WAVERLY RURITAN CO-ED SOFTBALL LEAGUE

When:   Summer 2025

Where:   Wayne Harrell Field, Waverly Ruritan Club, 311 Bank Street Waverly VA 23890

Cost:      Registration fee is $40.00 per player

Teams:   Up to 18 players per team.  Maximum of 4 teams.

Summer Co-ed Softball League ByLaws/Rules  REV. May 2024

The goal of this league shall be:

1. To provide a casual, wholesome, and enjoyable recreational activity for all participants.
2. To develop character, skill, sportsmanship, leadership, and promote good will in our community
3. To support the Waverly Ruritan Club in providing baseball activities for our youth.
4. To determine a championship team in the league.

Effective Dates:  This set of rules/bylaws covers the Summer 2024 Adult Co-ed League season.  Coaches/team captains are responsible for making their players and spectators aware of these rules/bylaws.

Player Registration:

1. Eligible Player:  Any person age 18+.  Graduating high school seniors must provide written parental consent.
2. Players must register online at jotform.com.  A link will be provided.

 

Administrative Rules:

Waverly Ruritan will handle:

1. Game facility and scheduling.
2. Direct payment of umpires.
3. Custody of team rosters.
4. Authority to rule on player eligibility, rules, regulations.
5. Awards to league winners.

Team Registration:

1. There will be 4 teams .  Teams will be offered to returning teams first.
2. Players  must be registered by June 26, 2024.
3. All players must be fully registered and it is the responsibility of the head coach/captain to make his players aware of these rules/bylaws.
4. Teams must pick a team color.  Uniforms are not required, but something that coordinates the team is.

Rosters:

1. Maximum of 18 players per roster. Two non rostered persons (scorekeeper, non playing coach) allowed in dugout.
2. Rostered players are the only players that can be used for the championship game.
3. There is no residency rule.
4. If you have open spots on your roster, you can add players as the season goes on so long as they are not currently rostered on another team.  The new player must be an eligible player.
5. If a player wishes to switch teams, they must get a release from the head coach/captain of both their current team and their new team and presented to Waverly Ruritan.
6. If a player is found to be playing and is ineligible, the game is subject to forfeit and the team is subject to suspension or removal.
7. Players can be asked, and must provide, photo id upon request by Waverly Ruritan.
8. If a player is unable to play for the rest of the season, the head coach/captain can release the player to open up a roster spot for a substitute player.
9. Transfer players and substitute players are eligible for the championship game if they have been rostered for at least 50% of the teams games and played in 4 games.

Game Schedules:

1. Games will be played every Wednesday night from June 26 through August 21st.  This is 9 games, 3 versus each team.
2. The number of teams total will be 4. 
3. We will have up to 3 games per night.  Games start at 630pm, 730pm, and if needed for makeups 830 pm.
4. Games will be 55 minutes long or 7 innings.  No new inning after timer goes off.  Current inning will be finished IF the losing team can potentially still win.
5. Tie ball games after time and play has elapsed will be recorded a tie (except playoffs)
6. 10 minute grace period is allowed at start of game, comes off game time.
7. In playoffs/championship game, after 7 innings, ties will be broken with 1 pitch softball rules.
8. Makeup games/rainouts.  Each game night will have only 2 games scheduled.  Makeup games can occur in the third slot of any week.

Practices:

1. We do not offer guaranteed field access for practices.
2. You can coordinate on field practicing with Waverly Ruritan on a team by team basis.  Requests for field access should be made as early as possible.  Not every request can be accommodated.

Equipment:

1. Teams are to provide 2 game balls to the opposing teams pitcher each game.  They should be 12” softballs, optic yellow .52 COR 300 compression.
2. Teams will hit their own balls during games.  Teams are responsible for providing another softball whenever one becomes unusable or gets hits out of play (including homers). Please write your team name on your ball.
3. Teams are to provide their own bats.  They must be ASA or USA Softball stamped. 
4. Face masks may be used in the field or at bat.
5. No Metal Cleats allowed at all. Plastic or molded cleats are allowed and recommended.
6. Batting helmets for hitters and runners are not required, but strongly encouraged.
7. Catchers are recommended to wear face masks and chest protectors.
8. Pitchers are recommended to wear face masks and shin guards.
9. Players with casts of any type are not eligible to participate in that game.
10. Watches, rings, bracelets should be removed prior to games.

Field:

1. 1b dugout is the home dugout.  3b dugout is the away dugout.
2. Bases will be 60’ apart.
3. Pitching rubber will be 50’ from home plate.
4. There will be a screen made available for use between the pitcher and home plate.  The pitcher may position the screen within 1’ left or right of the pitching rubber, and up to 4’ in front or behind.  Screen position is for protection of pitcher, not for competitive placement vs hitters.  Use of screen is not required, but recommended.
5. The pitcher is allowed to field his position.
6. The batted balls that hit the screen are the same as foul balls.
7. Throws that hit the screen are dead balls and the runners advance to the next base. The pitcher can move/lay down the screen on throws to home from the outfield if he is able.
8. Outfielders are to play in the grass, not the dirt. 

 

Rules of Play:

1. Teams may start a game with as few as 6 players and up to 10 players in the field. With 10 players, 4 must be outfielders.
2. No more than 6 male players may be in the field.
3. Lineups consist of 9 hitters up to your entire roster.  Must have 1 female hitter for every 2 male hitters thoughout the lineup. 

1. Lineups will be as follows:
2. 1^st , 4^th, 7^th, 10^th, 13^th, 16^th batters must be female.  All other spots can be either male or female.
3. If you don’t have enough female batters to fill the female only spots, it will be an automatic out in that spot.

5. Late arriving players may take over an automatic out spot as long as they are m/m or f/f.
6. If a team loses a player for any reason during the game, and the team has no bench substitutes, the batting position becomes an out.  There will be no need to ‘reconfigure’ for m/f ratio.
7. 3-2 rule:  the count starts out as 1ball and 1strike.
8. Foul ball rule:  The second foul ball after the 2nd^t strike will be an out.
9. Re-Entry Rule:  Any starting player may be withdrawn from the batting lineup and re-entered ONCE in the same position in the batting order.  A substitute player may enter the lineup once and continue batting until removed.
10. Courtesy Runner:  One courtesy runner per sex per half inning may be used.  The player cannot be an ejected player.  Any other player (same sex) can be used.  Courtesy runners remain on base until the are put out or score or the inning ends.  Should the courtesy runners lineup spot come up while they are on base, their batting spot becomes an out.  Additional courtesy runners or none same sex runners allowed at opposing teams discretion.
11. There is no leading off or stealing bases.
12. There is no bunting.
13. Base on balls/Walks equals advancement to 1b.  Exception: 

1. if there are 2 outs and a male player is walked and a female batting slot (rule3b) is on deck, the male player is awarded 2b (base runners advance) and the female on deck has the option of hitting or accepting a walk to 1b prior to her first pitch. 
2. If there are 2 outs and the team is playing short handed such that there is an automatic out in the lineup, and a male player is walked ahead of the automatic female out, the male player is awarded 2^nd base and the base runners advance BEFORE the 3^rd out is recorded.

14. Home Run Limit:  There will be a 5 FIVE homerun limit per team per game.  All homers after 5 are to be recorded as ground rule doubles.  Homers are strictly defined as balls hit over the outfield fence without contact of a defender. 
15. Hitters and Runners do not have to touch all the bases on homeruns.
16. Pitching Arc:  slow pitch softball pitches must be between 6’ and 12’ high at the top of the arc. Illegal pitches are at the sole discretion of the umpire and will result in a ball being called.
17. Run Limits:  Each half inning for innings 1-5 will be limited to 7 runs.  Innings 6 and 7 are unlimited.
18. Slaughter Rule:  A 15 run lead after 4 innings (or 3.5 innings for home team) will result in a completed game.
19.  Only the head coach/captain may protest or argue a play/call on the field.  Other coaches, scorekeepers, players, spectators will not engage the umpire or the arguing person will risk removal, suspension, or banning.  The umpires call is final.

 

Championship Play:

1. The top two teams by record will play in a championship game on a date to be decided (tentatively August 26^th or 27^th).
2. The teams will be ranked first by win/loss record.  The top 2 teams will play for the championship.  In the event of a tie, the tiebreaker will be: 1.  Head to head win/loss record of tied teams, 2. Play in game ahead of championship game.  In case there is more than 2 tied teams for 2^nd place, then all three teams will toss a coin and the odd man is out.  If beyond that, the Waverly Ruritans will implement another standard.
3. Any playoff games, including tie breaker games, will be 7 innings with no time limit.  If the game is tied after 7 innings, the game proceeds to extra innings with no run limits and with 1 pitch rules. 
4. One Pitch:  each batter gets one pitch to put the ball in play.  If the pitch is a strike and player does not swing and miss, it is an out.  If the pitch is a ball and the player does not swing and miss, it is a walk.  If it is a foul ball, the player gets another pitch.  2^nd foul ball is an out.  Base on ball rules of regular season games apply regarding male batters ahead of female batters with 2 outs.  Home run limits still in effect.