• DRIVE CAREFULLY to and from the park/diamond site and observe park rules as posted.  Always display a courteous attitude towards town personnel, park users and neighbors. The parks are open dawn to dusk as carry-in, carry-out.

EQUIPMENT: All bats will be wood and will be supplied by the league.  All softballs will be supplied by the League and will be a 12” slow-pitch ball, in optic yellow, with a .40 cor and 325 lbs. compression.  Strike mats are supplied by the league.

PITCHING/BATTING:  Any legal pitch hitting the plate or the strike zone mat supplied by the league, is a strike. As stated in Senior USA rules, a legal pitch is between 6 and 10 feet from the ground.

Regular Scheduled GAMES start at 6:30 PM.  Managers should receive a text message by 4:45 or sooner if games are postponed or canceled. Double Headers will be scheduled to begin as early as 6:00 PM.  The first team representative to arrive can claim and hold his team's side of the field for the game.

FORFEITS: Games begin at 6:30 PM unless otherwise scheduled. A team with fewer than nine players can request a catcher from their opponent, who will not be asked to make plays at that position. If a team can’t field eight players by fifteen minutes after a scheduled start, the team will forfeit with a 60+ forfeit score of 5-0.

LINE-UPS: Teams have unlimited batters, but cannot drop below the number in the starting batting order.  All starting players must be listed in both score-books before the game begins.  Late players must be added to the bottom of the lineup. Bench players may be added to the bottom of the line-up as extra players and teams may finish with more players than they started with.  Players leaving the game will be deleted from the lineup and no out will be assessed.  Last names must be in the books.

BASERUNNING: Runners cannot be thrown out at first base on a ball touched by one of the four outfielders unless the runner turns toward second base.  All fielders are allowed to shift or defense the batter as they wish.  Sliding is legal. 

COURTESY RUNNERS: As stated in ASA Rules, anyone on the team's roster may become a courtesy runner. We allow unlimited courtesy runners, however, a player can only run one time per inning.  Substituting a courtesy runner for the original courtesy runner is not permitted unless the courtesy runner becomes injured. 

AVOIDING COLLISIONS at HOME PLATE AND OTHER BASES is the responsibility of both runner and catcher or covering fielder. Calls will be at the discretion of the umpire. In the 60+ Division, you have an extra home plate to avoid collisions (a runner's plate and catcher/fielders plate). Any play at home is a force out if the catcher or other player, secures the ball and touches the normal home plate. He may not tag the runner in any way to make the out. If the runner touches the outside plate before any player touches home plate with the ball, he is safe. A line of "no return" will be marked 20 feet from the normal home plate up the 3rd base line. If a runner crosses the line, he must continue home. He may return to 3rd base if he does not cross the line. The purpose of these rules are to avoid contact and are for the safety of all players, umpires, on deck batters, etc.

RUNS. A team may score a maximum of 5 runs per inning, EXCEPT if they are behind they may score as many runs as it takes to tie up the score.  Also in the final inning or extra innings there is no run limit. 

PLAYER RE-ENTRY: The starting players, including an extra player, may be substituted and re-entered once, provided players occupy the original batting positions in the line-up.  The starting player(s) and the substitute(s) may not be in the line-up at the same time.  

GAME LENGTH: 7 innings. A complete game will be 4 and 1/2 innings if the home team is ahead, five innings if the visitors are ahead.

PLAYER CONDUCT: No alcohol consumption by players during the game. Violators will be ejected. Breaches of the standards of good sportsmanship, be they toward other players, umpires, fans, other park users, neighbors or town officials will result in suspensions in length determined by the Board of Directors. Alcoholic beverages after the games are allowed until dusk.  Food and drinks after the games are recommended by the Board of Directors to foster camaraderie and fellowship.

YOU CAN USE THIS AS A GUIDE:

https://seniorsoftball.com/wc/wc2019/SSUSA-Rulebook-2019-Web.pdf