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This event has completed. This information has been preserved for archival purposes.
Looking to sign up for an event you heard about? You may be viewing last season's page. Go back to the leagues/tournaments pages to find your event.
All Leagues All Tournaments
At League Joe, we are doing our best to bring the fun back to the game of softball. As umpires, I don't need to tell you that our game has gotten too serious and too competitive - you are often the bearers of the brunt of an overly-competitive, me-first culture. What I do need to tell you and emphasize strongly is that we support you in doing what you need to do to make sure the fields are safe and fun for new players. Rules are great and all, but we all know that sometimes you're going to screw them up, or make a bad call, or a player is going to misinterpret something and create a scene. We will relentlessly drive into our coaches and players an attitude of "Let it go, it's just a game" and want to take some pressure off of your shoulders. We don't expect you to be perfect - we expect you to be human. And if players are treating you as anything less than, then you have my full blessing to remove players from the field or the entire league if you see and know that their presence is toxic.
The vast majority of the players you are going to see on the fields are new to the game of slowpitch. For some, that means they have literally never held a bat before. For others, that means they haven't played since their high school days, and they maybe have some of those bad habits. You're going to see a field with players who are 18 years old and 68 on the same team. That's the beauty of our style of play, and we ask you to be protective of that culture since many players will look to you first on the field as the leader of that diamond. We encourage you to engage with, laugh with, and enjoy a fun evening of ball with our players. If you see a brand new player who is super nervous against a tournament player who is dropping knuckle balls, we encourage you to NOT give the pitcher that strike 3 call that caught the corner and we encourage you to tell that pitcher to serve some meatballs to the new players. And if the knuckle heads don't get it through their skulls what kind of game they are playing - that's where you let us know and we'll take care of it.
One rotten apple spoils the bunch. You have our permission and encouragement to remove those apples.
Play the Game. We will preach to the coaches that they need to work with each other to be understanding of situations with subs and odd things with their lineups. Sometimes a team is going to show up and only have one girl instead of 3 and they couldn't find a sub. The coaches will be encouraged to negotiate how to make the field of play "even" and get the game in to respect the results. We try to avoid force forfeits - just get the game in!
These are the most common and/or most unique rules being used for this event. Please see "Official Rulebook" for exhaustive list of playing rules. When in conflict, rules written here shall supercede those in the official rulebook.
As a player, you are responsible for knowing all official rules of the game. By participating in the event, you are agreeing that you are aware of all rules associated with the league and the sport, and agree to abide by them at all times.
Senior Softball Rules – Suncoast Senior Draft Tournament
Rules
-10 HRs – Any HRs above the limit will count as outs (but not inning-ending)
-7 runs max scored per inning
-50 min games with 10 min ‘Open Inning’ - Pool Play
-60 min games with 10 min ‘Open Inning’ – Bracket Play
-No DHH
-Pitching Net is mandatory
-Start with 1 ball and 1 strike count
-Batters get 1 courtesy foul
-Only Senior bats allowed 1.21 BPF
-6 balls will be provided. Dudley Hard Core 44/375 (balls
can be purchased)
All Rostered Players Must Bat
Barring injury as described below, all rostered players must bat. At no time can an outside substitute player enter the lineup for a rostered player.
Unsafe Throws
No batter may be thrown out at first following a ball hit into the outfield unless by an infielder brought into the outfield through defensive actions.
Pitching Screens
These screens are intended for safety, not to create an extra defensive player on the field. Screen must be positioned no more than three feet ahead of the pitching rubber. One of the pitching screen support legs must be lined up within the width of the pitching rubber and cannot be set to the side of the rubber. There's no multiple swapping between screen and helmet during an inning.
Pitcher Defense
If the screen is on the field, the pitcher must use it for partial protection whether or not they are also wearing safety gear. After pitching the ball, the pitcher must obtain at least partial cover behind the net and must have at least a shoulder behind the screen when the ball is struck by the batter. If the pitcher is not using a safety helmet, their head/face must be positioned behind the screen upon contact. Once the ball is struck by the batter, the pitcher is allowed to move from behind the screen to attempt to field the ball if they can do so safely. A pitcher may field a slow moving ground ball in front of the screen if they can get to it before it hits the screen. If the ball contacts any portion of the screen, it is immediately ruled a foul ball. If the umpire sees the pitcher extending away from the net prior to the ball being struck, they may call "no pitch" and issue a warning to the pitcher to get at least partial cover behind the screen. Subsequent violations may result in automatic balls or awarding of first base, subject to umpire discretion.
Injury Exceptions
In the cases of significant injury, some rules may be bent to avoid placing players in harm's way. Coaches facing a situation that they believe requires an adjustment must discuss with the opposing coach a recommended solution. Opposing coach must approve the solution, and such approval should not be unreasonably withheld.
Injured Player / Can Not Continue
If a player is significantly injured in the course of play and cannot continue, they shall be removed from the lineup. When their batting position comes up, it shall be skipped and not counted as an automatic out. Player is unable to return to play for that game and, at a minimum, the game following. Exceptions for this rule may be made for extended breaks between games (i.e. a player injured Saturday night can play their first game Sunday if they can safely do so).
9-Players
Teams with fewer than 10 players due to injuries, quits, and/or other unforeseen events can continue to play with nine players. In these cases, the opposing team must provide a "Ball Returner" while they are at bat. The Ball Returner is only there to throw the ball back to the pitcher and is otherwise not obligated to play defense or assist in getting "Outs" in any way, shape or form (i.e. they are not obligated to catch a pop up foul ball). Once the ball is in play, the Ball Returner should step away from the field towards the fence to not give any impression of being involved in the play.
Players Removed for Ejections
Players who are removed for ejection are not given the same leniency as situations involving injury. A player spot in the lineup shall count as an "out" for each subsequent at-bat following the ejection, and the opposing coach has no obligation to provide a Ball Returner or Emergency Sub to replace an ejected player.
These are guidelines and rules for the event that all coaches must acknowledge and follow. Please review all rules carefully.
The official rules for the sport, which may or may not be from a sanctioning body.
Rules have not been posted yet. Please check back later.
