Official Tournament Rules
Sportsmanship – Fun is the main requirement of all players. The home team captain will begin each game with prayer, assembling teams.
Umpiring – There will be designated umpires for all games, In the absence of an umpire Teams will umpire their own games. The home team will be decided by the tournament schedule.
Equipment – All bats used in league play must be regulation Wiffle bats, and be available to either team, (no private bats). They may not be altered in any way; however they may have one layer of plastic or thin cloth tape on the handle. Balls must be baseball size no holes plastic. All shoes will be flat-soled (no cleats, turf shoes, spikes, etc.). NO GLOVES are allowed.
Rosters – All teams will have five players on their roster. Each team will have five players in the game at all times.
Substitutions – Teams unable to field five rostered players, at any time, for any reason, can:
Play with 4 players and take an out every 5th at bat.
Pull a player from the substitution pool of players.
Subs must be of an equal or lower skill level
Subs must be approved of by the opposing team captain. And the tournament commissioner
A player from another team cannot be a sub.
Innings and slow play – All games will be five innings Unless a game is tied, after 45 minutes, new innings will not be initiated.
Pitching Speed – Males 60 MPH Females 50 MPH For males over 60 years of age, the speed limit is reduced to 50 MPH. A ball that is thrown over the designated speed limit will be considered a ball. If the batter swings at a ball over the speed limit and does not make contact, or hits a foul ball, the pitch will be recognized as a “Ball”. If the batter hits an over-speed pitch and puts it into play, the play will be run to completion. After the play is completed the batter can then opt for the outcome of the play, OR for a “Ball”.
At bats – After two strikes you get one foul, a second foul ball results in an out. If a third strike is foul-tipped into the strike zone, the batter strikes out.
Intentional walks – Any walk may be declined by the batter. And the ball count returns to zero, the strike count remains unchanged. If 4 more balls are thrown the batter chooses a teammate to take over a 3 ball count, the strikes remain unchanged. You can have one intentional walks per game, pitcher makes the call, and batter goes to first.
Pitcher’s mound – All force plays on the forced lead runner may be made to the pitcher’s mound. As with any base, a foot or the ball touching mound before lead runner reaches base safely is out) other runners advance at their own risk until the defense touches the rubber.
Runner on first, play is to 2nd base, if safe play goes to 1st base
Runners first & second, play is to 3rd base, if safe play goes to 1st base
Bases loaded, play goes to home plate, if safe play goes to 1st base
Batter Interference Rule – If a batter is putting their hands or body in the strike zone, the umpire will decide between a re-throw or recognizing the pitch as a “strike”. If a batter has repeat issues with interference, the pitcher can call timeout and request an evaluation from the umpire. Umpires may opt to draw a line in the batter’s box for a batter, and/or enlist a 2nd umpire to stand behind the batters box to evaluate pitches.
Runner Interference Rule – It is a runner’s responsibility to avoid interference with fielders. In the event a runner causes interference with a fielder’s ability to make a play through physical contact, at the judgement of the umpire, the play is called dead, the runner is deemed 'out', and the batter is required to return to batting with the same count as prior to the pitch they hit (their hit is not considered a strike).
Fielder Interference Rule – If a fielder intentionally blocks the path of a runner, the umpire notes the obstruction. If the runner gets called out, they will be called safe. If it doesn’t affect the outcome of the play, nothing happens.
Infield fly rule will be in effect – This applies to any balls popped up that land on the infield inside of the baselines. The umpire will call the play dead, and the batter is considered out - runners return to their original base.
Stealing and leading off – Base runners may not lead off, nor steal a base.
Pegging – Fielders may throw the ball at runners not on base (RNOB)
anywhere below neck (unless runner ducks into throw)
pegged - runner is out and it’s a dead ball, runners cannot advance further.
missed peg –
ball stays inbounds, live play
ball goes out of bounds, runners get the base they were going to.
Runner/ball contact – Base runners in contact with a base that are hit with a batted or thrown ball will be safe. RNOB hit with a batted or thrown ball will be out. The ball is dead when it hits a runner, and runners are returned to the last base they achieved before the dead ball. If a ball is thrown at a player, but out of play (beyond foul lines) the play is rendered ‘dead’ and runners advance to the next base (e.g. a runner in-between first and second base at the time of the ball’s exit will proceed to 2nd base).
Strike Zone Force Out – On a force out at home plate a defender can hit the strike zone to force out the runner on 3rd base. Once the runner is ruled out, there is a dead ball and runners cannot advance further. If the strike zone is missed, the ball is considered ‘out of bounds’ and runners get the base they were going to.
Home runs – All balls hit fairly over the designated home run fence before hitting the ground, will be home runs.
Extra innings – On Friday and Saturday, if past the time limit, there will be two outs and a runner on second. All games on Championship Sunday will have no time limit and play regular innings (no outs given; no runner on second).
Mercy rule – 15 runs after 3 innings, 10 runs after four.
Ground rules – A ball which goes through/under fence is a ground rule double and runners advance two bases.
Rule interpretations – The Tournament Director shall be the final arbiter of all rule interpretations.