Sioux Falls Coed Softball Rules

All teams are required to follow the USA Softball rules for play in addition to the league-specific rules that are listed below.
1. No player under the age of 16 years old is eligible to play in the league.  If the player has not yet reached the age of 18 before the first game of the season, one of their parents must sign the Release of Liability Form for them.
2. Rosters are due by the 2nd week of the season. Players may be added to rosters until the final week before the tournament. Players can be added to rosters by notifying league officials Steve Ruda or John Knodel.
3. A player must sign a Release of Liability Form before the second weekend of the season. The Form will be distributed during the captain’s meeting.
4. No single player can appear on more than one roster. If players are found to be playing illegally on multiple teams, they will be banned from participation in the league. Players may be borrowed from another team at the discretion of the league official.
5. A team can play with 8,9, or 10 players on the field. Teams must have a minimum of four females to play. Teams can play with four females and 5 males but must take an out in between the back-to-back male batters.
6. 12” balls will be used for males and 11” balls will be used for females. The league will provide all balls.
7. Time Limit – All games will have a 55-minute time limit. No new inning can be started after 55 minutes. The field’s umpire will maintain the official time for the game.
8. All batters start with a 1-and-1 count and a foul ball on the third strike results in an out.
9. Run rule – The game will end if one team leads by 15 runs after 3 innings, 12 runs after 4 innings, or 10 runs after 5 innings.
10. No metal cleats are allowed to be worn by players.
11. The pitching distance will be 50’ and bases will be set at 70’.
12. Any time a man is walked, the man drawing the walk will be awarded 2 bases. The man must touch first base en route to second base. With two outs, the female batting behind the man that is walked will be given the option to hit or to also take a walk. Women are awarded one base on a walk.
13. Men and women must bat alternately in the batting order unless there are more women than men. In this case, it will be permissible for women to bat back-to-back in the batting order. Males batting back-to back will result in an out where the woman's spot would be.
14. No defensive player shall be permitted to play in front of the pitcher on the infield and no outfielder may play in front of the 150’ line until the batter's bat makes contact with the ball.
15. Teams are permitted to bat as many people as they want. The players in the batting order are also able to play anywhere defensively as long as they remain in the batting order.
16. If teams don't bat everyone as stated in Rule 15, then once a player is substituted for they may re-enter the game one time for the person that had originally replaced them one time. After being taken out the second time that player is done for the game. Also all substitutions must be announced to the umpire either before the person bats or takes the field defensively.
17. Defensive positioning – When playing with 10 players, there must be 5 men and 5 women or more women than men. When playing with 5 men and 5 women, there must be two women in the outfield, two women in the infield, and either the pitcher or catcher must be a woman. There are no requirements on where men and women play as long as the numbers infield and outfield are correct and as long as the pitcher-catcher battery is male-female or female-male.
18. Any team that forfeits without calling the league and the opposing team’s captain before 5:00 Saturday night will be required to pay a $25 fee for each occurrence to be eligible to play in the tournament.
19. A league tournament will follow the regular season. All teams will play in a double elimination tournament provided each team remains in good standing with the league. Tiebreakers for the tournament will be 1) Head to head 2) Run Differential
20. Each player must have a photo ID present for the tournament in order to play. Any member of the team’s roster is eligible to play in the tournament provided that individual is not listed on any other team’s roster in the league.
21. In case of inclement weather, monitor the league’s website, our Facebook page, or text messages will be sent to team managers. Rainouts will be called 1 hour before games when possible. Games will also be called due to lightning, but not due to light or moderate rain. Games canceled or delayed will be made up during one of the "bye weeks" that is currently built into the schedule. 
22. Any player ejected by an umpire 2 times during a season will be suspended for the remainder of the season and will be ineligible to play in the tournament.
23. Players may be ejected by an umpire or a league official for a violation of the league’s code of conduct, a violation of a league rule requiring an ejection or a violation of a state law or city ordinance. Players that are ejected must immediately leave the fields for that game.  IF they do not leave the field within 3 minutes, the team will forfeit.
24. Players that show are too intoxicated to play will not be allowed to play; this will be at the discretion of the field umpire.
25. Players that start a physical fight or use excessive vulgar language will also be ejected. We want to maintain a family-friendly atmosphere for our teams and their families.
26. There is a profanity out rule, the umpire can assess a team out if people are swearing.
27. The height for a legal pitch must be between 6’ and 10’. This will be judged at the discretion of the field umpire. Balls and strikes cannot be protested by a team captain. A pitch judged to be an illegal pitch, will be announced as such immediately by the umpire. Players are not required to swing at pitches called illegal and they are counted as a ball. Players that swing at pitches called illegal, however, are putting the ball into play legally and the umpire will judge the play accordingly.
28. There will be a 2 home run limit per team, per game. Every subsequent home run will result in a double.
29. USA Softball rules for bats will be enforced. If the bat doesn’t meet USA Softball regulations for men’s or women’s league, then it won’t work here.
30. In any close play, regardless of whether the parties are males or females, the baserunner must get down or out of the way. If the player uses excessive force it will result in an ejection. If the player does not get out of the way interference will be called and a out will be assessed. THERE IS NOT A SLIDE RULE!
31. Team captains must submit a completed lineup card to the field umpire before each game.
32. We do allow courtesy runners:  One per inning per gender and can be any player listed on the lineup card. If that courtesy is still on base when his/her at bat comes around, that batting position will take an out.
33. Music can be played in the dugout as long as there is no vulgar/profane language.