Softball Tournament Rules | Salt City Sports
top of page

Softball Tournament Rules

Tournament Safety Rules:

 

Coaches/Players Responsibilities 

  • Coaches are responsible for the actions and safety of their own team which includes spectators. 

  • UMPIRE JUDGMENT CALLS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BE ARGUED FOR ANY REASON

    • Judgment calls include: fair/foul, balls/strikes, out/safe​

    • Rules may be challenged or contested in a professional manner such as:  appeals, etc..

  • Coach/Umpire interactions are a part of the game. These interactions should be calm and respectful at all times.

    • Any Player ejected from a game will be ineligible for the remainder of the game and at least one additional game.

    • Any Coach ejected from a game will be ineligible for the remainder of the tournament 

      • Ejections will be reviewed by the tournament director and are subject to additional game suspensions or being banned from the tournament​​

  • (3) Coaches permitted within the dugout. Scorekeeper allowed in the dugouts. 

  •  Incase of a medical emergency unless an ambulance needs to be called it is the coaches and parents responsibility to remove injured players from the playing field and attend to their non-life threatening medical needs. 

    • Event staff can provide ice if needed but are not responsible for removing players from the field 


 

TOURNAMENT RULES: 

 

USA Fast Pitch Softball Rules in effect with the following exceptions:

​

Time Limit

  • All age groups 10u-23u

  • One day tournament and or weather-related issues can change time limits of games by director at any time.

  • 1 hour and 30 minutes or 7 innings finish the inning. 

    • Time starts immediately after the completion of Ground Rules

    • There will be a timer on the fence behind home plate that the umpire will be using to keep time for every game.

    • The umpire and tournament officials are the only one that keep the official clock.

    • The timer will not be stopped except for the following instances:

      • The timer may be stopped on the game clock in an event of a life-threatening medical emergency 

      • The timer may also be stopped in the event of a weather related delayed 

    •  No new inning can start after the time is expired 

    • If the home team is up to bat and is winning the game when the time expires the will end at the time of expiration. 

    • As soon as the 3rd out is recorded in the bottom half of the inning, the next inning officially starts. If there is still time left when the third out is recorded, the next inning will be played.

    • Defensive timeouts limited to 1 minute. Excessive attempts to slow down or make time expire (umpires discretion) can result in a forfeit.

    • Game times\innings can change due to weather and unforeseen matters that might arise during a tournament. Tournament director has the right to make any changes at any point of tournament to make sure games are played and safety for players/ coaches and fans.


 

Championship Games

  • No time limit for Championship Games

    • Full 7 innings unless of a run-rule

    • Run rules are still in effect

      • 12 runs after 3 innings 

      • 10 runs after 4 innings 

      • 8 runs after 5 innings  

 

Determining Home and Away 

  • Pool Play games only

    • A coin flip will determine the home and away teams

  • Playoff games only

    • The higher seed will be the home team

 

Sliding

  • No restrictions on sliding at Salt City Sports Tournaments. Shoulder roll or coming up high, would be the only time a runner is called out. Runners must slide or avoid contact at all plays at home plate or be called out. Umpires discretion when a runner makes contact with a defensive player at home plate. In addition to avoiding contact, players must slide directly into all bases, players may not intentionally alter their running path in order to break up or disrupt a play.

 

Mercy Rule    

12 runs after 3 innings 

10 runs after 4 innings 

8 runs after 5 innings 

 

Pitching Restrictions 

There are no pitching restrictions at Salt City Sports Tournaments 

 

Tie breakers

  • Pool play games can end in a tie

  • Playoff games must end in a winner 

    • Last recorded out is placed on second with no outs to start the inning

    • This will continue each consecutive inning until there is a winner 

Line ups

All games must start with at least 9 players. A game can not be finished with less than 8 players. If a player is removed due to an injury and there are no subs and their time to bat comes up and is unable to return to the game it will be recorded as an out. If a player is ejected the team is forced to take an out each time that players spot comes up to bat

  • Pool play games

    • Teams can bat there entire lineup if they choose 

  • Playoff games

    • Only 9 batters can be in the lineup

    • DP/Flex options are allowed to be used  

 

Re-entry Rule

  • Starting players in the lineup may only be reentered once per game 

 

Courtesy Runner 

  • Last batted out must be the runner 

 

Dropped third strike/infield fly

  • Enforced in all levels 10u-23u

 

Pitching Distance

10u 35’

12u 40’

14u-23u 43’

 

Intentional Walks

All age groups inform the umpire of your desire to walk the batter. No pitches have to be thrown

 

Pool Play Seeding Tie Breaker Rules 

  1. Overall Record 

  2. Head to Head Match up ( only if every teams plays each other)

  3. Runs Allowed 

  4. Runs scored 

  5. Coin Flip 

 

Refund Policy

No refunds issued 14 days prior to tournament.No refunds issued to teams caught NOT using the "STAY & PLAY" Game Refund Policy by number of games not played: -1 = $50 future tournament credit, -2 = $100 future tournament credit, -3 = $200 future tournament credit. No games played all money refundable excluding $50 registration fee which can be applied toward future tournaments.1 Day tournaments will have a rescheduled backup date. If teams are unable to attend the makeup date they will receive credit off future tournaments.

​

Weather  

If weather becomes a determining factor, the weather line will be used for further instructions on delays and cancellations (315-430-5832). The tournament director has a right to change game times, time limits on games etc. in the event of weather

 

Appeals

Teams can appeal a contest due to rule discrepancies. In order to file an appeal a team must pay a $200 appeal fee to Salt City Sports in order for the tournament or site director to review the appeal. (checks payable to: Salt City Sports) Once the fee is received the tournament director will review the appeal and make an appeal decision within 48 hours. If an appeal is lost the appeal fee is forfeited to the tournament, fees are refundable on appeals that are won. For the safety of players tournament director has the say in if certain players can play or not.

​

Revised 06/19/2023

​
 

​

bottom of page