COACH PITCH PECULIAR RULES

Revision Date: Jan. 12, 2010

1. RULE 1: ELIGIBILITY

Ages: Girls who are 7 and 8 years old as of Jan. 1 of that calendar year.

2. RULE 2: THE PLAYING FIELD

The playing field will be the same field used for T-ball. The pitchers mound will have a circle surrounding it, in which the pitcher must be positioned. The coach who is pitching to the batters should ensure he/she moves out of the way of the pitcher as soon as the batter hits the ball. The bases will be 50 feet apart. (unless play is necessary on another field.)

3. RULE 3: EQUIPMENT

Eleven-inch softballs will be used and furnished by the League. Only “Official Softball” bats may be used.

If a catcher is used, she MUST wear a catcher’s mask and chest protector. Each team will be provided with a mask and a chest protector.

Currently, this division uses a manual pitching machine to provide consistency with pitching among the division.

4. RULE 4: PLAYERS AND SUBSTITUTION

Coach pitch teams do not have to field a catcher. A minimum of six (6) girls must be fielded in order to play the game. **Catcher is STRONGLY recommended.

Each player present at the beginning of the game must play a minimum of two (2) consecutive innings on offense and defense. If there are less than 10 girls per team then all girls present will play defense.

All girls will be in the batting order.

5. RULE 5: THE GAME

The game shall consist of five (5) innings. No new inning shall begin after 1½ hours from the beginning of the game. The coach shall pitch to every girl. Each player will receive a MAXIMUM of 6 pitches from her coach/machine. (Coaches are encouraged to pitch at a flatter, faster rate to prepare girls for next level—fast-pitch.) If after SIX pitches the batter is unable to hit a fair ball, she will forfeit her turn but no out will be assessed. This will be scored as a Turn at Bat (TAB) in the scorebook. The next batter will come to the plate and play will continue.

If a defensive team is unable to get three (3) outs after the offensive team has hit through the batting order once in any inning, the sides will switch and the defensive team will take their turn at bat. This is an INSTRUCTIONAL league, and the emphasis should be placed on learning the rules of the game, as opposed to winning.

Complete as many innings as possible. Game is considered complete if 5 innings have been complete or the time limit of 1 ½ hours has arrived. No NEW inning may start 1 ½ hours after the official start time.

The infield fly rule does NOT apply.

Umpires will be volunteers, and will only be required to call outs at the bases. No strikes or balls will be assessed. The batter will have six (6) attempts to hit the ball regardless of the pitches she receives.

If there are no umpires then the coaches will serve as umpires. The base coaches will assess outs at the bases.