Rays Softball Rules

(Revised 5/2023)

These rules are for the RAYS PRIVATE LEAGUE. Below are the main points and these rules will be flexible based on the needs of the league and teams. All umpire and staff decisions on league rules are final.

• Coed rules: Must have 2 women fielding and outfielders must be behind the outfield cones when women are hitting.
• Teams self pitch. A designated pitcher does not need to bat. Batters get 3 pitches to put the ball into play. If they fail to put the ball into play after 3 pitches they are out.
• Foul balls are only in play within approximately 10 feet of the foul line. Outside this the umpire will declare a dead ball.
• There is a 4 home run cap per team. Any home run after 4 is an out. Teams must retrieve or be responsible for their own home run balls.
• All infielders (beside the catcher) must be behind the pitcher's mound before contact is made.
• There will be no base line between home and 1st & 3rd base. Any fair/foul call will be sole judgment of the umps.
• Players are NOT ALLOWED on the infield dirt at any time!
• This is a FUN & SOCIAL league! Hopefully many of these rules will not come into play!

1. LINEUPS

• BATTING LINEUPS: Lineups must be presented to the umpire before each game by game time.  Once the lineup cards have been submitted to the umpire, they become official and you may add players to the bottom only. All substitutions must be given to the umpire as being made.
• MINIMUM PLAYERS: A minimum of 6 players from the team's roster must be present at game time or the team will forfeit the game.  
• LATE PLAYERS: Any players arriving after the first pitch of the game (not already placed on the line-up card) must be placed at the end of the batting order. If the player bats in any other spot, it is considered an automatic out. Captains must notify umpire of any changes to line-up cards.
• INJURED PLAYERS: If a player is injured during a game, captain must notify umpire to remove injured player from line-up card with no additional penalty.  An injured player that has been removed from line-up cannot return to the game.
• PICKUP PLAYERS: Pickup players are NOT allowed during the playoffs. Any pickup players during the regular season must be signed on a roster for another team for that particular night/location. Pickups must be brought to the attention of the umpire BEFORE the game or may be assessed a 4 run per pick-up player penalty. Teams may pickup up to one player at no penalty in order to field a minimum team number (10 fielding players). Any pickups in addition to this (still not going over 10 players) will result in a 2 run penalty per player. Pick up player penalty runs are added at the completion of the inning (teams may score 10 runs and THEN be awarded penalty runs).   If more players from your team show up to allow subs, the free pickup player must be removed from the game. If you fail to report pickup players after the start of the game and it is reported or caught before the end of the game it will become a 4 run penalty for EVERY PLAYER picked up (included what would have been a free one), so please remember to report your pickup players to the scoring umpire. If illegal players are discovered during the game they will be immediately removed and the other team will have the option of taking a forfeit win, or collecting 4 runs per illegal player (players will still be removed from the game)
• ROSTER CHECKS: Players have the right to ask for a roster check of the opposing team after the start of the game and before the end of the game.  These requests must be made with the coordinator during game play, and if it is found that the opposing team is playing with an “illegal player”  (i.e. not on that team’s roster or not signed) then staff reserves the right to remove the player and/or forfeit the game.  Club Sport staff decisions are final and roster checks may not be made by players once the game has finished.

        2.  GAME PLAY

• TIME LIMIT: Games are 50 minutes with a maximum of 7 innings. The inning in progress at the end of 50 minutes will be the last inning and completed. (An inning starts once the third out of the previous inning is called.) The ump will enforce this rule and will keep teams informed of time remaining.  NOTE: due to differing circumstances in each and every game, some games will finish short on an hour in length, while others might run over the hour mark. Please respect your ump's call in this matter, as they must keep all games on time in fairness to teams playing later hours and due to facility permit restrictions.  Regular season games may end in a tie. In the case of rain or other event, the league has the right to call a game as official if more than 30 minutes has elapsed. In this instance, the final score will be counted at the end of the last completed inning. NOTE: If the home team is batting with the lead, the score will be final at the time the game is called.
• COURTESY RUNNERS: Players requesting a courtesy runner must do so BEFORE their at bat.  A player needing a courtesy runner will not be allowed to advance past first base, save for an over the fence home run. NOTE: Umpires and/or TBCS staff can overrule courtesy runners to ensure fair play. Runners will be the last out (or furthest in lineup card if no out).
• 10 RUN RULE:. When a team brings in the 10th run of the inning, it is counted and is also the 3rd out. The 10 run rule is not in effect in the last 10 minutes of the game unless the team batting is up 20 or more runs. (This DOES NOT apply during playoffs, see below).
• RUNNERS: Stealing bases and "leading" is not allowed (will result in an out). SLIDING IS PERMITTED.  If the ball beats a runner to a forced out base in time to peel off, the runner must do so or both runners may be called out.
• HOME RUNS. Each team may hit a total of 4 out of the park home runs, every home run after that will be an out. next batter.  Each team is responsible for retrieving their home run balls (and foul balls). On an over the fence home run,  base runners and batter do not need to advance any bases.
• POSITION OF FIELDERS: A defensive player may not impede a runner’s progress by standing in the baseline, unless the defensive player is fielding a batted ball. In this instance the defensive player has the right to field it and the runner must avoid contact with the fielder.  A defensive player may not block a base unless they have possession of the ball. Defensive players must catch the ball, block the base, then make the tag- in this order. Blocking of the bag without the ball shall result in an obstruction call, a warning to the offending player, and the runner will be awarded the base.  

      3.  PLAYER CONDUCT

• DISPUTES AND PROTESTS: In a disputed play, only the team captain may discuss the play with the umpire. If a protest is made by the team captain, the captain must notify the umpire and opposing team captain before the next pitch.
• EJECTIONS:  Players ejected from any league may be required to serve a one game suspension pending league review (this may included a 2nd game of a night if a team has a doubleheader and is the call of TBCS field staff). Fighting, wrestling, or pushing will not be tolerated and may result in multi-game suspensions or ejection from the league altogether. Verbal abuse of officials or players, fighting, foul language, and continued rough play could result in player ejections.
• FAKE TAGS AND VERBAL/PHYSICAL DISTRACTIONS: No fake tag outs or yelling at a defensive player as they are making a play will be allowed. Doing so MAY result in the runner being called safe (fake tags) or out (verbal distraction) and possible ejection of the offending player.
• THROWING BATS: Intentionally throwing the bat in anger or frustration after your turn up to bat will result in an automatic out for the batter and  the following batter and may result in player’s ejection, upon umpire's discretion.
• PROFANITY: Profanity will not be tolerated and may be grounds for players being called out or ejected on the discretion of the umpire.

       4.   PLAYOFFS

• DISPUTES AND PROTESTS: In a disputed play, only the team captain may discuss the play with the umpire. If a protest is made by the team captain, the captain must notify the umpire and opposing team captain before the next pitch.
• EJECTIONS:  Players ejected from any league may be required to serve a one game suspension pending league review (this may included a 2nd game of a night if a team has a doubleheader and is the call of TBCS field staff). Fighting, wrestling, or pushing will not be tolerated and may result in multi-game suspensions or ejection from the league altogether. Verbal abuse of officials or players, fighting, foul language, and continued rough play could result in player ejections.
• FAKE TAGS AND VERBAL/PHYSICAL DISTRACTIONS: No fake tag outs or yelling at a defensive player as they are making a play will be allowed. Doing so MAY result in the runner being called safe (fake tags) or out (verbal distraction) and possible ejection of the offending player.
• THROWING BATS: Intentionally throwing the bat in anger or frustration after your turn up to bat will result in an automatic out for the batter and  the following batter and may result in player’s ejection, upon umpire's discretion.
• PROFANITY: Profanity will not be tolerated and may be grounds for players being called out or ejected on the discretion of the umpire.
• PLAYOFFS
• FORMAT: Tournament is single elimination with seeding based on regular season standings. All teams make the tournament.
• SEEDING: Tournament seeding will be based on the following criteria (based on won-lost percentage where applicable): 1) winning percentage, 2) head-to-head play (if 3 or more teams are tied this means head to head record amongst all tied teams),  3)  overall run differential 4) most runs scored  5) coin flip
• EXTRA INNINGS: There will be extra innings during tournament games where play ends in a tie. Extra innings will start with a runner on second base (base runner is the one who made the last out in the previous inning).
• UNLIMITED RUNS: There is no 10 run per inning rule.  A team may score an unlimited number of runs per inning.
• MERCY RULE: There is a 10 run mercy rule after 5 innings.
• ELIGIBLE PLAYERS: All players, including added players, must sign the roster waiver BEFORE the final game of the season in order to be eligible to play in the tournament. If a player is not signed in on the roster by then, they are not eligible for the tournament. Playing with ineligible players may result in a forfeit. This call will be made by TBCS staff.  It is the responsibility of the team captains to make sure all players in their line-up card are eligible players for all games.

     5.    EQUIPMENT

• BATS: Legal bats are as defined by ASA/USA rules. Bats not following these rules may not be used for Club Sport play. This information can be found at http://www.softball.org/about/certified_equipment.asp. More info can be found here too: Graphics/bannedbats.pdf The first time a team comes to the plate with an illegal bat, the batter is considered out. The second time the team uses an illegal bat, the batter is out and ejected with possible league suspension.  Each individual is responsible for using legal bats. TBCS and the umpires reserve the right to disallow a bat should it be thought the bat may have been doctored.  If a bat is used and proven to be doctored (i.e. painted over, "corked", shaved, etc) this will result in the immediate ejection of the person using the bat and the owner of the bat, and the owner/user may possibly be suspended for the remainder of the season or longer, as this is a safety issue.
• GLOVES: Players may use any type of softball/baseball glove.  
• CLEATS: No metal spikes are allowed. Wearing metal cleats is an ejectable offense.
• JEWELRY: No jewelry can be worn during the games, for the safety of all players.

If you are having difficulty interpreting the rules, please ASK!

If a rule is not stated above, please refer to ASA/USA Softball Rules.