2025 MANHEIM CHURCH LEAGUE BY-LAWS

League Officers

President: Mike Givler — 717-468-8172; mjgivler@verizon.net
Vice President: Rob Fiske — 570-765-1997; robertfiske10@gmail.com
Scheduler: Mark Fitzkee — 717-371-1414; mfitzkee@ptd.net

I. The league will consist of 18 teams:

Chiques Blue, Chiques Gold, Crossway Mennonite, East Fairview, East Petersburg Menn./Carpenter’s, Erb Gold, Erb Red, Hempfield, LCBC, Manheim BIC Black, Manheim BIC Orange, Middle Creek, Newport Dove Blue, Newport Dove Red, Salem, White Oak Gray, White Oak Orange, White Oak Red

II. Player Eligibility:

1. Players must be a regular in-person attender at the team’s church. (Regular attendance is defined by attending on average two formal worship services a month throughout the year.)
2. A player may not play for a church team if that player is a member of another church in the league. (Exceptions will be made by league officers when a team comes forward with a player who has valid reasons to play on its team.)
3. Teams may use two pickup players per game. A team can have up to four total pickup players on its roster but can only use two at a time per game. Teams are required to notify league officers within 24 hours of a pickup player playing in a game in order to reserve that player for their team. A list of teams’ pickup players will be listed on the league website.
     a) If a pickup player is regularly attending a church in the league, that player shall not play for another team in the league.
     b) If a team is using two pickup players, a third pickup player may enter the game but must enter the batting order in the spot of one of the other two pickup players.
4. Once a player plays for a team in the league, he or she may not play for that church’s other team or any other team in the league that season.
5. Players must be at least 13 years old at some point during the months (April-August) in which the season is being played.
6. A forfeit will result in any game where a player played ineligibly.

III. Game Night Rules

1. All games will be played using USA Softball rules. The pitching arc will be 6 feet to 12 feet. Batters will begin with a 1-1 count and no courtesy foul.
2. Additional game rules:
   A. There is no batting practice allowed on the infield before the start of the game. No batting practice is permitted beyond the outfield fence at the Pool Field as well for the safety of the people using the track.
   B. There will be prayer before each game led by the home team.
   C. A 10-minute grace period from scheduled start time will be allowed for teams to acquire sufficient players. If eight players are present, the game must start.
   D. Teams may play with eight players. In this case, a catcher will be supplied by the opposing team whose sole job is to return the ball to the pitcher after pitches. In the case of a play at the plate, it will be the short-handed team’s responsibility to have one of its players making the play. When at bat, the short-handed team will have a nine-person batting order with an automatic out in the vacant spot. If a ninth person is added, he or she would fill the vacant spot in the order.
   E. A team may start a game with nine (9) players. No out will be charged to the vacant No. 10 hitting slot. A 10th man can be added in the last spot in the batting order at any time in the game. An 11th man (or more) can be added as long as the team hasn’t batted around.
   F. A team may bat as many players as it would like. If there is an injury and there are no substitutes available, an out will be recorded in the vacated spot. In the case of an ejection, if there is no substitute available, a forfeit will result.
   G. Teams are permitted to have a designated hitter (DH) in their lineups. Substitute and re-entry rules apply for both DH players (batter and fielder). If at any point in the game the DH batter plays the field or the DH fielder hits, the other player is removed from the game and cannot re-enter in any capacity. At that point the DH can no longer be used by that team for the rest of the game. The remaining player can assume an EH role. If only a fielder remains in the vacated DH spot and no batter is available to occupy the spot, an out will be taken when that batting position is due up.
   

   H. Starting in 2025, the league will use the USA Softball rule for courtesy runners. Courtesy runners may be any eligible player in the game or on the bench and may be used once per inning for a player other than the pitcher. In addition, the same courtesy runner or any other eligible player is allowed for the pitcher each time they reach base. The runner may be inserted at any time during the inning, but not in the middle of an at-bat. If the runner is on base when they are due at bat, the runner is out on the bases and the runner comes in to bat.

   I. There is a 15-run rule after four innings and a 10-run rule after five innings.
   J. There will be a 2-up home-run limit (over the fence) with a maximum of five. If a team goes 3-up or hits more than five in a game, it is an out.
   K. Metal spikes will not be allowed – NO EXCEPTIONS. Disqualification from the game will result.
   L. Bats with composite barrels are illegal. Single-wall and multi-wall bats are legal. Forfeit will result if an illegal bat is used. See bat list for specifics.
   Women may use fast-pitch bats.
   M. There is an automatic ejection from the game for swearing, throwing your bat or fighting. Anyone ejected will serve a one-game suspension, meaning they are unable to play in the team’s next game.
   N. The home team must supply a new ball and an acceptable second ball for each game.
   O. The home team of the last game of the night played at the Pool Field is responsible for raking the batter’s box and around the bases.
   P. A game halted by rain will be continued from where it stopped, regardless of the inning, at a later date unless both teams agree to award one team the winner (i.e. Team A is leading 10-1 in the third inning when rain suspends play and Team B agrees to grant Team A the victory).

IV. All scores should be reported by the end of the night. IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE HOME TEAM TO REPORT THE SCORE.
1. Report the score by texting Mark (717-371-1414) and Mike (717-468-8172).

V. Rainouts on all fields will be notified as soon as possible by text to the managers from Mark Fitzkee.

VI. All teams in the league wishing to participate in the playoffs will be permitted to do so. Standings will be determined based on a point system. Each team will be assigned a point value at the beginning of the season, and teams will receive points for victories against their opponents based on half of the total point value of the game. (If a 4 plays a 3, the total is 7 and the winner would receive 3.5 points). A team will also receive one point for a loss against a Tier 1 opponent. The point values are as follows:

TIER 1 (4 points): Erb Red, Middle Creek, White Oak Red
TIER 2 (3 points): Chiques Gold, Erb Gold, Newport Dove Blue
TIER 3 (2 points): Chiques Blue, Crossway Mennonite, East Petersburg Mennonite/Carpenter's, LCBC, Manheim BIC Black, Manheim BIC Orange, Newport Dove Red, Salem, White Oak Gray
TIER 4 (1 point): East Fairview, Hempfield, White Oak Orange

Two playoff tournaments will be held, with the top teams competing for the American League championship and the remaining teams competing for the National League title. Any team in the National League playoffs may opt to compete in the American League playoffs, but teams in the American League playoffs are not allowed to play for a National League championship. Higher seed is considered the home team for the odd numbered games (games 1-3-5).

Tie-breakers will be used with the following criteria: 1) head-to-head record; 2) winning percentage vs. first-place team, then second-place team, etc., going down the standings until the tie is broken.

AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS: If six teams competing in the playoffs, the No. 3 and 6 seeds and the No. 4 and 5 seeds will play in a best-of-three series. The best-of-five semifinals will be the 1 vs. 4-5 matchup, and 2 vs. 3-6, with the semifinal winners meeting in the finals. The championship round will also be a best-of-five series.

NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFFS: If 12 teams are competing, the first through fourth-place teams receive byes in the first round. First-round matchups are: 5-12, 6-11, 7-10 and 8-9. In the second round, it's the 8-9 winner playing the first-place team, 7-10 playing the second-place team, 6-11 playing the third-place team, and 5-12 playing the fourth-place team. Semifinals will be 1-(8-9) vs. 4-(5-12) and 2-(7-10) vs. 3-(6-11). The semifinal winners will compete for the championship. All series prior to the finals are best-of-three, with the championship round best-of-five.

PLAYOFF ELIGIBILITY: For players to be eligible for ANY playoff game, the player must have played in two separate innings in five LEAGUE games.

VII. The following will result in fines:

1. Teams not reporting scores. ($1)
2. Any team that misses a scheduled league meeting. ($20)
3. Forfeits. ($25)
4. If team dues are not paid on time. ($25)
5. If a team does not fill its concession stand duties ($100)
ALL FINES MUST BE PAID PROMPTLY AFTER NOTIFICATION.

VIII. For 2025, dues are $1,000 per team payable by the April meeting.

IX. If necessary, league dynamics will change each season based on a performance review that will be held at the first meeting of the year.