USSSA Baseball Rules

KINO USSA BASEBALL/ARIZONA USSSA TOURNAMENT RULES

These rules are for Arizona USSSA Baseball Tournaments only and may not apply for other USSSA Tournaments or World Series

CONDUCT STANDARDS

It is the responsibility of the coaching staff members to monitor and maintain the behavior of their players, as well as the parents and other spectators that support their team.

  1. Alcohol consumption before and in between games for any coach, anyone caught or suspected by tournament officials will be removed from coaching that day.
  2. Anyone caught by tournament officials with outside alcohol/drugs including parking lots in all venues will be ejected from the park and local law enforcement will be notified to enforce local statues of the parks.
  3. Obscene gestures and profane language will result in offenders being ejected from the park by tournament officials.
  4. Threats of violence or acts of violence including parking lots, will result in the following process and penalties.
    1. Tournament officials will contact 9-1-1 and the tournament will seek a police report and will most likely result in charges being filed.
    2. Coaches/Parents/Fans involved will be ejected from the park and face suspension from the USSSA National office.
    3. Players of ejected legal guardian/parent will be taken out of the game and will have to leave as well.
    4. Artificial noise makers are prohibited. Music can be played during non-live ball action, however the volume is not be heard by surrounding fields.  The tournament official has the right to disallow the usage of music for the remainder of the event if deemed inappropriate or at a high volume.
  5. It is not the intent to punish the players for out-of-control behavior of adults and coaches. The tournament officials are not legal guardians and cannot take custody of any player to finish a game when an adult has been ejected from the park.
  6. Tournament officials are not trained as investigators; they have been instructed to eject all suspected parties involved for any violations that have been listed.

DUGOUTS

  1. Dugouts are a first come, first serve basis.
  2. No buckets, chairs, etc. are permitted outside the dugout.
  3. Two (2) coaches are permitted to be outside the dugout. The parameters allowed will be the length of the dugout. A box will be drawn in front of the dugout that will delineate where the coaches will be permitted to be.
  4. Any additional coaches must be in the dugout.
  5. One (1) batter waiting to hit is permitted outside the dugout and must be wearing a batting helmet.

PLAYER ELIGIBILITY

  1. AGE DIVISIONS:
    1. 10U-18U age divisions are based upon player’s age as of May 1, 2023. Example: 12U players cannot turn age 13 prior to May 1, 2023, to play in that division.
    2. If grade eligibility is challenged, you must have documentation such as a school report. EXAMPLE: 14-year-old playing 13U must have proof of a current 7th grade report card.
    3. Players may play up to two (2) ages, but not down in age.
    4. Players may only play on one (1) team during a tournament.
  2. REGISTRATION:
    1. All teams must check in one (1) hour prior to the team’s first scheduled game at the game site that the team is playing at.
    2. Teams will be required to turn in to the tournament official:
      1. USSSA roster with manager signature and a copy of Team Insurance Coverage. Handwriting players names on the roster is not permitted.
      2. The manager will be required to show a copy of player birth certificates, or a State issued ID card or Passport for each player listed on the roster.
  1. Any team knowingly using illegal players shall be subject to discipline ranging from forfeiting a game, tournament disqualification and suspension from all USSSA sanctioned leagues and tournaments for up to a year.

ROSTER GUEST PLAYERS

  1. USSSA Baseball has created a guest player program which will allow teams to add up to 3 players to their USSSA for a weekend event.
  2. USSSA players will only be permitted to be on a single team’s USSSA roster. Teams may elect to add and drop players according to the USSSA baseball rules, or they may elect to pick up players for a weekend as a guest player.

ROSTER/GUEST PLAYER REQUIREMENTS

USE OF INELIGIBLE PLAYER

  1. All roster questions will be treated as a protest and will require a $50 protest fee. If the protest is upheld, the $50 will be returned.
  2. The following penalties are in place if a team is found to break the roster rules. The penalty is up to the Kino USSSA Tournament Director.
    1. Player or players disqualified from the from the tournament.
    2. Forfeit of games (All fees lost).
    3. Team disqualified from the tournament (All fees lost).
    4. Manager is suspended.
  3. PARENTS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO QUESTION ROSTER OR RULES. THE TEAM MANAGER IS THE ONLY TEAM REPRESENTATIVE THAT IS PERMITTED TO PRESENT QUESTIONS TO THE SITE ADMINISTRATOR OR THE KINO USSSA PRESIDENT.

EJECTIONS

  1. Any player, manager, coach, parent, or spectator ejected from the game or after a game is concluded may carry additional game suspension to be served at next scheduled game upon the discretion of the Site Tournament official and umpire in chief.
  2. Ejected managers, coaches, or fans must leave the immediate area of the ball fields and remain in the parking lot outside of the immediate area from the field for the remainder of the game.
  3. Managers are responsible for the conduct of their players and fans.
  4. Team managers are the only ones permitted to communicate with the umpire in question or discussion pertaining to a rule or the call made by the umpire.
  5. If an assistant coach or parent/spectator argues a call they are subject to ejection.
  6. Ejected players must leave the playing field with their parent/legal guardian and leave the park area and remain in the parking lot for the remainder of the game. If the player is suspended for the rest of the day, they are required to leave the park in its entirety,

PITCHING LIMITATIONS

  1. 10u-12u = 6 innings in a day, and eight (8) in the tournament.
  2. 13u-14u = 7 innings in a day, and eight (8) in the tournament.
  3. The player that pitches more than three (3) innings in one day, MUST rest the next day.

PITCHING

  1. Once a player is established on the official line up card or announced during a pitching change, that is considered a full inning regardless of how many outs recorded, or pitches thrown.
    1. Violation of this rule will result in the pitcher being removed from the mound as a pitcher.
    2. The manager will be ejected from the game and cannot participate in the next scheduled game.
    3. If a team violates this rule a second time in a tournament, that game will be forfeited.
    4. Scorecards that are signed by each manager at the end of the game will also be used to determine pitching infractions.
    5. Manager: make sure when you sign that the score and pitching is correct.
    6. Teams must monitor the opponents pitching and report any violations to the tournament site official.
    7. Once a pitcher is removed from the mound, that pitcher may not pitch again in that game.
  2. All other pitching rules (balks, trips to the mound, etc. are played under Official Baseball Rules (OBR). EXCEPTION:  There is no pitch clock utilized.  There is no pitch count.
  3. Intentional Walks: Defensive coach announces to the home plate umpire the desire to intentionally walk the batter.  There are no pitches thrown.

FIELD DIMENSIONS

BATTING ORDER OPTIONS

(All Age Divisions)

  1. Bat nine (9).
  2. Bat ten (10) players using the Extra Hitter (EH). The EH is considered a defensive player and is permitted to switch in and out defensively.
  3. Bat entire roster (Saturday only) – Free defensive substitution.
    1. If a player gets injured or ejected from the game that spot in the batting order is an automatic out.
  4. Starters may return to the game but must re-enter in the same spot in the batting order.
  5. A team may start a game with 8 players, but when the 9th spot in the order comes up to bat, it is an automatic out. The 9th spot in the batting order can be added at anytime during the game without penalty.

BAT REGULATIONS

  1. USSSA stamp; Wood, and USA Bat stamp permitted in 10U-12U.
  2. 13U must use minimum USSSA -8 OR USA Stamp -8; BBCOR or Wood
  3. 14U must use either BBCOR or Wood.
  4. Teams playing up in age must use bats for that age division that they are playing in.

ILLEGAL BAT PENALTIES

  1. If an illegal bat is discovered after a fair batted ball and before the next pitch legal/illegal or play, the offended coach has the option of selecting the outcome of the play or the penalty.
    1. If the offended coach chooses the penalty, then the bat is out, the bat removed, and all runners return to the base legally occupied at the time of the pitch.
    2. In the event of a second infraction, then the manager is ejected, and the offended coach gets to choose the outcome of the play of the penalty again as stated.
      1. NOTE: There shall be no penalty for discovery of an illegal bat until a fair batted ball occurs.
      2. If an illegal bat is discovered during the at-bat, the bat is removed from the game.

FORCE PLAY SLIDE RULE

  1. A runner may slide in any direction away from the field to avoid making contact or altering the play of the field. Runners are never required to slide, but if a runner elects to slide, the slide must be legal.
  2. If contact is made on either side of the bag or beyond the bag, the play is immediately dead. The runner is out, interference is called, the batter-runner is also called out.

COLLISSION RULE AT HOME PLATE

  1. If a defensive player has the ball in had ready to make a tag, the offensive player must apply one of the following:
    1. Properly slide into the base.
    2. Go around the defensive player.
    3. Give yourself up.
    4. Return to the base from where the runner came from.
  2. Malicious contact is a judgment call by the umpire. If a player is called out for malicious contact, the player is ejected from that game.  Suspension from further games will be determined by the Site Tournament official and the umpire report.

GAME LENGTH

  1. Pool Play:
    1. 10U-12U will play six (6) innings with no new inning after 1:45
    2. 13U-14U will play seven (7) innings with no new inning after 2:00
    3. Once an inning starts, the inning must be completed.
    4. No extra innings during pool play.
  2. Bracket round:
    1. Championship Gold Games:
      1. 10U-12U = 2:00
      2. 13U-14U = 2:15
  1. Medal Round Games:
    1. Will utilize the pool play time limit length of game.
  2. TIE GAMES (Extra Innings):
    1. All bracket rounds and championship games must have a winner.
    2. Each team will put the last batted out at second base to start the extra inning. This process will be used until a winner is determined.

RUN RULES

  1. 15 runs or more after 3 innings. (All age divisions)
  2. 12 runs or more after 4 innings (all age divisions)
  3. 8 or more runs after 4 innings in 6 inning games (10U-11U-12U)
  4. 8 or more runs after 5 innings in 7 inning games (13U-14U)

HOME TEAM

  1. The Home team for pool play will be determined by a coin toss and will be required to be the game’s official scorebook with ALL changes going through the home plate umpire.
  2. Bracket round Play: The higher seed is the home team.
  3. Dugouts are not assigned; the first team to arrive has a choice.

LINE UP CARD

  1. The team line up card is required to have every player listed that includes uniform number.
  2. The starters must have their position that they are playing identified on the lineup card.

SUBSTITUTION

  1. If a team elects to use continuous batting order (Saturday) there is free defensive substitution.
  2. Sunday bracket round:
    1. Starter may be removed from a game and return in the same spot in the batting order. If the starter is removed a second time in the game, the starter is no longer eligible to play in the remainder of that game.
    2. The substitute that is removed from the game is no longer eligible to play in the remainder of that game.

COURTESY RUNNER

  1. Courtesy runner is permitted for the pitcher or catcher at any time.
  2. The courtesy runner cannot be a player who is or was in the game, even if they are a starter with re-entry remaining.
  3. If the team has no eligible substitutes remaining, then the last batted out is permitted to be used as a courtesy runner.
  4. The same runner cannot run for both the pitcher and catcher in the same innings.

MISSED BASES

  1. Missed bases by runner(s) requires appeal play by the defensive team prior to the next pitch or play. Once a pitch or play is made, there can no longer be an appeal about a missed base.

PRE-GAME PLATE MEETING

  1. The coach that comes to the pre-game plate meeting with the umpires and opposing team coach, is the only authorized team coach that during the game can discuss or question calls made by the umpires.
  2. Exchange line up cards; Review ground rules.
  3. Ensure that all players are properly equipped.

BASEBALLS

  1. The tournament provides the game baseballs. The site tournament official will give the game baseballs to the umpires prior to each game.
  2. Teams are responsible for chasing down balls hit out of play on their side of the field and returning the ball back to the field of play.
  3. If additional baseballs are needed during a game, each team will take turns providing a good condition baseball to the umpires.
  4. Players chasing down balls hit out of play that remain on the field, must be wearing a batting helmet.

SAFETY

  1. Catchers are required to wear a full wrap around helmet that protects the ears and the back of the head and a mask. Skull caps are NOT permitted.
  2. Batters/Runners must wear double ear flap helmets.
  3. Players in the role of base coach must wear a double ear flap helmet.
  4. Only one on-deck batter is permitted.
  5. On-deck batter must wear batting helmet while waiting to bat.
  6. Players chasing down balls hit out of play that remain on the field must wear a batting helmet.
  7. If pitchers need to warm up on the side during the game, a player wearing a batting helmet is required to stand in front of the pitcher watching the field for any batted balls that may come in the area of the pitcher warming up.
  8. The umpires have the authority to remove from the game any helmet that has cracks, tape, missing pads. Team stickers/logos are permitted.
  9. The umpires have the authority to remove any piece of equipment from the game that is deemed unsafe.
  10. There are to be no buckets, chairs, etc. outside of the dugout during the game.
  11. Players warming up pitchers either in between innings at home plate or on the side, must wear a catcher mask. Coaches warming pitchers are not required to wear a mask.
  12. Metal cleats are permitted for the 13U and 14U divisions.
  13. Metal cleats are NOT permitted on portable pitching mounds.
  14. Players that are injured and wearing a cast are not permitted to play in any game. Player wearing a cast may act as a base coach.
  15. Teams are to have their own First Aid Kit and ice. Concession stands will not be handing out these items.

OFFICIAL GAMES

  1. A complete game during inclement weather or light failure is:
    1. 6 inning game = 3 innings or 2.5 innings if the home team is ahead.
    2. 7 inning game = 4 innings or 3.5 innings if the home team is ahead.
    3. If the games do not reach their required regulation, the game will resume from the spot the game was suspended.

POST GAME

  1. After each game, the umpires will bring the game score/pitcher card to the site tournament director.
  2. It is the responsibility of both team managers to go to the tournament director areas.
  3. Teams are responsible for picking and disposing of all trash and debris generated during the game before they leave the dugout.

PROTESTS

  1. Only protests on book rulings is permitted. Judgment calls by the umpires are not grounds for a protest.
  2. A protest must be filed by the offending coach to the home plate umpire prior to the next pitch or play. No protest will be honored after a pitch or play is made.
  3. The protesting coach will be responsible for:
    1. Identifying the rule that is being protested. Do not bring out the rule book—if rule book is brought out, the umpire will eject the coach bringing out the rule book.
    2. Pay the site tournament official $50.
  4. The tournament director and home plate umpire will review the protest and make a final decision. If the protest is upheld, then the protesting coach will receive back the $50 filing fee.  If the protest is denied, the protesting coach will lose the $50 filing fee.
  5. Once a decision is determined, there cannot be any further protests or discussion.

VIDEO RECORDING

  1. The use of video to review judgment calls by the umpire is prohibited.
  2. If a coach tells the umpire we have a “video” to review the play, the umpire has the authority eject the coach from the game.
  3. Team personnel (players/coaches) that are playing are not permitted to sit behind home plate during the game to video record or use radar guns.

REFUND POLICIES

In the event the tournament is cancelled by weather or any other unpreventable occurrence, every effort will be made to complete the tournament.  Schedules may be changed, games may be shortened, and a two (2) day tournament may become a one (1) day tournament.

All paid teams requesting a refund outside of the 30-day policy will incur a $25 Administration Fee for a 1-day tournament, $50 Administration fee for a 2-day tournament, and $75 administration fee for a three (3) day tournament.

The administration fees are applied towards another current season tournament.

No refund if requested within 30 days prior to an event.

Rainout/inclement weather policy:

No admission gate refunds, nor rain checks, at any time. Advise your players and fans, if play is in doubt to inclement weather or rain, to wait until play begins to enter the park.

FORFEITS

Will be scored on the online scheduling system as a forfeit without a score giving the opposite team simply a win, but **teams that been assigned a forfeit loss will be placed as the lowest seed in their tier team group.

SUSPENDED/COMPLETE OFFICIAL GAMES

Six (6) inning game = 3 innings or 2.5 if the home team is ahead.

Seven (7) inning game = 4 innings or 3.5 if the home team is ahead.

Game not reaching the official innings required, the game will resume from when the game was suspended.

ADMISSION GATE FEES

Parks will have an admission gate fee.  Check Park policies for admission fees.