Intramural Sports Program
Softball
MANDATORY CAPTAINS’ MEETING
Thursday, March 6 – 4:00 PM
Payne Center
All Intramural participants are responsible for their own medical expenses. Any participant unsure of his/her physical condition should check with their physician or the University Clinic before participating in an Intramural Sports contest.
Teams are responsible for keeping their spectators under control. Misconduct of participants, coaches or spectators can result in an unsportsmanlike penalty, ejection or forfeiture of the game. Team Captains will be held responsible for spectator, team and sideline misconduct. Two ejections from any contest will result in an automatic forfeiture.
Intramural Officials are in absolute control of the game. Officials and Supervisors shall have the power to make decisions on all matters and questions not specifically covered in the rules.
National Intramural Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) Slow Pitch Softball rules will govern play for any clarifications/changes not mentioned in the following rules:
1.
Eligibility
and Line-Up Information
A current
Southern Miss I.D. must be presented to the supervisor at game time.
NO I.D. - NO PLAY- NO
EXCEPTIONS!!!!
Teams must maintain a minimum of 8 players at all times during the game. A maximum of 11 players are allowed in the line-up.
Co-Rec Teams: Teams may play with a maximum of 12 players. Co-Rec teams must minimally field a team of 4 men and 4 women, and at most a team of 6 men and 6 women. The number of players participating of each sex must not differ by more than one.
The pitcher and catcher must be a male-female combination.
In the event that there are fewer than 10 players in the line-up for a team: with a team of 9 there must be 4 infielders and 3 outfielders or 3 infielders and 4 outfielders, not including the pitcher and catcher; with a team of 8, there must be 3 infielders and 3 outfielders, not including the pitcher and catcher. In both cases, players of either sex must be evenly distributed (i.e. 2M and 1W in the infield and 1M and 2W in the outfield, with a M-F pitcher-catcher combination).
2.
Equipment
Participants cannot wear any jewelry during the game. The only exception is properly-secured medical alert jewelry.
Every Participant must wear proper athletic attire, including footwear—no open-toed shoes may be worn and players cannot play barefoot. Rubber cleats may be worn, but cleats with metal spikes will not be allowed.
All bats must be certified by the Amateur Softball Association (ASA). If a participant is unsure of their bat’s compliance, he/she should visit http://www.asasoftball.com for more information.
A 12-in. ASA Approved Softball with a core of .44 and a maximum compression rating of 375 lbs. or a softball provided by Intramural Sports must be used for all games.
Any type of fielding glove may be worn during the games.
3.
Length of
Game and Timing
A game will be 6 innings or 50 minutes, whichever comes first.
The clock shall run continuously, except if there is a serious injury or a protest/clarification question requiring a Supervisor or other Intramural Staff.
If at the end of 50 minutes an inning is still in progress it shall be completed, but if the home team is winning when they come to bat, the game is over.
The 10 run rule will be in effect. If a team is ahead by 10 or more runs at the completion of the 3rd inning, the game shall be over. If the visiting team is ahead by 10 or more runs, the home team has one at-bat to lessen the lead or the game shall be over.
In case of inclement weather, an official game will be 3 complete innings.
Games ending in a tie will be recorded as a tie during the regular season.
During Playoffs, if a game ends in a tie during regulation, the game will go into one-pitch extra innings. Modified extra inning rules are as follows:
Teams shall supply their own pitcher when at bat.
The batting team’s pitcher shall not obstruct or make any play on a batted ball: any such action shall be an out. EXCEPTION: the pitcher may play the ball in order to avoid injury and the batter shall receive another pitch.
The defensive team’s pitcher shall stand next to or behind the batting team’s pitcher (within 6 feet and not in front of the batting team’s pitcher) and shall have all rights to make plays on the field as during a regular game after the pitch is hit.
Batters will receive one pitch and only one pitch from their own pitcher.
A foul ball, a foul tip, a swing and a miss, or any pitch not legally put into play in fair territory will be an out.
Any hit into fair territory will be played as during a regular game.
Provided that the pitcher legally pitches the ball, there are no further restrictions on the legality of the pitch.
In the event that the current batting team’s pitcher is to bat, another player from the batting team must pitch and may continue to pitch as a substitute. After the original pitcher has finished the at-bat and any base running, he/she may re-enter as the batting team’s pitcher.
4.
The Playing
Field
Due to the close proximity of Intramural Softball fields, players are warned to be alert to action on the nearby field and courteous enough to suspend their play (whenever possible) when action conflicts.
Restraining Line: Running parallel to first and third base is a 5-yard restraining line. Any ball that is not fielded before going over this line shall be considered out of play (dead ball). This line acts as an imaginary wall and a fielder may play the ball before crossing the line. In this case, the ball remains live. If a fielder carries the ball past the restraining line, the ball is dead, and all runners will be awarded one base. (In effect on IM-2 and IM-4).
On overthrows that go past the restraining line, all base runners will be awarded two bases. This takes place at the time of the throw and not when it goes out of bounds. For example, if a runner is advancing toward first base, but has not yet reached the base, and the ball is thrown over the first baseman's head, the runner gets the base he/she is going to plus one; in this case, the runner is awarded second base. If the runner in this case has already reached first base before the errant ball is thrown, the runner would be awarded second base, plus one; he ultimately is awarded third base. (In effect on IM-2 and IM-4).
Any batted ball that is beyond the outfielders and contacts a player from another field will be a ground rule double. If the batted ball is not beyond the outfielders and a player from another field interferes, it is a ground rule double. Players should signal to the officials by raising both hands that this has occurred.
5.
Game Play
Players and
Substitutes
Each team is required to provide a non-player to keep score during the game. Both teams’ scorekeepers will sit together and report the score at the end of each turn at bat. If a non-player scorekeeper is not available for a given team, that team waives all right to protest over the score.
Any team that bats with fewer than 10 players will receive an out for every missing player in the line-up when that player would be at bat. These teams may add additional players to the bottom of the line-up but only at the top of an inning.
Players must always remain in the same batting order: if Player A substitutes for Player B in the 9th position in the batting order, Player A can only substitute back into the game for Player B, and only in the 9th position in the batting order.
There will be free substitutions in the field. Any player in the current batting order can play any position in the field at any given time, provided that any substitutions during an inning take place during a dead ball and the officials are notified beforehand.
Co-Rec Clarification: male-for-male and female-for-female substitutions only.
Start of the
Game
The officials shall have a Captains’ Meeting before each game, where they will remind players of specific rules and take clarification questions from captains. They will perform a coin toss to determine which team will be home and visitor.
The visiting team shall take the field immediately and be ready to play when the plate official calls “play ball.” The home team’s batter should be ready to enter the batter’s box at this time.
Pitching
The pitcher shall take a position with both feet firmly on the ground and with one or both feet in contact with the pitcher's plate.
Prior to pitching, the pitcher must come to a full and complete stop facing the batter with the ball in front of the body for at least 1 second before delivery.
The pitcher's pivot foot must be in contact with the pitcher's plate throughout the delivery, but may leave the plate once the ball has been released.
The ball may only pass by the pitcher’s waist one time in one continuous motion.
The ball must be delivered with a perceptible arc and reach a height of at least 6 feet from the ground while not exceeding a height of 12 feet.
If a pitch’s arc is outside of these bounds, the plate official will call the pitch “Illegal.” The batter may swing if he/she chooses to do so, but then forfeits any rights to the illegal pitch, i.e. a swing and a miss on an illegal pitch is a strike, and any batted ball is played as normal.
The strike zone is that space over any part of the plate which is between the batter's back shoulder and his/her front knee when the batter assumes a natural stance.
Any pitch that touches the plate or playing surface directly in front of the plate shall be a ball.
Batting
Every batter shall start with a count of 1 ball and 1 strike.
Every batter shall have one grace foul. A grace foul is used if a batter has 2 strikes and fouls any following pitch; the batter shall not be called out, retains the count of 2 strikes, and loses his/her grace foul. The batter shall now be called out for any foul ball or called strike.
Batting orders are set as of the first pitch of the game. Any substitutions must be reported to the official before the batter enters the batter’s box during a dead ball.
Co-Rec Clarification: The batting order must alternate between men and women and may start with either sex. In the event of a team playing with differing numbers of each sex, the sex with the greater number shall bat first.
If a team is playing with fewer than 10 players, missing players at bat will count as an automatic out when would be their turn at bat.
Co-Rec Clarification: If a man receives a base on balls, he automatically advances to second base and the woman batting after him in the order must bat. EXCEPTION: if there are two outs, she may choose to either bat or receive an automatic base on balls and take first base.
Base Running
Base runners may not leave their bases until the ball is hit by the batter. All runners who leave their bases early will be called out and the ball is dead.
When a defensive player has a legitimate play on a batted/fielded ball and the runner remains on his/her feet and deliberately contacts the defensive player, the runner is out, the ball is dead and each base runner must return to the last base touched at the time of the contact.
If the defensive player was attempting to make a play on another runner at the time of the collision, both runners will be called out.
If the act is determined flagrant or intentional the offender shall be ejected.
6.
Forfeit Policy
Game time is forfeit time. If a team fails to appear or does not have at least 8 players ready to play at the scheduled location at game time, a member of the Intramural Staff will declare the contest a forfeit. Teams that forfeit will receive an ‘F’ for sportsmanship and will be required to pay $15 to the Recreational Sports Office prior to the beginning of the playoffs for major sports and by the next scheduled contest for minor, individual and dual sports.
Teams are only allowed one forfeit per sport per season. If a team forfeits twice, it will be removed from the league for the remainder of the season.
7.
Default
Policy
If a team knows that they will be unable to play a scheduled game, the Team Captain must contact the Intramural Sports Office by 12:00 PM the day of the contest to declare a default. The defaulting team will receive a loss and a ‘B’ for sportsmanship. There is no re-entry fee for a default.
Recreational Sports Website: http://www.usm.edu/recsports
Intramural Sports Office: 601.266.5409
Revised 3/3/08