 16" - NO Restrictions: Open bat rule - any bat may be used (wooden, metal, softball/baseball, etc)

Coed 12" - PSSG adheres to the USA SLOWPITCH softball bat standards https://www.usasoftball.com/certified-equipment/

ALL bats must bear either the USA/ASA approved 2000 certification mark or the USA/ASA 2004 certification mark or the NEW ASA mark (new 2013) (Slow Pitch). If none of these marks is present, the bat is illegal. If one of these marks is present but the bat appears on the ASA banned bat list, then the bat is also illegal.

Banned Bat Lists

• List #1
• List #2
• List #3

*please be sure to check ALL lists. Any “USSA”, "Senior", “Fast Pitch”, “Olympic” or "Baseball" bats are ILLEGAL

This rule shall be upheld in the following manner:

• If, prior to the start of the game a banned bat has been identified, it may not be used in the game.
• If the game has begun and a banned bat has been used, at the time of the identification of the banned bat that bat thrown out of the game.
• If the bat has been discovered after a hit but prior to the first pitch to the next batter, the user of the banned bat will be called out and any base runners will return to their appropriate bases.
• If the banned bat has been identified after the first pitch to the next batter, any runs or runner advancement that occurred as a result of that previous at-bat stands. The banned bat will then be thrown out of the game.

The NO CONTACT rule is in effect for base runners. A runner must do everything possible to avoid contact. Runners do not have to slide.... just avoid contact. Fielders are not entitled to block a base without “having a play" on the runner. Runners that initiate contact will be called out, and may be ejected from the game at the umpire’s discretion. In the event of contact, it is an "Umpire's Judgment "call, as to which player caused the contact.

To help avoid contact at the plate, the runner is permitted to touch the strike mat to score in addition to the plate. Similar to the safety 1st base, the catcher would only force an out at home by stepping on the plate itself.

No inning will begin 55 minutes past game time (50 minutes past game time for 16 inch games)

On an overthrow, extra bases are only awarded if the ball goes out of play. Balls that hit the fence along the baselines are in play. If the ball goes out of play, a dead ball is declared and runners are awarded two bases from the last base touched at the time of the throw.

The pitcher must pitch from behind the imaginary line connecting 1st & 3rd base. The pitcher is not allowed to pitch from more than 5 feet behind that line. Calls on this are at the umpire's discretion.

During the regular season it is ok for team captains to ask players from other teams to “Sub or Fill In” open slots on game day, to avoid forfeit. In the playoffs, a player can only participate and play for one team. If a player is found playing on two or more teams in the playoffs all games are subject to forfeit.

No pump fakes or jukes of any kind are permitted by the pitcher. Pitchers are allowed 1 step in either direction. Umpires can call a pitch an automatic ball if the pitcher breaks this rule.

All leagues that have 12 or more teams will be split into a Flight A & Flight B Playoff Bracket. At the end of the season all captains are responsible for confirming their team’s end of season team record. Once playoff brackets are posted and playoff games are played the tournament seeding will not be changed. If there is an incorrect score posted for your team, the captain is responsible for notifying the league office prior to the playoffs being played.

Any player who comes in contact or verbally goes after an umpire will be suspended or removed from the league.

For 12” softball, the umpire will not introduce a new ball for each game. The umpire will keep the game ball in play until it becomes damaged or overly worn. For 16" games a new ball will be used to start each game.

Pinch Runners, A batter who reaches 1st base may request a pinch runner if an injury has occurred. The pinch runner will be the last person out in the batting order that is the same sex of the person requesting.

Forfeit time is GAME TIME.

If your team forfeits a match during the season, the following rules apply:

If you know in advance that your team is going to forfeit a game, we encourage you to call our office so as to help us schedule your opponent a game however this does not mean that your team will not receive the loss as a forfeit.

1) Winning percentage is used to determine place in standings and will be used to determine playoff seeding.

2) If two teams are tied in winning percentage/game record:

a. Head to head result(s)

b. Least amount of forfeits

c. Overall run differential (10-run max per game)

d. Earliest sign up date/time

3) If three or more teams are tied in game record:

a. Least number of forfeits

b. Overall run differential (10-run max per game)

c. Earliest sign up date/time

Being competitive on the field is applauded & encouraged in all of our leagues! It is also important to understand that there is a fine line between being competitive & being unsportsmanlike. All players and referees should treat one another with respect on the field & after the game. Everyone has to go to work tomorrow,, so please keep safety & sportsmanship in mind out there!

Every individual participating in a Players Sport & Social Group program may compete as a member of the gender that they identify with, regardless of their gender at birth. We expect all players to be respectful and honor the spirit of this policy. We are LGBTQIA+ friendly (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual and other sexualities and gender identities/expressions).

We have found that open communication between teams is super helpful. If there is a situation that may raise some questions from opposing teams, captains are encouraged to have a quick conversation with our umpire/official before the game to ensure everyone is on the same page. At the end of the day, inclusivity is key.