Amateur Softball Association/USA Softball rules are the official rules for this League. The following are highlights of some of those rules and special modifications for this League. Where these rules are different from USA Softball rules, these rules apply.

PLAYER WAIVERS: Amateur Athletic Waiver and Release of Liability can be found on the league website at www.leaguelineup.com/saratogacoed and must be submitted by every player prior to playing and for playoff eligibility.

SCHEDULES/STANDINGS: will be posted on the league website and standings will be updated by the end of each week.  All schedule changes will be updated on this website.

ROSTERS: Players will be tracked by the League via line-up cards.  Before the playoffs, the League will post eligible playoff roster on the League Lineup Message Board.  

Players CANNOT play on the roster of multiple teams in the same league.  Should a player meet playoff eligibility for more than one team within the same league, that player will be disqualified from playoff eligibility for any team within that same league. (revised Summer 2022).

Non-Roster players are illegal, and a team will forfeit any playoff game(s) played with a player not on its roster as determined by the League.

LINE-UP CARDS: both teams must complete a line-up card to be handed to the Umpire prior to the game (effective Summer 2018).  Line-up cards MUST include the team’s name, date, with FULL FIRST & LAST NAME of each player.  For all substitutions during the game, the captain must notify the Umpire so he can write in substitutions when they happen.  At the end of the game, the score will be written on the line-up card and initialed by both captains.  Line-up cards will be submitted to the League by the Umpire and will be used to track players for playoff eligibility.  If a line-up card is not complete, illegible, or erroneous; it will not be counted.

WEEKDAY COED LINE-UP RULES (effective Fall 2021):

9 PERSON LINE-UP: 1) 5 MALE/4 FEMALE - FIRST 8 BATTERS MUST ALTERNATE MALE/FEMALE, MIN 4 FEMALES IN FIELD (NO OUT)

OR 2) 6 MALE/3 FEMALE - FIRST 6 BATTERS ALTERNATE MALE/FEMALE, MIN 3 FEMALES IN FIELD, MUST TAKE AN OUT IN 7^TH OR 8^TH SPOT IN LINE-UP (depending on if you lead off with male or female)

10 PERSON LINE-UP: 6 MALE/4 FEMALE - FIRST 8 BATTERS MUST ALTERNATE MALE/FEMALE, MIN 4 FEMALES IN FIELD (THIS IS THE STANDARD LINE-UP USED)

11 PERSON LINE-UP: 7 MALE /4 FEMALE - FIRST 8 BATTERS MUST ALTERNATE MALE/FEMALE, MIN 4 FEMALES IN FIELD AND 1 MALE EH

12 PERSON LINE-UP: 7 MALE/5 FEMALE - FIRST 10 BATTERS MUST ALTERNATE MALE/FEMALE, MIN 4 FEMALES IN FIELD, 1 FEMALE EH AND 1 MALE EH (With this 12 person lineup, 7 men/5 women, if you have 5 males and 5 females in the field, you are allowed to have both EH spots as males)

*For weekday coed, if you have only 3 females, you must take an out in your line-up for the 4th female, which is either the 7^th or 8^th spot in the batting order (depending on whether you lead off with a male or female).

*For weekday coed, with less than 3 females, it is a forfeit.

*To have a male EH, you must have 4 females in the field, a total of 11 players in the line-up.  You cannot have 3 females, take an out for the 4^th female and add a male EH.

SUNDAY COED LINE-UP RULES:

9 PERSON LINE-UP: 1) 6 MALE/3 FEMALE - FIRST 6 BATTERS MUST ALTERNATE MALE/FEMALE, MIN 3 FEMALES IN FIELD (NO OUT)

OR 2) 7 MALE/2 FEMALE - FIRST 4 BATTERS ALTERNATE MALE/FEMALE, MIN 2 FEMALES IN FIELD, MUST TAKE AN OUT IN 5^TH OR 6^TH SPOT IN LINE-UP (depending on if you lead off with male or female)

10 PERSON LINE-UP: 7 MALE/3 FEMALE - FIRST 6 BATTERS MUST ALTERNATE MALE/FEMALE, MIN 3 FEMALES IN FIELD (THIS IS THE STANDARD LINE-UP USED)

11 PERSON LINE-UP: 7 MALE /4 FEMALE - FIRST 8 BATTERS MUST ALTERNATE MALE/FEMALE, MIN 3 FEMALES IN FIELD AND 1 FEMALE EH (extra female must be EH, unless you have 4 females in the field, then EH can be male)

12 PERSON LINE-UP: 8 MALE/4 FEMALE - FIRST 8 BATTERS MUST ALTERNATE MALE/FEMALE, 1 FEMALE EH AND 1 MALE EH (if 5 females are in the field, then 2 EH's can be both male)

*For Sunday coed, if you have only 2 females, you must take an out in your line-up for the 3^rd female, which is either the 5^th or 6^th spot in the batting order (depending on whether you lead off with a male or female).

*For Sunday coed, with less than 2 females, it is a forfeit.

LINE-UP RULES FOR BOTH COED LEAGUES:

*You cannot have a line-up with 8 people, exception: unless due to injury.  Not at any time can you have a line-up with 7 people, whether due to injury or otherwise, it is a forfeit.

*There is no DH in our leagues.

*Cannot add an EH once game has started.

*Line-up must consist of same number of batters from start to finish of game. In the event a batter must exit the game without a substitution, you must take an out in that batter’s spot in the line-up. (effective Summer 2022).

*All line-ups above based on the minimum requirement of female participants.

RE-ENTRY RULE: Any Player may be substituted for or replaced and re-entered once, provided the players occupy the same batting position in the batting order. (revised Summer 2024). The starting player and the substitue may not be in the same line-up at the same time.

THE PLAYING FIELD: The distance between bases is 65 feet.  Pitching distance is 50 feet.

There are absolutely no alcoholic beverages allowed at any field at any time! Any violation of this rule can result in a forfeit and/or expulsion from the league.

THE GAME: A regulation game is 7 innings unless:

a. The home team is ahead after 6 ½ innings.

b. It is called due to natural causes after 4 complete innings or 3 ½ innings if the home team is leading. (revised Summer 2022).

c. If, after 5 complete innings, or 4 ½ innings and the home team leading by 15 or more runs. The home team will receive its final at bat prior to the mercy rule.

The game MUST start promptly at 6:00 pm with 9 qualified players. If a team does not have 9 qualified players on the field by 6:10pm that team will forfeit the game.

In the event of a forfeit the umpire will not call a practice game even if both teams agree to play. The teams may scrimmage amongst themselves. The entire umpire fee ($56) will be paid by the forfeiting team before playing their next game!

The international tiebreaker rule will be in effect during the regular season and playoffs.  This rule states that if the game is tied after 7 innings of play, starting with the top of the 8th inning, and each half inning thereafter, the offensive team shall begin its turn at bat with the player who is scheduled to bat last in that respective half inning being placed on second base, with no outs (e.g., if the number five batter is the lead off batter, the number four batter in the batting order will be placed on second base).

EQUIPMENT: The League will provide game balls, score book and line-up cards. All other personal equipment should be supplied by the team and/or individual players.

Bats must be regulation softball bats. All bats NOT WITH A USA/ASA CERTIFICATION STAMP ON THEM are NOT LEGAL! The batter will be called out.  In addition there are some bats that are stamped USA/ASA approved that are now illegal. Every year you can google the USA/ASA Banned Bat list and find out what bats are not legal.  Bat inspections should be expected at every game by the umpire and at any time by league officials. 

Equipment Bats (teamusa.org)

Helmets are strongly recommended. Players not wearing a helmet will play at their own risk.

Pitchers must wear a mask. (mandatory effective Fall 2021).

Metal cleats are not allowed, umpires will allow player to remove metal cleats before continuing play.   

Weighted batting sleeves are NOT allowed.  All on deck batters, if swinging a bat, must be in a designated on deck area. 

PITCHING: To start a pitch, the pitcher must start on the pitcher's mound and come to a full stop and stand facing the batter with his/her shoulders in line with first and third base and the ball held in front of his/her body. The pitch arc must be between 6 to 15 feet from the ground (in the judgement of the umpire).

Any infraction of the pitching rules is an illegal pitch; and for this league will be considered a "Dead Ball" and the pitch will be counted as a BALL. After 7 illegal pitches, the pitcher can be removed from the game by the umpire. (effective Summer 2017).   

If a male batter, whom precedes a female batter, does not obtain a strike (pitched or fouled off) during his at bat, it will be considered intentional and the male batter will be awarded 2nd base.  The female batter will then hit (effective Fall 2022) unless there are 2 outs, then the female will have choice of hitting or taking the walk (effective spring 2024).

Pitchers are allowed 5 warm-ups or 1 minute before innings. 

MISCELLANEOUS

The batter may not run on a dropped third strike.

No stealing or leading is allowed. A base runner may not leave the base until the ball is hit. If the base runner leaves before this, he/she is out. In the event that more than 1 base runner leaves before this, only the lead base runner is out. (The pitch does not count. Even if the ball was hit, it does not count).

Bunting is not allowed. If a batter bunts the ball, he/she is out.

A fake tag is a form of obstruction. If it imperils the runner, the fielder may be ejected in addition to any base award.

If the fielder has the ball in his/her possession, the base runner MUST avoid contact of the defensiver player.  If a collision occurs, the base runner will be called out and a dead ball occurs.  If the umpire deems that there was intent by the runner to harm the defensiver player, then the runner will be called out AND ejected.  

3rd STRIKE FOUL BALL OUT:  At ALL games at ALL fields, each batter will start with a 1 ball & 1 strike count and the 3rd strike foul ball out rule will be in effect. Female batters will get one courtesy foul ball. (revised Summer 2024).

OUT OF PLAY: If a live ball is overthrown and goes out of play or is blocked, all runners shall be awarded 2 bases from the last base touched at point of throw (ASA Rule 8, section G).

HOMERUN LIMIT: Five (5) home runs per team (effective Fall 2022) at PBA FIELD (Does not apply at Gavin or Navy fields).  All balls hit over the fence by a team more than the limit per game will result in an OUT (The ball is dead; the batter is out and no runners advance).  Exception: Unless the HR hit over the limit was by a female batter, in this case the HR will count).

HOMERUN: Batter can just touch first base on HR, all other base runners can sit, and will not be penalized for not touching next base. (revised Summer 2024).

FOUR BASE AWARD:  Any fair fly ball touched by a defensiver player that clears or has cleared the fence in fair territory, should be declared a 4 base award and shall not be included in the total of over-the-fence home runs. (revised Summer 2024).

CoEd League infield/outfield positioning:  Captains must inform all 4 outfielders to position themselves behind marks/cones for female batters. Some fields will have an arc painted or burned into the outfield grass, or cones, for outfielders to position themselves behind.  All four infielders must be on the dirt (effective Summer 2024). If a second warning is necessary, a penalty can be imposed by the umpire.  The penalty being the female batter will have the option of taking a walk. (effective Summer 2017).

COURTESY RUNNER:  For co-ed you will get 1 male courtesy runner and 1 female courtesy runner. The male and female player that will require a courtesy runner must be declared to the umpire before the game begins. The courtesy runner must be the same sex person farthest away in the lineup, which is most often the last out.  Any courtesy runner whose turn at bat comes while on base will be called out, removed from the base and take their turn at bat.  Hence, this should not happen if you follow courtesy runner rule above (same sex farthest away). However with a 3 female lineup (Sunday Co-Ed League), we will not penalize or call the female courtesy runner out and will allow another female to take her place as the courtesy runner as she comes to bat. (revised Summer 2024).

Note: If a player starts the game with a courtesy runner, that player must continue through the end of the game with a courtesy runner (effective Summer 2023).  Any additional injury/courtesy runner during the game will be addressed by the umpire. 

RAIN OUTS: will be posted on the league website Message Board and to the Facebook Group between 4:00pm - 4:30pm.

LIGHTNING RULE: For lightning only, there is a twenty-minute mandatory delay.  If there is still lightning after the twenty minutes, the game may be called either complete or suspended to a later date (see 2.b. above).

UMPIRES AND PROTESTS: The umpire will determine if the field is playable. Dead ball territory will be determined by the umpire prior to the game.

Captains must pay the umpire fee prior to the start of the game - $28.00 per team. (effective Summer 2022).

Protests may be made for rule interpretations only. All judgment calls are final. The team captain must inform the umpire that the game is being protested before the next pitch. All other protests must also be filed in writing with The League Committee by the team captain within 24 hours. SaratogaSoftballLeague@gmail.con

FORFEIT: Any team that forfeits their game without reasonable advanced notice must pay the umpire the full $56.00 fee prior to their next scheduled game. Teams forfeiting two league games in one season may be dropped from the league with no monies refunded.  The winning team will be credited with 7-0 win.

SPORTSMANSHIP: Team members shall exhibit appropriate behavior toward league officials, other players, and spectators.

Any player(s) involved in a fight will be ejected from the game and the park.

Profanity Rule: a team warning will be issued to a team for the first foul or abusive language offense. The second and subsequent offense, the umpire shall have the authority to eject the offending player from the game and/or the park.  Abusive language toward an umpire will result in automatic ejection without warning.

Unsafe or unsportsmanlike conduct will result in automatic ejection without warning (i.e. intentionally thrown bat that could cause harm to players and/or spectators).

EJECTIONS: will result in a mandatory one-week (7 day) suspension (and will cover any additional leagues said player participates in) unless deemed unnecessary by the umpire. Any additional ejection of the same player may result in expulsion from the league.

If the ejection occurs at the end of the season (last game for that player), the suspension will carry over to the next season for that player.

Effective Summer 2015, all incidents deemed excessive in nature by the league will be reviewed carefully by The League Committee (The Committee consists of 3 players, 1 umpire and the Assistant Commish). All sides will be heard, and a fair ruling will be made by The League Committee within a reasonable amount of time to determine the appropriate punishment for any player(s) involved in an incident. 

PLAYOFFS: All teams will compete in the playoffs. All games are single elimination. The international tiebreaker rule will be used during playoffs. Semi-Final and Championship games will be played at the PBA or NAVY fields.  

PLAYOFF ELIGIBILITY: Male players must be on the roster and have played in four (4) regular season games (Summer) or three (3) regular season games (Fall) to be eligible to participate in playoffs. Co-ed teams will be allowed to use all females off their roster who have played in a minimum of two (2) regular season games. (revised Fall 2022). 

TIE-BREAKERS:
1) Win/Loss Record
2) Head-to-Head Record (2 or more teams)
3) Head-to-Head Run Differential (if split 2 games)
4) Least Runs Allowed (effective Summer 2024)
5) Coin Toss

Teams will be seeded (No reseeding after each round)

LEAGUE DISCRETION: Any other matters that come up, that are not specifically addressed in this document, will be addressed solely at the league's discretion