Central MS USSSA Baseball

Central MS USSSA Official Baseball Tournament Rules

TEAM INSURANCE:
1. All teams are required to provide proof of team insurance. A copy of the teams’ certificate of insurance must be provided at the team check-in prior to a team’s participation in any tournament event.

PROOF OF AGE:
1. It is the Head Coaches responsibility to have his players proof of age in his possession and be able to produce on demand his players’ birth certificates or legally accepted proof of age in the case of any question regarding the age of his players.

GAME TIME LIMITS: **Central MS USSSA Reserves the right to modify Game Times as needed.

Age / Division	Time Limit	Game Length
5-8	1:00	6
9-12	1:30	6
13-14	1:40	7

REFUNDS:
1. Full refund if no games have begun. $50 per team fee once a team has begun play.
2. 1/3 of registration fee per game not played less $50 fee.
3. If points are awarded in an age division, teams not playing 3 games will receive a $50.00 refund or credit. ($25.00 for Coach Pitch Teams)
4. No refunds after 3 games are completed.
5. No gate refunds or rain checks at any time. Tell your players and fans, if play is in doubt due to inclement weather or rain, to wait until play begins to enter park.
6. No refund for a team that forfeits for any reason.

In the event of a rainout, the policy to determine the order of finish of the tournament will be based on the following:
1. Rainout during / after completion of pool play
  1. The tournament order of finish will be set by the tournament tie breakers listed in the DIVISIONAL / POOL PLAY TIE BREAKERS below. Two complete rounds must be completed in order to establish a tournament order of finish.
1. Rainout after completion of Championship Semifinal Games
  1. The completed game will be recorded and the winner of the completed game will advance.

PITCHING LIMITS:
1. Will be governed strictly by the USSSA Rule Book.

RUN RULES:
1. Will be governed strictly by the USSSA Rule Book.

HOME TEAM:
1. Will be determined by coin toss. Home team scorekeeper will be the official score keeper and must record starting time in scorebook.

GAME TIE BREAKERS:
1. In Pool Play, if all regulation innings have been played or the imposed time limit has expired and the score is tied, the game shall be considered complete and will end in a tie.
2. In Bracket Play, if all regulation innings have been played or the imposed time limit has expired and the score is tied, the game shall continue using the Extra Innings guideline below. The following applies to all age divisions EXCLUDING the 6, 7 and 8 year old coach pitch divisions.
  
  Extra Innings will be governed by the following:
  1. Each team will have the opportunity to bat with NO outs.
  2. The bases will be "loaded" with the 3 batter in front of the proper bateer in the lineup being placed on 1^stbase, 2^ndbase and 3^rd base respectively as if they had been "walked". EXAMPLE: If the proper batter is the 6^th batter in the lineup, the 5^th batter in the lineup would be placed on first base, the 4^th batter would be placed on second base and the 3^rd batter would be placed on third base.
  3. Each team will bat until 3 outs are recorded. At the end of the complete extra inning, the team with the most runs will be declared the winner. If the game is still tied, the extra innings with the prior stipulations will continue until a winner has been declared.
  4. All substitution and courtesy runner rules remain in force. For teams using a continuous lineup, the courtesy runner would be the 4^th batter in the lineup prior to the proper batter until an out is recorded in the inning.
  5. For the purposes of the divisional pool play tie breakers and the order of finish, all runs scored and all runs allowed will NOT be recorded for the extra innings played.
  - EXCEPTIONS: District, State, Regional and World Series individual game tie breakers will be governed by the sanctioning host tournament guidelines / rules.

DIVISIONAL / POOL PLAY TIE BREAKERS:
1. At the end of divisional pool play teams may be tied going into the final championship rounds with the same won/loss record. The following tiebreakers will determine which team advances and in what order of finish.
  1. Head to head competition
  2. Fewest runs allowed in all games
  3. Run Differential (Runs scored minus Runs allowed)
  4. USSSA ranking points
  5. Coin Toss

EXCEPTIONS: District, State, Regional and World Series divisional / pool play tie breakers will be governed by the sanctioning host tournament guidelines / rules.

In the Event of a Forfeit in Divisional / Pool Play, the non-forfeiting teams will be credited with a 1 run differential victory. The runs allowed in the forfeited game will be the average of runs allowed by the non-forfeiting team an all games actually played. EXAMPLE: Team A gets a forfeit win from Team B. Team A has allowed a total of 10 runs in their other games. Therefore, the average runs allowed by Team A would be 5 runs. The credited score for their forfeit win against Team B would be 6-5.

Any team due to the unsportsmanlike conduct of any of the coaches or fans which result in the forfeit of a pool game for that team OR the conceding of a pool game to reduce the # of runs allowed will result in that team not being eligible to advance to the Championship rounds.

In the Event of a Forfeit in Divisional / Pool Play:
1. The non-forfeiting teams will be credited with a 1 run differential victory. The runs allowed in the forfeited game will be the average of runs allowed by the non-forfeiting team in all pool play games actually played.

LINE-UP CARDS:
1. Each manager must prepare a minimum of 3 written copies of his line-up, listing first and last names and numbers of all players and substitutes prior to each game. Line-ups must be provided to the plate umpire and opposing manager. A game shall not start until this is completed. Managers are responsible for providing their own line-up cards.

PREGAME WARMUP:
1. All team pre-game warm-ups will only be allowed in designated warm up areas, or in the outfield of a ball field, no pre-game practice on any mounds or plates. Absolutely No Soft Toss (including plastic balls) allowed into any fencing within complex.

GAME BALLS:
1. Game Balls will be provided (with limitations) for all events.

AWARDS:
1. Awards will vary depending on the tournament event. However, individual awards will always be presented to all players of the top two finishing teams. Team awards will vary by tournament.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT ALTERATIONS:
1. Central MS USSSA reserves the right to alter, change or abbreviate tournament formats, when necessary, in order to complete the tournament.

GATE ADMISSIONS:
1. All events will have an admission charge for all persons age 8 or over. Three coaches per team and players will always be admitted free. Gate fees will vary depending on event (i.e., State Championships, World Series).

PETS:
1. No Pets Allowed.

FOOD / BEVERAGES:
1. NO outside food or beverages are allowed to be brought into the ballpark. ABSOLUTELY NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ALLOWED. Teams are allowed to bring their own circular (5 or 10 gallon) Cooler with pre-mix sports drink. Individual bottled water or bottled sports drinks are NOT allowed. NO CHEST COOLERS ALLOWED.
2. Coaches, please help us to prevent an embarrassing situation at the gates by informing your team’s parents of this policy. We do allow small personal coolers for towels and “Florida” Water (Mixture of Ammonia Spirits, Ice and Water) to help keep the PLAYERS cool during their game that MUST be kept in the dugout. HOWEVER, our gate workers will ask to inspect the coolers for any outside food or drink. NO CHEST COOLERS of any kind will be allowed into the park.

TOBACCO:
1. Use of tobacco products is prohibited on all fields and in the dugouts during games. No smoking is allowed.