Spiderz Mega Draft Softball Tournament Rules
OUTDOOR TOURNAMENT RULES
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
4 Game Guarantee (weather pending): 1 Play-In Game leading into a seeded Double Elimination championship bracket, along with a consolation bracket.
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DRAFT DAY FORMAT
Females, Pitchers, SS, 3B, 2B, 1B, OF and C/AH will be split up and randomly drafted as evenly as possible across the entire draft board in a snake draft format LIVE on Facebook.
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APPROVED BATS
USSSA 240 Compression Stamped or USA/ASA Slow Pitch Softball bats are approved in Spiderz Mega Draft play. No Senior Bats are allowed.
Teams will be required to put their bats along the fence prior to the start of the game. The Umpire will perform a quick inspection and help teams determine if they have a legal bat or not.
If a player hits a ball using an illegal bat, and the play is protested by the defending team before the next pitch, the play will ruled as a Dead Ball Out and a warning will be issued to the team. If it happens again that game, the play will once again be ruled a Dead Ball out and the player will be ejected from the remainder of the game resulting in an automatic out each time that spots comes up in the lineup.
BALLS
Men MUST hit the official 12 inch .44/375 ball with Spiderz factory logo CLEARLY printed on it (Dudley or Bamm). Women will have the option to hit the Men's ball or an 11 inch .44/400 ball with Spiderz factory logo clearly printed on it.
Teams will hit their own balls.
6 men's balls will be supplied to each team before the tournament starts. 2 women's balls will be supplied by tournament and kept on the fields. If you lose all your Men's balls, or wish to have more, they will be available for purchase at the Spiderz Tent.
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HOME RUN LIMIT
Five (5) Home Runs/Game. All Home Runs over the limit will be considered a Dead Ball Out. Female Home Runs DO COUNT towards total. Hit and Sit, no need to run them out or touch 1st base.
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LINEUP
~Each team must present their lineup to the other team, at coin toss, before 1st pitch.
~Each team is supplied with 1 scorebook. Please take a clean book, and make sure that runs are scored accurately by the umpire during each game.
~Each team MUST bat all of their rostered players. However, only 10 players will take the field on defense.
~No (2) players of the minority sex may sit out of playing defense at the same time.
~No player may sit out from playing a defensive position more than 7 innings for every 14 innings played unless the player should so verbally choose to. We ask each team to monitor this carefully. Please be respectful and fair to your teammates that also came to play.
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NO SHOWS/LATE TO GAME
Players must be in the LINEUP IN EVERY GAME!
If a player doesn't show up to PLAY IN game, the team can vote on if they want to have that player remain on the team or immediately removed from the roster/tournament and no longer eligible to win any prizes.
If a player doesn't show up to a BRACKET game, that player will be immediately removed from the roster and no longer eligible to play any further games or win any prizes.
If a player is "running late" to a game the player must be added to the end of the lineup. If you're "Running Late", you need to clearly communicate with your team prior to game time as the team will have the final call on adding you to the lineup. If added to the lineup, and the player misses his/her 1st AB, the team will take a recorded out for that player. If the player misses his/her 2nd AB, the team will have the option to remove player from the lineup, and player will be immediately disqualified from the rest of the tournament (and NO out will be taken for this AB or any future AB's during this game) OR remain in the lineup and continue to take an out for every at bat to keep player eligible for the remainder of tournament. This option will remain for missing players future AB's as well (if kept in game).
No players can be added to the lineup once the lineup has hit through.
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FEMALE DIFFERENTIAL RATIO- DEFENSE ADJUSTMENT
Teams must disclose the number of female roster players at coin toss.
In the event 2 opposing teams have an unequal number of female players, the team with lesser number must MATCH the number of females the opposing team has playing on defense until all bench options have been exhausted.
If the 2 teams have the same number of female players, the number of females playing defense does not have to match.
EXAMPLE: The Visiting Team has 12 players in which 4 are Women and the Home Team has 12 players in which 3 are Women. The Visiting Team would have 3 women playing the field and 1 on the bench as an AH. The Home team would now be required to play ALL 3 of their women in the field and sit 2 men.
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FEMALE DIFFERENTIAL RATIO- LINEUP ADJUSTMENT:
Teams must disclose the number of female roster players at coin toss.
In the event 2 opposing teams have an unequal number of female players by 1, no lineup adjustments are required.
If the female differential from the opposing team is greater than 1, the team with the LESS females will need to add a "dummy spot" to their lineup and take an automatic out each time that spot comes to bat during the entire game. The team that is short females must add enough "Dummy Spots" to their lineup to be within 1 female differential of the opposing team.
EXAMPLE: The Visiting Team has 4 Women, and the Home Team has 2. The Home Team would have to add a "dummy spot" to their lineup and take an out every time that spot comes to bat throughout the game.
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ILLEGAL PLAYER/ROSTER CHECK
All LIVE rosters can be viewed at any time by going to this Mega Draft Tournament website and clicking LIVE ROSTER. If you are playing a team you feel has an illegal player in their lineup and would like to appeal the roster: call time out (before the last out of the game), announce to the umpire that you would like to appeal a player on the other team’s roster, present the umpire $100 CASH, and the umpire will stop the clock and contact a tournament director. The tournament director will check IDs of the player(s) in question and review the scorebook if needed. If a player is determined to be illegal, the appealing team will get their $100 back and the violating team (all players) will be immediately removed from the tournament. If player(s) are determined legal, the clock will restart and the $100 will be given to the umpire for wasting his time. All players must remain on the field until an official tournament director can come to the field. If at any time the player(s) in question leave the field of play while waiting for the tournament director, they will be determined to be illegal, and the team will be removed. No appeals can be made after the last out of the game.
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PINCH RUNNERS
1 per inning, per sex, per team. Runner has to be of the same sex and can be anyone on the team (however if that runner comes up to bat in the lineup before he/she scores or gets out, that runners spot in the lineup will be an automatic out and NO OFFENSIVE EJECTION). NOTE: A pinch runner may be used twice in the same inning if the person needing the runner gets on again (the pinch runner must also be the same runner used earlier that inning).
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RUN RULES
20 runs After 3 innings
15 runs after 4 innings
10 runs after 5 innings
Run rules are in effect EVERY GAME
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TIME LIMIT
All Games (unless noted below) will be scheduled every 70 minutes. No new inning may start after 60 minutes.
Time starts after the coin flip. Hustle in and Hustle out.
Games can start as early as 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. BE EARLY!
Winners Bracket Undefeated Game, Loser's Bracket Final and Championship Game(s) will be 90-minute games.
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PITCHING
4'-10' height limit from the ground, jukes/faking ok, pitcher must toe rubber on release.
All pitchers MUST wear a mask or helmet - NO EXCEPTIONS!
All counts start at 1-1, no courtesy fouls.
No arguing about balls and strikes. Arguing an umpire’s call could be grounds of a player ejection
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CO-ED RULES
Females can play anywhere on the field. No outfield co-ed line will be used.
If a male batter is walked and a female is on deck, the male gets 2nd base (must run it out and touch 1B) and the female will have the option to hit or take a free walk ONLY when there are 2 outs.
Females who are up to bat CANNOT be thrown out at 1st base from an outfield position (or an assist from an OF position).
**NEW** Defense may align on the field in a 4-man, or 5-man if they wish, at any time vs any batter. However, if a WOMAN is up to bat, an infielder may not play (starting position) beyond the infield cut line (where the dirt meets the grass/ infield meets the outfield) to be considered an infielder. Infielders "starting position" will be determined by where they are standing at release of pitch.
Defensive/Infield positioning is ONLY used to determine if a Female Hitter can be thrown out at 1B. All other defensive plays (force out at 2nd, play at 3rd, fly balls etc.) are allowed no matter where any infielder starts.
EXAMPLE Part 1: If Shortstop is standing in front of the infield cut line at time of pitch release with a female hitter...... Then, the infielder immediately sprints back into the outfield, and the ball is hit in their direction. The ball lands, he/she picks it up, and throws a missile across the field for the force out at 1B. This is ACCEPTABLE and the hitter will be called OUT. The shortstop may also catch the ball in the air in this scenario, and the female hitter WILL BE OUT.
EXAMPLE Part 2: If Shortstop is standing behind the infield cut line at time of pitch release with a female hitter...... Then, the infielder immediately sprints back into the outfield, and the ball is hit in their direction. The ball lands, he/she picks it up, and throws a missile across the field for the force out at 1B. The hitter will be called SAFE as the shortstop STARTED beyond the cutline and is now considered an OF position. The shortstop may also catch the ball in the air in this scenario, and the female hitter WILL BE OUT, as starting position doesn't matter regarding a ball that is caught in the air.
Umpires’ discretion in determining when an infielder crosses the threshold of becoming an outfield position.
**NEW** Female on deck batters must CLEARLY be the next player up to bat, and in the on-deck area. If a female batter is on deck and is not visible and the male batter in front of her is walked, the male batter will only be awarded 1st base, and the female batter must hit.
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ROSTER ADDITIONS
Absolutely NO additions/pickups will be made to any roster unless a Spiderz Mega Drafts Tournament Director adds them. In the event a player drops leading up to within 10 days of the event, the tournament director will make the best attempt to fill the empty roster spot with someone who is on the official waiting list. However, if unsuccessful, that team will play less than 1 player.
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INJURED PLAYERS
**NEW** In the event a player is severely injured during the game and cannot continue the rest of the tournament, that spot in the lineup will be an automatic out the 1st time that spot returns to an AB, then skipped each AB thereafter with no penalty. The player may NOT return at any time and is ruled out.
**NEW** If a team or injured player wishes to have the injured player continue playing later that game or later games of the tournament, the player must remain in the lineup and take an out for each AB they miss.
If a team drops to LESS than 10, the Tournament Director will make best effort to assign a "House Sub" (someone who has not played on a team yet) if available.
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PLAYER SUBSTITUTIONS
Player substitutions with 2 minutes or less on the clock, will stop the clock. Once players are in position, time will resume. Players must hustle in and off the field.
Pitcher substitutions will have 1 min to warm up, max of 3 pitches.
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AWARDS/PRIZES/POINTS: If you or your team wins an award/prize, you must be on the current active roster to claim. If you no-showed at any point, you'll be removed from the roster and forfeit any award/prize. If you leave the tournament early or are injured and cannot finish the tournament you risk losing any award/prize/points you may have qualified for.
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BAT TOSS/FLIPS
No excessive bat tossing, or bat flipping will be allowed. Any bat toss/flip that clears the batter’s head or is thrown/tossed in an excessive/violent manner in any direction will result in the play being called an automatic dead ball out.
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DUGOUT RULES -
Players must always stay in the dugout when not playing defense. The exceptions are base coaches, on-deck and in-the-hole batters on offense. Non-rostered players will NOT be allowed on the field during game play. This means no base coaches that aren’t on your team’s roster. If you have someone keeping a book for your team and they are not a rostered player on your team, they MUST stay in the dugout or in the spectator’s section. Please keep all equipment and bags inside designated dugout areas.
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BATTERS BOX/BATTER ALIGNMENT
The batter must take an INITIAL position (at pitch release) with his/her back foot no further forward than a line defining the front edge of home plate. The batter will be called out only if he/she hits the ball with a foot touching or completely in front of home plate.
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FIGHTING
We have a zero-tolerance policy regarding fighting. Any players involved in any physical altercation will be immediately Ejected from the game and disqualified from the tournament.
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IMPROPER CONDUCT
There will be no profanity or swearing on the field. This includes arguing calls with the umpire. Improper conduct by players on the field is grounds for a game ejection. Unruly fans may also result in a park ejection. Please, as players and/or fans, attend the games with respect and sportsmanship.
No excessive noise making devices will be allowed by fans or players (i.e. Whistles, Horns, etc.). Umpire and/or tournament director(s) reserve all rights to ask noise to stop or result in game/park ejection.
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PLAYER EJECTIONS
If a player is ejected from a game, that spot in the lineup will incur an out for each time it comes to bat in the lineup for that game. Players are allowed to return the next game. However, all ejections will be reported to tournament director(s) and tournament director(s) will have final say if any other action/penalty shall be had.
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WEATHER
Tournament director reserves all rights to modify any game to a 1-pitch, shorten game times, eliminate games and/or brackets in the event of time constraints due to weather to help assure a champion.
In the event of bad weather or acts of god that are out of our hands that force a tournament cancellation, no refunds will be given as each player will have received a uniform package per the terms and conditions you agreed to at registration.
In addition, per the terms and conditions, if tournament cancellation is announced between the tournament start and just before the finish of play-in games, we will host a drawing which will include all players in the tournament and randomly choose names to distribute all prize packages. Once play-in games are completed, the tournament director reserves all rights to decide prize distribution in the event of tournament cancellation.
The tournament director reserves all rights.
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OFFICIAL SPIDERZ MEGADRAFT INDOOR SOFTBALL RULES ADDENDUM (to Original Rules Below)
BALLS SUPPLIED -
.52/300 12" Men’s Balls and .44/375 11" Women’s Balls will be supplied by Spiderz and will be with Umpires at each field. Please make sure all balls stay at the field of play.
EVERYONE MUST PLAY -
- Each team MUST bat all their active roster players in the lineup. However, only 9 (nine) players will take the field for defense.
- A player CANNOT sit out from playing a defensive position for more than 7 innings, for every 14 innings played, unless a player chooses to.
- 2 of the “minority sex” players CANNOT sit the bench at the same time.
- A player CANNOT be an EH for back-to-back games unless that player should so choose to.
We ask each team to monitor this carefully. Please be respectful and fair to your teammates that also came to play.
INDOOR GAME PLAY GENERAL RULES -
- Balls hit off the ceiling are LIVE and can be caught for an out.
- Balls hit off the side nets, will be considered a dead ball foul.
- Balls hit off the back wall, including Home Runs, may be caught for an out.
- Balls that are hit off the ceiling: Fair or Foul is determined by where the ball LANDS, not where the ball strikes the ceiling.
- Furthermore, a ball may land fair, and roll foul if in front of 1st & 3rd base.
- Because of close quarters, a Suicide Line between 3rd and Home will be enforced. Once a runner has passed this line, a force at home plate will be in effect. Runner will get the PLATE and defensive player will get the DEFENSIVE plate taped to the turf approx. 24" in front of home plate. Sliding IS permitted by the runner however there will be NO TAGGING FOR AN OUT at Home Plate. Only Force Out will be in effect at Home Plate.
- Women cannot be thrown out from 1st Base from any outfield position (or an assist from an OF position)
- Defense may align on the field ANY WAY they wish. However, if a WOMAN is up to bat, an infielder may not play (starting position) any further than 15ft from the direct baseline (a straight line between each base) to be considered an infielder (umpires’ discretion). Furthermore, infielders starting position will be determined by where they are standing at release of pitch.
- REMINDER- If an infielder starts beyond the 15ft mark for a woman, they may still catch the ball for an out or attempt any other out EXCEPT the force out at 1B.
HOME RUNS & HOME RUN LIMIT -
- Home Runs will be any ball hit OVER the second lateral beam from the floor. Ball may hit the ceiling and carry over the beam for a Home Run.
- Home Runs MAY BE ROBBED if the defensive player can catch the ball before it hits the ground.
- Hit & Sit
- Unlimited Home Runs
- FIELD EXCEPTIONS: Field #1: Right field netting. Any ball that appears to be hit over the Navy-Blue wall paint (umpire discretion) will be considered a Home Run (yet still robbable). Centerfield, HR Lines remain, however any ball that crosses HR Lines and lands inside the Court Corral, is an automatic Home Run | FIELD 2: Left Field - any ball hit OVER the suspended batting cage and clear to the back and falls, will be considered a Home Run (yet still robbable). IF the ball gets stuck in the net, the ball will be considered a Ground Rule SINGLE
OTHER OBSTACLES (lol) -
- FIELD 1: any ball that lands inside or stuck behind the Court Corral in CF, will be considered a Ground Rule Single. However, a ball may bounce off of contents inside Corral and land back into fair territory and still be playable (however, it cannot be caught for an out)
- FIELD 3: Batting Cage suspended above Home Plate and 1st base line. If the ball strikes on the right-hand side of center rail, it will be considered a dead ball foul. If the ball hits the left-hand side of the rail, it will be LIVE. However, if ball gets caught in the net, on the left-hand side....it will be a COURTESY FOUL (a foul ball with no strike out penalty)
- Any balls stuck in random obstacles/equipment/on the field will be considered a dead Ball Ground Rule Single (no doubles)
DUGOUT RULES -
Players must always stay in the dugout when not playing defense. Or, if they are the on-deck or in-the-hole batters on offense. Non-rostered players will NOT be allowed on the field during game play. This means no base coaches that aren’t on your team’s roster. If you have someone keeping book for your team and they are not a rostered player on your team, please keep them in the dugout or in the spectator’s section. Please keep all equipment and bags inside designated dugout areas.
INJURED PLAYERS -
In the event a player is injured during the game and cannot continue, that spot in the lineup will be an automatic out the 1st time that spot returns to an AB, then skipped each AB thereafter. If an injured player cannot play the next game, the team must play with 1 less player. If a team drops to less than 9, the Tournament Director will make best attempt to assign a "House Sub" (someone who has not played on a team yet) if available. If a player sits out an entire game due to injury, that player is NO LONGER eligible to play in any other games this tournament.
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