SOFTBALL RULES
Overview
- 10 players in the field (no more than 7 males on the field at one time)
- There must be a minimum of 8 players including one girl to avoid a forfeit.
- Bats must be ASA, USSA, or NSA approved.
- No more than 3 male batters in a row in the lineup
- A female must bat after every 3 male batters. If there is no female after the 3rd male it will be an automatic out.
- In situations where a team has more men than women present, some women may need to bat twice in the rotation in order to meet the 3 male batter rule. Men may never bat twice in the rotation.
- Batters start with a 1-1 count meaning, 1 strike and 1 ball to start the count.
- It is up to the runner to avoid contact when a fielder is making a play on the ball. If you are a fielder, blocking the base or the base path by the fielder is not allowed.
- If there is a collision and there is a situation where the fielder uses excessive force on the runner that is running to the base that runner will be safe.
- Modified Arc pitching rules: arc must be 6 to 12 feet.
- HALO RULE – a batted ball, hit up the middle within arm’s length of the sides or over the top of the pitcher (approximately 3 ft. perimeter) the batter shall be deemed out immediately and no runners shall advance. This will be up to the discretion of the umpire.
- There is no Infield Fly Rule. An Infield Fly Rule is defined as a fair fly ball (pop up) which can be caught by an infielder when first and second, or first second, and third bases are occupied before two are out.
- Fielders are not allowed to Intentionally Drop a ball to make a double play. If an umpire feels that a fielder dropped a ball on purpose, the batter will be called out and runners will return to their original base.
- There is no Mercy Rule. Teams will play 7 innings or a 1-hour game.
- COMMITMENT LINE & SAFETY HOME PLATE – Once a player crosses the Commitment Line between 3rd Base & Home Plate they must continue through to Home. The Safety BASE will now act as Home Plate, whereas any player running Home that touches Home Plate will be considered out. Also, all plays at Home Plate will be force outs (i.e. once a player crosses the Commitment Line they can be forced out at Home).
Game Play:
- Games will be 7 innings or an hour long.
- Maximum number of players on the field is 10 with no more than 7 males. There should be no more than 6 people in the infield including the pitcher and catcher. Minimum number of players in the line-up/field is 8 including 1 woman.
- There is an imaginary outfield line that exists when playing in the outfield. This imaginary outfield line is approximately 10 feet away from the infield. Left, Center and Right Fielders must avoid stepping into the infield until the ball is hit to make a play on the ball.
- There is no bunting allowed.
- There is no stealing or leading off. Runner cannot leave his/her base until the ball is hit.
- Sliding is allowed. Slides that result in excessive contact with the defensive player will result in a runner being out (Discretion of the umpire).
- All pitches must be thrown underhand. The pitches must be thrown between the 6’ and 12’ range and must hit home plate or the strike mat for it to be considered a strike.
- If there is an instance where the batting lineup is out of order and the incorrect batter reaches base safely and the error is discovered the correct batter will be called out. All runners will return to their original base and the incorrect batter will return to the bench. The opposing team must make the umpire aware of “batting out of order” before a pitch is thrown to the next batter. If not, then the incorrect batter will stay on base.
- There is no limit on foul balls a batter may hit. A foul ball that is hit over the batter’s head may be caught for an out.
- If there is a ball that is thrown out of play, the batter will be awarded one base.
Rosters:
- All rosters are locked before Week 5 games. Any changes to the roster must be made at that time. Only players on the roster are eligible to play in the playoffs.
Weather Policy:
- Rainouts will be made up during the season and at the end of the season. You may be scheduled to play more than one game in a day or in a week, depending on the number of rainouts. Although we do reschedule rainouts, we will play in light rain. If the rain is deemed to be unplayable, we will reschedule that game.
Hive Athletic will notify players if there is a cancellation by:
1. Posting it on our website
2. Send an email regarding a weather cancellation
3. Post on our Instagram Profile and Instagram story updating players that there is a cancellation
Alcohol Policy:
- ABSOLUTELY NO alcohol, illegal drugs or cigarettes are allowed at our facilities. Players or teams who violate this put us in danger of losing our permits. Anyone drinking or smoking at the field will be removed from the league.
Playoff Seeding:
1. Winning percentage.
2. Head-to-head competition.
3. Record against other teams in or tied for playoffs.
4. Number of wins.
5. Record against next best common opponent.
6. Coin toss.
Sportsmanship:
The idea of HIVE ATHLETIC 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. Abuse of staff will not be tolerated. HIVE ATHLETIC reserves the right to remove a player from a game or a league if they are considered to be bringing down the quality of the league. HIVE ATHLETIC will not tolerate fighting! Fighting will be an automatic ejection from any game and in most cases ejection from the league for the remainder of the season and possible lifetime suspension.