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GENERAL RULES
Play consists of 10 players per side. The breakdown is 6 men and 4 women in the field at one time. Teams may play a legal game with 8
players (6 men/2 women). Teams may not play with more than 6 men at one time and no less than 2 women to be considered a legal game.
(THERE ARE NO POSITION REQUIREMENTS of any players, i.e. there need not be 2 females in outfield and 2 in the infield).
Games will be played on a regulation softball diamond. The pitcher and fielders must stay behind the pitchers mound until the ball is kicked.
The catcher or kicker are NOT allowed to cross home plate until the ball is contacted. The catcher must stay at least 4 feet behind the kicker.
The kicker may not kick the ball beyond home plate. If the kicker does contact the ball in front of home plate it will be considered a foul.
All games are seven innings or one hour (warm up time included); the last inning will start 10 - 15 minutes to the hour. The ump will enforce
this rule and will make the call at the top of the final inning. Note: Due to differing circumstances in each and every game, some games will
finish short on an hour in length, while others might run over the hour mark. Please respect your ump’s call in this matter. He/she must keep
all games on time in fairness to teams playing later hours and due to facility permit restrictions.
There will be a 7 run limit per inning during innings 1-4. (Exception : unlimited runs may be scored if one of the innings 1-4 is declared the
final inning of the game.) Unlimited runs may be scored in innings 5, 6,and 7, or in any extra innings.
5 innings will be considered a complete game. If a game is called due to any circumstance (weather, darkness, etc, and LESS than 5 innings
have been played, the game will be restarted from the beginning. If a game is called due to any circumstance (weather, darkness, etc) and 5
complete innings have been played, then the game will be considered a complete game and the final score will revert back to the last full
inning played, unless the home team is batting and winning when the lights go out. If the game was tied at the bottom of the last full inning
played, then the game will end in a tie unless it is the play offs, then the entire game will be re-played on a later date.
EQUIPMENT
All players are required to wear SoCo Sports jerseys at every game for the entire season, no exceptions
All games will be played with a 10" rubber kickball and on a regulation size softball field (60' bases).
Players may wear shorts and are allowed to wear cleats. However, NO METAL SPIKES ARE ALLOWED.
Any equipment in question should be brought to the attention of the umpire. The umpire will make all final decisions with regard to equipment
discrepancies.
FACILITIES / ALCOHOL
We rent the fields from Sarasota County Parks and Recreation. Any issues regarding the fields should be submitted to SoCo Sports.
Only one player will be allowed outside of the dugout while batting. All other players besides the on deck batter must remain in the dugout.
Alcohol is allowed at Sarasota County Parks for participants that are at least 21 years old. No glass bottles please.
Alcohol is NOT allowed on the playing field at anytime during the game.
CO-ED RULES & TEAM SIZE
Teams may bat more than ten players; however, these teams must bat the same ratio (3 to 2) of fielding men and women, unless their
opponent allows it. If only 2 women are present at game time, each woman must bat twice in the first 10 batters. If a team has less than the
minimum required number of players it is up to the opponent and/or umpire as to what is allowable. In situations where additional players
wish to bat, the line up must come as close to a 3 to 2 ratio as possible, even if some women need to bat twice in the rotation. ***Men
CANNOT bat twice in the lineup to achieve a 3-2 ratio if a team plays with more women than men. Prior to game time, ask your ump for a
score sheet, line ups must be given to the ump for every game.
Sample Batting Lineups for various rosters
8 Players = 6 men 2 women (both batting twice)
9 Players = 6 men 3 women (1 batting twice)
10 Players = 6 men 4 women (at least one girl bats twice if less than 4 women present)
11 Players = 7 men 4 women (at least one girl bats twice if less than 4 women present)
13 Players = 8 men 5 women (1 out of 4 batting twice if needed)
15 Players = 9 men 6 women (2 out of 4 batting twice if needed)
OFFENSE
All batters start with a 1-1 count and are allowed one courtesy foul. A batter will be called out on the second foul ball. 4 balls equals a walk.
The “strike zone” extends to 1 foot on either side of home plate, and 1 foot high. A batter is only allowed one 'strike.' If a batter does not make
an attempt on the second 'strike', then he/she will be called out. All kicks must be made by foot and must occur at or behind home plate. If the
kick is made beyond home plate, it will be called a foul ball. Bunting is allowed but double hits will be called a foul and the ball must be
kicked beyond home plate. Any ball that stops or is picked up on home plate will be called a foul ball.
All players in the field must be listed in the batting order. There are no designated hitters allowed. Any attempt at doing so must be brought to
the attention of the umpire prior to game time and can only be deemed allowable by the opposing captain. There are no guy-girl batting order
rules other than the 3 to 2 ratios.
If a male is walked, and a female follows him in the batting order, the female has the choice to take a walk or bat.
Umps will enforce this rule upon request; however, they will not be responsible for notifying the batter in each walk situation.
No lead-offs or stealing, runners can leave the base once the ball kicked by the batter. If a runner leaves early, the ball is dead and the runner
is declared out. If this is the 3rd out of the inning the batter will be first up in the next inning.
Players are considered out by one of the following means: (1) Striking out, (2) A fly ball caught by the defense, (3) A throw out at one of the lead
bases, (4) The runner being tagged by the ball, (5) Infield fly rule (6) A foul out, or (7) A runner being struck by a thrown ball below the head
while attempting to advance or return to a base.
Base runner to defensive player contact will be closely watched by the ump. Any excessive contact or collision will result in an “out” and/or
ejection. This includes contact with the catcher. Sliding is allowed. Any sliding into a base to break up a double play, or any intentional (in the
eyes of the monitor) interference with the defensive player, the runner and the batter will be called out.
DEFENSE
Pitches must be rolled towards home plate. Pitches may not be bounced, only rolled towards the kicker. Pitches that bounce more than one
foot above the ground will be considered an illegal pitch, and thus deemed a ball. Pitches must be rolled at a reasonable pace, not extremely
fast or extremely slow. The umpire will monitor this rule and will call a 'ball' if the pitch is too fast or too slow to keep both teams equal. Any
foul ball caught in the air is an out. If a foul ball is dropped in foul territory, it remains as a foul ball.
Hitting a runner with a thrown ball above shoulder level is not allowed. Any runner hit above the shoulders is considered safe and will be
awarded an additional base. Players may be hit anywhere below the shoulders with a thrown ball and will be considered out. Defensive
players may not kick the ball at a runner to make an out. If a defensive player kicks the ball and hits a runner, the runner will be safe and will
be awarded an additional base. If the runner intentionally uses their head to block the ball, the runner will be called out.
As soon as a runner is struck with the ball, it is a dead ball and any other base runners must stop at the base they were approaching except
for home plate. If a runner is approaching home plate when another runner is struck with a ball, the defense reserves the right to make a play
on the runner approaching home plate. All other runners must stop at the base they were approaching during this play and may not progress
to another base while the defense is making a play on the runner approaching home.
Defensive players may kick the ball to another defensive player to make an out. The ball must be kicked to another defensive player without
making contact with a runner. The defensive player receiving a kicked ball from another defensive player must then throw the ball at the
runner, tag the runner with the ball, or step on a base holding the ball for a force out.
First basemen must have a foot on first base (not the safety bag) in order to make an out. The runner will be safe if the first baseman does
not touch first base before the runner.
All outfielders must remain behind the grass “outfield line” when a female is up to bat. If the “line” is not clearly marked it us up to the umpire’s
discretion if an outfielder is too close to the infield. There cannot be more than 7 players on the infield at any one time. Once contact has been
made the outfielders may cross the line. If an outfielder crosses the line before contact has been made the female may be awarded first
base.
All thrown balls are deemed out of play when:
• The ball is thrown over the fence
• The ball is thrown beyond the fence
• The ball is thrown beyond the imaginary line extending from the end of the backstop (if there is no fence).
• This imaginary line applies to overthrows and caught fly foul balls.
• If the ball is overthrown and hits the fence behind the 1st or 3rd base lines, this is NOT considered out of play and the runner may
advance, BUT at his/her own risk.
On overthrows out of play, the runner is granted the base he/she is going to (at the point of the throw) plus
one more. Note: in cases where a base runner runs past first base, he/she must make a clearly aggressive turn towards second base to be
granted 2nd and 3rd in overthrow situations.
On an infield fly (any ball kicked within the infield with significant arc and deemed an “easy catch”) with less than 2 outs and runners on 1st
and 2nd or 1st, 2nd and 3rd, the batter is automatically out and runners can advance, BUT at their own risk.
MERCY RULES
Game mercy rule: 10 runs after five complete innings.
NEW RULE ***Inning run limit rule: There will be a 7 run limit per inning through innings 1-4. (Exception: unlimited runs may be scored if one
of the innings 1-4 is declared the final inning of the game.) Unlimited runs may be scored in innings 5, 6, and 7 always, unless the game is
ended by the 10run mercy rule.
FORFEITS
Teams will have until 10 minutes past the designated start time to field a legal team. Teams may pick up players during the regular season in
order to field a legal team. Substitutes will not be allowed during playoffs. If a team forfeits a match, the opponent will get the win and 7 runs.
If your team forfeits a match during the season, the following rules apply:
First Offense: Loss of the match and warning issued.
Second Offense: Loss of the match and staff reserves the right to remove team from playoffs.
Third Offense: Loss of the match and removal from the league.
SPORTSMANSHIP
At SoCo Sports, we facilitate fun! We hope that all participants keep that in mind when becoming involved in our leagues and social events.
Although the games may become intense, you still can be competitive while maintaining good sportsmanship. With this said, any behavior
deemed unacceptable by SoCo Sports staff may result in suspension and/or ejection from a game or the league. Any player that gets ejected
from a game is welcome to come back the next week to play. However, if that player is ejected a second time (at any point during the
season), he/she will be removed from the league and will no longer be allowed to participate with SoCo Sports, no exceptions. SoCo Sports
reserves the right to remove a player or team from the league after just one incident depending on the severity of the situation.
UMPS
An umpire will be provided by SoCo Sports to supervise the game. It will be the umpire’s responsibility to coordinate and run the games,
which include the following tasks:
• Starting games on time.
• Calling outs, making final calls on any disputed balls or strikes.
• Settling all disputes or disputed calls.
It is understood that umps will assist in the tracking of the score (i.e. Announcing it between innings) and assist in any discrepancies with
regards to the coed line-up ratios. However, it is the responsibility of both teams to maintain their respective line-ups and scores each inning.
SCHEDULE/STANDINGS
League Schedule and Standings will be posted on-line throughout the season.
ROSTERS / SUBSTITUTES
All rosters must be finalized by your first game. Only players on the final roster (by the first game) will be eligible for the playoffs. During
regular season ONLY, teams are allowed to use substitutes if they cannot field a full and legal team. Teams can use no more than 4 subs
(non roster players) per game in order for the game to be legal. If a team uses more than 4 subs (non roster players) the game can be played
but will result in a forfeit win for the other team. Teams are encouraged to use the SoCo Sub Program to find eligible sub(s) for their game if
they do not have enough players to field a full and legal team. All rosters must be finalized by the second game of the regular season. Players
added after the second game will NOT be on the final roster and therefore will NOT be eligible for playoffs. Maximum roster size is 15.
PLAYOFFS
All eligible teams make the playoffs (teams that have not abused any policies are eligible). In certain situations and depending on the number
of teams in the league, some teams at or near the bottom of the standings may not advance to the playoffs. Playoffs are single elimination.
Depending on schedule and facility constraints, some teams may need to play more than one playoff match per day.
RANKING
Teams are ranked according to winning percentage and a points system. If two teams have the same win-loss record, then the team that has
scored the most points over their opponents (point difference) will be ranked higher in the playoffs. If two teams have the exact same record
and points, then the team that won during head to head play will be ranked higher. If head to head play resulted in a tie, then we will use a
coin flip to rank the teams for playoffs.
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