Coed Softball Rules - Houston

Sportsmonkey will follow USA rules (view USA rules here) with the following exceptions:

 

  • 10 players (at least 4 females) in the field at all time. (THERE MUST BE AT LEAST 1 FEMALE IN THE OUTFIELD). SM rules will allow a team to play with a minimum of 8 players (at least 2 females and a max of 6 males). If only 2 women are present at game time, they must bat twice in the first 10 batters. If a team has less than the minimum required number of players it is up to the opponent and/or umpire or SM staff as to what is allowable. All players must be 18 years of age to be eligible to play.
  • During the regular season, teams are allowed to pick up subs to avoid a forfeit, however, no team can consist of any more than 4 players from another registered team…UNLESS allowed by opposing captain.
  • Game length: Memorial 55 minutes. Feld - 50 minutes.
    • Should a team not have enough players to start a game, the clock will start and that team has until 45 minutes left on the game clock to field the minimum number of players.
  • All batters will start with a 1 ball / 1 strike count.
  • Fake tags are not allowed.
  • Teams MUST have 1-Male and 1-Female pitching or catching.
  • League will now institute the No Hit Middle rule for any male batter.
    • Memorial Park: The area will be defined by the pitcher’s Rubber and Three feet to either side of pitcher’s rubber. This area will be marked by cones or painted stripes. If a Male batter hits the ball into the no hit zone, a dead ball will be called and the batter will be out. If the ball is over the head of the pitcher by three feet or more there will be no dead ball. Judgement call by umpire. Female batters may hit away without penalty.
    • Feld Park: The area will be defined by the pitcher’s net. If ANY batter hits the ball into the net, and still has a foul to give, it will result in a FOUL. If the player does not have a foul to give, a dead ball will be called and the batter will be out. **During defense, if a ball hits the net off a live throw, the ball is still live. Pitching net MUST be placed in front of the pitcher and be within one of the edges of the rubber. If any questions, please refer to umpire. 
  • In Co-Ed play, when a batter (male or female) hits a fair ball to the outfield, the first play from the outfield may not be on the batter/runner at first base. Should an outfielder attempt to put out the batter/runner at first base as the first play from the outfield, the batter/runner will not be called out and the defense will be given a warning of the rule violation. All subsequent violations of this rule will result in the batter/runner NOT being called out AND being awarded 2nd base. IF the batter rounds the first base bag after a batted ball, outfielder may throw behind runner. In addition, outfielder can make throw to first if runner on first fails to tag up OR retreats after tagging on a fly ball.
  • In regards to any Sportsmonkey Game where there is a COMMITTMENT LINE & ALTERNATE HOME PLATE, the baserunner running from third to home, MUST run and tag the ALTERNATE HOME PLATE.  Should they run to & touch HOME PLATE they will be called OUT. Once any part of the base runner crosses the commit line they must continue foward & proceed to the alternate home plate.  Should they retreat back across the commitment line, the ball will remain live, but the runner will be called OUT...immediately. After the runner crosses the commit line, they cannot be played upon by the defensive between the commitment line and the alternate home plate.  If they are, the ball is still alive and the baserunner will be awarded home.  In other words, once any part of the baserunner passes the commitment line the defense must throw to Home Plate for the FORCE OUT or Tag Home plate to retire said baserunner. For leagues using a strike mat, catcher can step on either the plate and/or the mat, to record a force out. 
  • There is no max to the # of male or female batters as long as the team keeps the same guy/girl order. Players may substitute freely throughout the game in the field.  Only one Male & one Female courtesy runner will be allowed per inning. The courtesy runner must be the same sex but may be any player in the lineup.
  • During playoffs, all player protests must occur before the start of the game. However a player that has not entered the game, may be protested only upon entry into the game.
  • A legal pitch must have an arc of (6′- 10′) by the pitcher. Any pitch that is not deemed legal will be an automatic ball.
  • Men’s & women’s size balls will be used.  A female has the option to which ball she wants to hit.

 

  • MEMORIAL 2/3: TEAMS MUST PROVIDE BOTH MEN'S and WOMEN'S GAME BALLS (52/300). SM will continue to provide  
  • MEMORIAL 1 "Super Rec": SM to provide both men's (44/375) and women's game balls.
  • FELD: SM to provide both men's (44/375) and women's game balls.

 

  • During the regular season, in the event of a tie at the end of a regulation game, there will be NO extra innings to determine a winner, it will be considered a TIE. During playoffs, we will play until a winner is chosen using the one pitch rule with last batter starting at 2nd.
  • Memorial: Official softball bats ONLY — Not to exceed 1.20 BPF. No Senior bats.
    • All USSSA/ASA stamped bats as well as any legal bat used are eligible to be used in league/tourney play.
  • Feld: Men will use Wooden Softball bats provided by Sportsmonkey. Women may use regular bats. 
  • Any questions regarding rules, policies, or eligibility must be addressed before the start of the game.

 

INNING RUN LIMITS:

  • There will be a 6 run limit per inning through innings 1-4. (Exception: unlimited runs may be scored if one of the innings 1-4 is declared the final inning of the game.) Unlimited runs may be scored in innings 5, 6, and 7 always.

 

MERCY RULE:

  • 12 runs up after 4 innings or 10 runs up after 5 complete innings.

 

HOME RUN RULES:

  • Home Runs allowed per game are as follows: 2 per gender.
  • At Feld, ball hit over net will result in an automatic inning ending out and offensive ejection (player may play defense). Ball hit between poles in LC and RC will count. Any ball hit off the net is live although it cannot be caught for an out.
  • On a Home Run that causes the max of 6 runs per inning situation only the number of run to 6 will be counted. (i.e: 4 runs have been scored a home run is hit with 2 people on base causing 7 runs in the inning. Only 6 runs will be counted for the inning).

 

UMPIRES & STAFF:

An umpire will be provided by Sportsmonkey to supervise the game. It will be the umpire’s responsibility to coordinate and run the games, which include the following tasks:

  • Starting games on time.
  • Calling outs, making final calls on any disputed balls or strikes.
  • Settling all disputes or disputed calls.

It is understood that umps will assist in the tracking of the score (i.e. announcing it between innings) and assist in any discrepancies with regards to the coed line-up ratios. However, it is the responsibility of both teams to maintain their respective line-ups and scores each inning.

To coordinate and run the league, our refs and/or staff will be available at all times to help the league run as smoothly as possible. If you have questions regarding schedules, policies, rule interpretations, directions to the bar, etc. please ask.

 

FORFEITS:  

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

  • First Offense: Loss of game and warning issued.
  • Second Offense: Loss of game and staff reserves the right to remove team from playoffs.
  • Third Offense: Removal from the league.

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. Teams have until 10 minutes past the designated start time to field a full squad (minimum numbers of players required to play according to the rules). Refer to rules regarding guy/girl batting ratio. Anything less then the minimum must be approved by the Sportsmonkey staff member and the opposing team.

 

STANDINGS:

The updated standings will be posted weekly, displaying each teams rank within its skill level. Rank is based on winning percentage.

 

PLAYOFFS:

  • All eligible teams make the playoffs (teams that have not abused any policies are eligible). Playoff rosters must be complete by the third week of regular play. (Players will only be added after the third week for the purposes of a substitution due to an injury or other extreme circumstances as deemed acceptable by Sportsmonkey staff.)
  • In certain situations teams at or near the bottom of the standings may not advance to the playoffs. Check with Sportsmonkey League Supervisor to see if this applies to your league.
  • Playoffs are single elimination.
  • Higher seed will be home team throughout playoffs.
  • Sportsmonkey reserves the right to schedule playoff games on days other than your regularly scheduled league night.

 

Playoff Seeding:

  • Teams are seeded according to winning percentage. If tied, head to head then run differential will be used.
  • Teams may be dropped from their regular season level based on the above criteria. Teams may be moved to a higher division during the playoffs only if permission is granted.
  • Skill levels may be divided into separate divisions based upon size of level.
  • Teams may play more than one game per day.

 

WAIVERS:

In order to participate in the league, each participant must sign the team waiver. Waivers are provided and must be completed and handed in no later than the first night of play. Players not present the first week of play will still be required to sign a waiver before participating.

 

PLAYER ELIGIBILITY:

A formal protest may be filed before a game if an opposing player’s eligibility is in question. The player in question will be required to provide his/her player information (name, address, phone #, signature) in writing to a SM staff member prior to the start of the game. This qualifies as an official protest. The game will then be played in its entirety as scheduled. Teams will be notified of all rulings on the identified eligibility discrepancy by the following business day; decisions will not be made on site. If the protest is proven to be legitimate, it will result in the forfeiture of the game in question. Games subsequent to the protested game may be rescheduled. The above procedure will also apply for any other logged protests. All rulings by SM staff are considered final. Waivers and Rosters will be used as acceptable player-team identification during playoffs, all participants must present ID’s during the playoff tournament in the event of a roster check. All roster check requests must be made before the first pitch.

 

SPORTSMANSHIP:

The idea of Sportsmonkey is to have fun. We hope that all participants keep that in mind when becoming involved. Although the games may become intense, you still can be competitive while maintaining good sportsmanship. With this said, any behavior deemed unacceptable by staff may result in suspension and/or ejection from a game or the league.

 

LEAGUE CANCELLATION/RAINOUT:

Leagues may be cancelled due to existing weather conditions, dangerous or unplayable field conditions, facility constraints, etc. Sportsmonkey staff makes every effort to play all scheduled games, thus we will not cancel games until absolutely necessary. Therefore, if you are calling concerning a decision on a cancellation, remember we will not have an answer until close to the start of the league. If the league is cancelled, Sportsmonkey staff will change the rain-out voicemail immediately and email captains. If a league is cancelled on site, Sportsmonkey staff will attempt to contact those teams still scheduled to play the remainder of the league day/night. Depending on the time of cancellation, some teams will have to be notified on site. If we do cancel, follow next week’s schedule (ex. If April 13 is cancelled teams should follow the April 20 schedule for their next game). The games that are cancelled will be made up at the end of the season if time allows. In extreme circumstances, SM reserves the right to run a shortened season without a refund of schedule matches on days other than our regularly scheduled league day/night.

 

*These policies are designed to make the league run as smoothly and safely as possible, and provide continuity for its participants. Each player in the league is responsible for this information: please advise your team of these rules and thanks for playing with Sportsmonkey!*

If you have any further questions please email us at info@sportsmonkey.com