12U & Under Rules of Play
Game Play:
A.) Any team not ready to play at official game time will forfeit the game. No game may start more than thirty minutes prior to its scheduled time, unless arranged by the site director. Teams consist of nine (9) defensive players. A team may start and play the game with eight (8) players, however the ninth (9) player is considered an out each and every time his/her spot comes to bat in the line-up. No team may add a player to their line up once the official score card has been turned in to the umpire in chief. Any errors to the scorecard "MUST” be addressed prior to turning it into the umpire in chief. It becomes an “official game card” once it has been handed to the umpire in chief.
B.) Home team will be determined by a coin flip in pool play and higher seeds in bracket play. Coin flips will also be used to determine home team in all championships games.
A.) Complete games consist of six (6) innings or a game time limit of one hour and forty-five minutes (1:45), whichever comes first.
B.) Pool play games can end in a tie.
C.) Elimination games must be played out until there is winner.
D.) In the event that an elimination game is tied after six (6) innings or the allotted time of one hour and forty-five minutes (1:45) has expired, the “International Tie Breaker” will be put into play. This will put the last out of the previous inning on second base with no outs and play will continue until a team has prevailed.
E.) All championship games will have a time limit of two hours and fifteen minutes (2:15).
F.) Official games must consist of three complete innings, unless the home team is ahead going into the bottom of the third inning, in which case the home team will not need to bat and the game is official.
SUSPENDED / REGULATION GAMES POLICY
Games that do not make it to regulation (3 complete innings for a 6 inning game or 4 complete innings for a 7 inning game) due to weather / darkness will be considered a suspended game and will be resumed (if possible) from the point of suspension at the earliest time available. If there is not enough time to resume a suspended game, it will be considered complete and official at the end of the last complete inning. Below are some further points to help illustrate this policy:
Pool play / Consolation games:
If a game is suspended prior to being official and there is not enough time to resume – the game would be considered complete at the end of the last complete inning. If tied at the end of the last complete inning – the game would stand as a tie.
Elimination games:
A) If one inning hasn’t been completed and the game is suspended and there is not enough time to resume - the higher seed would advance to the next round.
B) If tied at the end of the last complete inning – the higher seed would advance
C) If tied at the end of the last complete inning and the two teams are the same seed from different divisions entering the game – we would revert back to the tie-breaking system in place
D) If the championship game starts and is not able to complete due to weather/darkness and there is no time to resume – the game would be considered official at the end of the last complete inning.
E) If tied at the end of the last complete inning – the higher seed will be named champions.
Protests:
A.) All protests must be raised verbally by the offended team manager at the time of play and before the next pitch.
B.) A fee of $100.00 in cash (refunded if protest is upheld) must accompany the protest and be remitted to the tournament director. Only then will the official game clock will be stopped.
C.) All protest decisions are final. The Site director and Tournament Director shall comprise the protest committee for all rule challenges.
D.) Should the protest be upheld, the fee will be returned to the protesting team manager and play will resume.
E.) Only decisions involving the misinterpretation or misapplication of a rule may be protested. No protests shall be allowed in situations involving the “judgement of an umpire”.
Coaching:
A.) The area directly in front of each dugout will be considered the "coaches area". This area will run the length of the dugout and extend five feet out towards the playing field. Each team may have one manager and one coach in this area during the game. (Some fields do not allow buckets on the field so if your at such a location please respect that parks rules and either stand outside or go into the dugout to sit).
B.) No coach or manager may walk/down the foul line to coach or manage a player(s).
C.) Umpires will have the final "judgement" on awarding or taking away bases should a live ball come into contact with either a coach or any foreign objects that are brought onto the field, such as buckets, folding chairs or stools.
D.) Each team may have a total of "four" (4) coaches in their dugout during a game. You may have three coaches and a scorekeeper but not more than four in total.
**Please note that COACHES or PLAYERS may not call “time-out”, they may only ask and the umpire at his discretion may call an official time out.
Ejection Rule:
Any player or coach ejected from any game will have to leave the park, and may only return for their next scheduled game. If a manager or coach, they shall have no further involvement in coaching the game either in person or by electronic means. They may not return to that field even after the final out is recorded and the game is officially completed. Depending on the nature of the ejection, the Site Director and Tournament may extend the ejection for the next game or suspend them for the remainder of the tournament.
Run Rule:
8U, six (6) inning games: ten (10) runs after four (4) innings.
9U, 10U, 11U and 12U, six (6) inning games: eight (8) runs after five (5) innings, ten (10) runs after four (4) innings and twelve (12) runs after three (3) innings.
Metal Spikes:
Are not allowed in any division 12U and Under.
Contact Rule:
When a tag play is imminent, the runner must either slide or seek to avoid contact with the fielder or catcher. Runners advancing to a base standing up as to interfere with a throw may be put out for interference and the batter/runner may also be called out. Runners may dive over, around and under the defensive player in an attempt to reach the base or plate safely. "No excessive or malicious contact may be made".
Malicious or excessive contact: The runner will be called out and ejected from the game and depending on the severity of the play, he/she may also be suspended for the next game or disqualified from the remainder of the tournament.
Designated Hitter/Extra Hitter Rule:
Any team may use the DH rule for any player in their line-up. (Please see the MLB DH Rule 6.10 for detailed definition of the rule).
The “Extra Hitter or Extra Player” rule allows any team to bat ten (10), eleven (11), twelve (12) and so on…., the EH/EP is free to substitute for any of the nine (9) defensive players on the field at any time. The batting order does not change. Any team batting their roster affords them the ability to bat their entire roster and have “free substitutions” on defense. Should a player in the line-up be forced to leave the game for any reason and no legal substitutions are available, his/her spot will be an automatic out every time it comes up in the line-up.
Pitching Rule:
For all six (6) inning games, 12U and under, a pitcher cannot pitch more than twenty-seven (27) outs in a three-day tournament and no more than (18) outs in one day. Violation of this rule will result in the Manager and player being ejected out of the game. The game will resume. Once removed as a pitcher, they may not return to the pitchers position in the same game.
Please note, Pitchers may not wear on either hand; wrist bands, batting gloves and arm sleeves. Regardless of color or style.
Bat Regulations:
High school bat weight and length differential are waived for all 12 and under divisions. Approved bats are those which are clearly marked with the 1.15 BPF or BBCOR; wood bats are also approved for play.
Fake a Bunt:
Faking a bunt then taking a swing or a “butcher boy/slash play” is not permitted. Penalty: It is an immediate dead ball, regardless if contact is made or not. The batter is called out and all runners shall return to the base they occupied at the time of pitch.
Re-entry Rule:
Starters can re-enter only one (1) time in a game. Starters and substitutes are “married” to each other for the re-entry requirements.
Tie Games:
In the event that an elimination game is tied after six (6) innings or the allotted time of one hour and forty-five minutes (1:45) has expired, the “International Tie Breaker” will be put into play. This will put the last out of the previous inning on second base with no outs and play will continue until a team has prevailed.
Courtesy Runner Rule:
A courtesy runner may be used for the catcher or pitcher at any time. The courtesy runner must be a substitute not in the batting line-up. If no substitutes are available then the last recorded out will be used. The only exception is in the first inning where no outs have been recorded, in which case no courtesy runner may be used and the catcher/pitcher must run until an out is recorded by the defense.
Should a courtesy runner be on base when his/her at bat comes up, the offensive team may not replace the "courtesy runner" with another "courtesy runner" but rather his/her position in the lineup will be called out.
Should an illegal courtesy runner be used and the defensive team brings it to the umpires attention, no out shall be called but rather, the correct runner shall be inserted. This can be done anytime before the runner scores. Should the runner score and he/she is deemed an illegal runner, he/she will be called out and the run will not count. **This must be done before the next pitched ball**
Intentional Walk rule:
If an intentional walk is called, the pitcher will not have to throw four pitches outside the strike zone. Instead, the team's manager may signal and point the runner to first base. No players can make this call.
***IMPORTANT NOTE***: any rule or rules not specifically outlined within shall fall under the 2021 MLB rules and guidelines.