MOMBALL Tournament Rules

 

Note:  There is NO ALCOHOL allowed inside Harry Ball field at any time!!!

 

Eligibility

 

1. All team rosters, individual player waivers, and fees are due at the final captains’ meeting prior to the start of the tournament.  All players, and any women who may be on the field or in the dugout, MUST sign an individual waiver form. Nobody will be able to play in the tournament, be on the field, or in a dugout, without having first signed a waiver.  

2. There is no penalty for not having 15 players for a game as long as a team has made the best effort to recruit a roster of 15 players.  The maximum amount of players that can be on a team is 25.  After that, captains would have to divide the team in two (evenly with regard to talent level) and the captains would have to split up and each captain a team. Next Division is at 51 players – 3 even teams of 17, then next division is at 76 – 4 even teams of 19. 

3. Only women will be allowed inside the field area or dugouts.  Men will not be allowed to coach bases or keep score inside the field.  Men may keep score outside the field area.

4. All players must be the parent of a child enrolled in a participating pre-school, elementary school, middle school or high school.  With regard to the Alumni team, players must have previously played on one of the public school teams at least once.  With regard to the Alumni GEMS team, players must have previously played for either GUS, Essex Tech, Montessori or Saints Academy (formerly St. John’s and St. Mary’s) at least once.  For women who may meet criteria for both, they may choose which Alumni team they would like play for. 

 

Pitching

 

1. The pitcher must deliver the pitch at a slow speed that will enable the batter to hit the ball.  No fast pitch (slingshot or windmill) windups or deliveries will be allowed.  Penalty for pitching infraction will be illegal pitch called by the umpire- ball on the batter, runners do not advance.  A batter owns the result of an illegal pitch if she swings at it.

2. All pitches must have a minimum 4’ arc to be legal.  Penalty for pitching infraction will be illegal pitch called by the umpire- ball on the batter, runners do not advance.  A batter owns the result of an illegal pitch if she swings at it.

3. There is no maximum number of innings for a pitcher per game.  Pitchers may be substituted into and out of the pitching position freely during a game.

4. The batter may not advance to first base on a third strike dropped by the catcher.

 

Batting/Running

 

1. Throwing the bat, at any time, is not allowed.  The umpire will issue only one warning for the first offense.  If the same player throws the bat again, she will be called out and removed from the game.

2. Bunting is not allowed.  Batters must take full swings.  No slash bunting is allowed.  Batters will be called out for violation of the bunting or slash bunt rule.

3. Stealing bases is not allowed.  Runners may only advance on batted balls or walks.

4. Leading from the bases is not allowed.  Runners may not leave the base until the ball is batted or crosses home plate.  The umpire will call the runner out as penalty for leaving the base early.

 

 

 

Safety

 

1. All runners must slide or give themselves up on a close play.  Runners must make every effort to avoid contact with a fielder in possession of the ball attempting to make a play.  Runners may not collide with a fielder while attempting to reach a base if the fielder is in the act of making a play.  A runner may be called out if they make contact with a fielder, even if the fielder does not make the play.

2. Fielders not involved in plays must stay out of the way of runners on bases.  Interference may be called if a runner collides with a fielder not involved in a play.

3. All batters and base runners must wear an ASA approved helmet.  Regulation helmets will be provided in each dugout for all games.  This is an ASA safety rule and exceptions cannot be made for any reason.

4. Cleats are highly recommended, not required (unless the field is significantly wet – at which time an announcement will be made alerting to the requirement). Metal cleats are NOT allowed at any time! 

5. No children are allowed in the dugouts or inside the field area at any time.  Children must be supervised at all times.

 

Game Play

 

1. Intentionally walking a batter is NOT consistent with the spirit of the Momball tournament and is strongly discouraged.

2. Advancing bases on a play in which a player gets injured (when time has not yet been called by the umpire) is NOT consistent with the spirit of the Momball tournament and is strongly discouraged.

3. A continuous batting order shall be used.  All roster players present must be included in the batting order.  Batting out-of-order is not allowed.  If a player is injured during the game, they may be removed from the order and the next person in the batting order shall bat.  If the injured player returns, they must re-enter the batting order in the same position.  Once the game has started, substitutions may not be made in the batting order.  Players arriving late may only be inserted into the end of the batting order, even if the team has already batted through the order.

4. Courtesy runners will be allowed for injured players only. The offensive team may only replace the runner with the last person to make an out in the batting order.

5. Free substitutions are allowed defensively but each player in the game must play at least 2 defensive innings, completed before the close of the 5th inning.  Violation of this regulation will result in a forfeit for the offending team.

6. The defensive team will use 10 players in the field.

7. All games will be played for 7 innings or 1.0 hours, whichever comes first.  The umpire shall declare the final inning of play when it is determined that the 1.0 hour time limit is approaching.  Once the umpire has declared the final inning, it will be played to completion.  EXCEPTION:  The tournament’s final game will be played a full 7 innings (or more, as needed) regardless of the time.  NOTE:  There is a 9:30pm curfew for Harry Ball field that must be observed for all games.

8. Every batter will start with a 1:1 count, there will be one courtesy foul before fouling out. 

9. The batting team may score a maximum of 6 runs during any inning, EXCEPT for the final inning (as mentioned above and determined by the umpire).  Once a team has scored 6 runs in an inning, their turn at bat will end and the teams will change positions.  EXCEPTION:  This 6-run rule will not be in effect for any inning in the final games of the tournament.

10. This is a double elimination tournament which means that all teams play until they lose two games.  EXCEPTION:  In the event of games cancelled due to inclement weather, the tournament may be changed to single elimination (at the discretion of the tournament coordinators) due to time constraints.

11. Tiebreaker Rule:  Each team will start its half of all extra innings with a runner on second base.  The last batter in the previous inning will be the runner that starts on second base.  All extra innings will be played with 3 outs per team and both teams batting each inning until a winner is determined.  EXCEPTION:  The tournament’s final games will not use this tiebreaker rule.  Regular play will continue in extra innings to determine the tournament champion.

       Unless absolutely necessary, umpires for any game shall have no affiliation with the teams playing that game.

12.  The infield fly rule will be used in all games (ASA book rule).