Three Pitch Rules

2012 RULE UPDATES:
Rule updates are in BLUE  below.
STANDARD RULES

Please note that if a rule is not addressed in the standard tournament rules below, the umpires will use SPN rules.

Format:There are two Divisions, A and B.  The A division contains eight teams and they will be seeded in two pools of four based on last year's results.  The B division contains 17 teams and they are seeded in 3 pools based on last years results

• On Saturday, each team plays three "Round Robin" games in their pool
• On Sunday, all teams advance to the sudden death [except the last place team in the B division] division championship round based on round robin standings. The first and second placed teams in each division after the round robin will have home field advantage during their quarter final championship games only
• The lowest ranked team in 'A' division will be moved to the 'B' division for next year's tournament and the winner of the 'B' Division will move up to 'A' and be ranked as the 8th place team

Seedings:

Teams are seeded based on the previous year's tournament results on the following basis:

1. How far each team progressed past the round robin (i.e. champion is #1, finalist is #2, semi-finalists are #3 and #4);
2. Head to head record during round robin (if applicable);
3. Run differential during the round robin;
4. Total runs for during the round robin;
5. Coin Toss

In the case where 2 teams have no wins [Sat & Sun], the leader will be determined by looking at +/- for Sunday - for 1 game

Round Robin standings and tie-breakers:

 After Round Robin play, teams will be ranked based on their win-loss records. Ties between teams with identical win-loss records will be broken on the following basis:

1. Head to head record;
2. Run differential;
3. Total runs for;
4. Coin toss.

The Team:

• Team lineups for each game must consist of at least 9 players, including at least 3 females.There is no maximum to the number of players that may be included in the lineup
• All players included in the lineup must bat, and at least every 4th batter must be female
• Maximum of 9 players on the field, at least 3 of whom must be female
• It is not required that all players available to play be listed in the batting order. Players not in the Starting batting order may enter the game as a substitute OR courtesy runners only. When a player enters the game as a substitute they will remove a starting player who will be replaced by the substitute player. The starting player will have the right to re-enter the game only once and must occupy the same initial position in the batting order. Once the substitute is removed from the game they may not return to the batting order or field but may be a courtesy runner
• Teams may use a 'designated pitcher', a player on the team roster who is not included in that game lineup. Designated pitchers cannot field or bat during the game.
• Players may only play on one team in the tournament

The Game:

• All games (except for finals) are one hour and ten minutes, or 7 innings, whichever comes first. No inning is to start after 65 minutes, except in the event of a tie, in which case the game will continue until a winner is declared
• A "mercy rule" will be in effect. Therefore any team leading by 10 or more runs after 5 innings will be declared the winner. During the round robin play, the recorded score of a game called due to mercy will only reflect the 10 run differential
• All games will be played "rain or shine"

The Pitch:

• Pitchers pitch 3 slow pitches to their own batter
• If a batted ball contacts the pitcher, the ball is dead, the batter is out, and the runners return to last base legally possessed at the time of the pitch 
• The minimum pitching distance will be 40 feet. The umpires will actively monitor the pitching distance and may alter this distance if necessary. This is for safety reasons as it was noted that some of the pitchers were dangerously too close to their own batters.

The Hit:

• No bunting allowed; a full swing must be taken. The ball must travel past the line joining pitchers rubber to mid-point of home to first base or home to third base. If the defensive team plays a moving ball before it passes this zone, the play is alive
• No fielder may position themselves inside the base lines until the ball has been hit. All base runners will be called safe if a play is made involving a fielder who "encroaches" a batter 

The Trip Around the Basepath:

• A safety base, placed adjacent to first base in foul territory, is to be used. The runner must touch the safety base (orange portion), while the fielder must use the base in fair territory (white portion) in all cases when there is a play at first. If the fielder uses the safety base for the out the runner is called safe
• A maximum of five courtesy runners per team shall be allowed per game. The courtesy runner may be anyone in the line-up but they can only courtesy run once in the game. You cannot have a courtesy runner for home plate (i.e. better must reach base safely on their own before substitution takes place)
• No stealing and no lead-offs. The base runner can not leave the base until the ball has been hit.
• Runners are awarded the base they are going to plus one base on an overthrow or missed throw that leaves the playing area
• In order to avoid contact, runners are to cross the line behind home plate to score, rather than touching the plate itself. All outs at home are therefore a force play (i.e. catcher steps on the plate with control of the ball before the runner crosses the home plate line). Runners stepping on home plate will be called out. Once a runner has passed the "commit line" (half-way between third base and home plate), the runner must continue home 
• No outfielder may make a force out on the batter/baserunner at first base.

The Ground Rules:

• Over the fence is a home run 
• A defensive line of arc of 150 feet from home plate shall be used. No outfielder (minimum of 4) is allowed in front to this line until the ball is hit. if this is violated the offensive team has the option of taking the result of the play or an award of 1 base to the batter and all runners. There will be pylons placed on both foul lines so that it will be easier for the umpires and the players to visualize this distance
• Other Stuff:

• Metal spiked shoes are not allowed
• No protests - Decision of the umpire is final!! Only the team captain, or the person who attended the coin toss prior to the game, may discuss a call with the umpire. Any other player who attempts to do so will be given one warning, then ejected from the game on the  second occurrence. Any player receiving two ejections will be disqualified from further tournament play
• Players who in the opinion of the umpire are playing the game while under the influence of an excessive amount of alcohol will be ejected from the game and from the tournament
• No jewelry may be worn (necklaces, watches, rings, earrings, etc.) A batter stepping into the batters box wearing jewelry is automatically out
• If any injured player is bleeding (i.e. cut or scraped), the umpire will call time and allow the player to properly bandage the wounded area, or allow for an injury substitution to take place
• Please make sure that your team is at the diamond at least 5 minutes prior to your game time. The schedules are very tight and this will help move the games along. If your team is late and the 10 minute grace period expires you will forfeit the game