Baseball Bat Buying Guides BBCOR Bats Buying Guide Youth Big Barrel Bat Buying Guide Youth Bat Buying Guide Wood Bats Buying Guide Softball Bat Buying Guides Fastpitch Bat Buying Guide Slow Pitch Bat Buying Guide Sorry, all of our Customer Coaches are currentlyOur chat is online between the hours of 7:00am-10:00pm CDT Monday through Friday, and 9:00am-9:00pm CDT Saturday and 9:00am - 10:00pm CDT Sunday. our chat may still be temporarily offline duringPlease fill out the form below and we will call or email you as soon as one of our Customer Coaches becomes available.Frequently Asked Questions- Recreational Softball Q:  There are “Pacific Coast Region” eligibility rules, “Southern California” eligibility rules and the National Codes.   Which one has priority? A:  Eligibility rules start with the ASA National Codes. These are listed in the Official ASA Rule Book. The National rules that govern Championship Tournaments are very broad in scope.

Therefore the Pacific Coast Region clarifies these rules as they pertain to our region, which includes California, Nevada and Hawaii. Regional rules may not conflict with National Codes. Southern California, in turn clarifies Regional rules to better suit our situations. The Southern California rules may not conflict with Pacific Coast Regional Rules. It’s very similar to our Federal, State, and Local system of government. Q:  Can a player play on a “travel team” and then play on the All-Star team? A:  She can participate on both teams but must stop playing on the travel team prior to March 31st. At that time she must decide which one is most important to her and play either ‘A’ travel or ‘B’ or ‘C’ Rec All-Stars. Q:  How will Southern California ASA define “participate”? A:  As a player taking part in a practice, practice game, scheduled game, tournament or multiple tryouts for the same team.  A single tryout is not participation. However, multiple tryouts are participation.

Q:  If she has signed with an ASA travel team, (player agreement form) does she need to get a release from her travel team manager? A:  No: It’s her decision to make even if she has signed an agreement with the travel team (before March 31st).Lab Puppies For Sale In Western Pa Q:  What if she drops from her travel team prior to March 31st and then is not selected for the All-Star team?Buy Asa Rule Book A:  She can re-join and/or re-sign with the travel team (per ASA travel team rules).Lace Wedding Dress Sketches Q:  May a player participating on two teams in different recreational leagues be selected as an All-Star?however, she may only participate in one league as an All-Star player. Q:  Can an 11-year-old player who played with a 14 & under team during the league season be on the 12-Under All-Star Team?

A:  Yes, as long as she has not entered any ASA Championship Tournaments and meets all other eligibility requirements. Q:  Can an 11-year-old player who played on a 14-Under Travel Team be on the 12-Under All-Star Team? A:  Yes, as long as she has not participated on the Travel Team after the March 31st eligibility deadline date and has met all other eligibility requirements. Q:  Can a league team enter the Championship Tournament without the approval of the league board? Q:  Do these eligibility rules apply to any All-Star team or invitational tournaments? A:  No, these rules only apply to the All-Star team entering ASA Championship Tournaments, or tournaments sanctioned by ASA.  Invitational tournaments may use So Cal ASA eligibility rules.  Check with the Tournament Director. Q:  What is Championship Play? A:  Is a tournament or competition from which the winner or the winner and other selected teams may advance to higher levels of play in ASA tournaments. 

(See “Levels of Championship Play” in the ASA National Code). Q:  What are ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ teams? A:  ‘A’ is an independent travel team; ‘B’ and ‘C’ are recreation level league teams. Q:  Why can’t a player play in both ‘A’ and ‘B’/’C’ Championships? A:  It is not allowed by the national ASA Codes.  The ‘B’ and ‘C’ programs are based on the players who registered with your league for RECREATION.  Her primary goal is to have fun.  If her (or her parents) primary goal is to develop competitive softball skills (emphasis on competitive), she needs to be on a travel team.  ASA offers both programs but the player must decide which path she wants to follow this summer. Q:  Can our Southern California eligibility rules be changed? A:  Yes, they can be changed year to year. Keeping in mind that our rules cannot conflict with either the National or Regional rules, we encourage you to submit proposed changes in writing to your respective District Commissioner.

Changes will be announced at the League President’s annual meeting in November. The league will adopt Amateur Softball Association (ASA) rules unless otherwise noted below. Basic Rules of Play The home team (as indicated by the schedule) will prepare the field for play before each game. The HOME TEAM for the first game on a field is responsible for sending a team representative to evaluate the field. Click to view rainout procedures. Each team must use league-supplied softballs. All games have a 65 minute time limit or 7 innings. No new innings shall start after 65 minutes. (revised at the 4/10/2012 managers meeting) If after five innings, a team is ahead by 15 or more runs, the game will end once the home team has batted, unless the home team is the team that is ahead. (section 5-9 in the ASA handbook; p. 59) There is a five minute grace period after the game start time for a team to field a full team. (revised at the 4/6/2010 managers meeting)

There will be a 5-minute rest period between games that are past the scheduled start time of a game. At the discretion of the umpire in charge, this can be extended on days where heat is considered to be a safety factor. If a game is over more than 5-minutes ahead of the scheduled start time of the next game, that game may start early if the umpire and both managers are all in agreement. (revised at the 4/6/2010 manager’s meeting) A team must have at least nine players in order to take the field. Ten players are allowed with four outfielders. If a team starts with nine players, a tenth player may be added as long as the team has not completed its batting order for the first time. If a team starts with ten players, but loses one and must complete play with nine players, an automatic out will occur each time that batter would have been up. Two extra batters are allowed for each team. D Division: During regular season each eligible playing member of a team must play a minimum of two innings per game during a double header and at least one time at bat.

Ineligible players that are present must be reported to the umpire prior to the start of a game. Both teams are required to keep score. The home team’s score will be the official score. Only the manager or coach represents the team in all discussions with officials and the opposing team. The distance between all bases is 70 feet. The distance between the tip of home plate and the pitcher’s mound is 50 feet. (revised at the 4/14/2015 manager’s meeting) All pitches must have an arc of 6 to 12 feet from the point of release. Blood Rule: any visible sign of blood must be covered. If there is blood on a player’s jersey, he/she must change it. He/she will also be allowed to wear another player’s jersey or a jersey of the same color. Verbal abuse or swearing at the umpire or opposing players are grounds for ejection from the game. Alcohol and recreational drugs are not allowed at the fields or in the stands. Players are not permitted to play while intoxicated or under the influence of recreational drugs.

The SCSL uses the ASA rulebook in addition to the following: The batter must remain in the batter’s box until the ball passes the plate or is hit. A batter will be called out if he or she steps on home plate while hitting the ball. The throwing of a bat can be grounds for ejection from a game. A foul ball on the third strike is an out. On a fair or foul fly ball, a runner may tag up after the ball is touched. The infield fly rule applies. What is the infield fly rule? The infield fly rule applies when a runner is on first and second base, or bases are loaded (there must be a force out at third base), and a fly ball is hit into the infield and there are less than two outs. The umpire will call the batter out. The purpose is to prevent the fielding team from bobbling the ball and forcing a double play. The batted ball will be considered in fair play until the umpire calls it foul. Unless a fielder is in the process of going for the ball or making a play, the base runner has the right of way.

If the fielder is making a play, the runner must not interfere with the fielder. If there is going to be a close play at home plate, it is recommended, but not required, for a runner to slide into home. If a collision occurs at home plate, the umpire will decide if the base runner should have slid according to the ASA Collision rule in the ASA handbook. Sliding at second and third bases is recommended to prevent injuries if a play is being made on those running to these bases. If a runner causes interference with a play by not sliding, the umpire will call it and the runner will be out. After 7 innings and the game is tied, International rules will be utilized, in accordance with ASA rules. It will continue to be utilized until a winner is determined or the time limit has been reached. The In/Out rule (substitutions): any starting player can exit and re-enter during the same game as long as he/she assumes his/her original place in the batting order. Courtesy Runners: With approval from the opposing team’s manager or coach, courtesy runners may be used for an injured player.

The courtesy runner must be the person who made the last out unless following some other ASA rule. Foot Off the Bag Rule: Clarification of the rule as noted in the 2009 ASA Official Rules of Softball (page 92; Section 7/R): The runner is out (slow pitch) when the runner fails to keep contact with the base to which they are entitled until the ball is batted, touches the ground, OR reaches home plate. What does this mean? If the batter swings and misses the ball and the runner steps off the bag AFTER the ball is batted, touches the ground, OR reaches home plate; the runner is safe. The umpire can call the runner out if they believe the runner left the bag BEFORE the ball reached the front plain of home plate. Recommendation: The judgment call falls upon the umpire, so best bet is to not lift your foot off the bag until the ball is hit. Sliding Bag Rule: If any base runner that through the act of sliding into a base, advancing to the base, or rounding a base moves the sliding base more than one foot from its original position:

If the runner slides into the bag, is considered safe, and ends their slide within contact where the bag originally was, the movement of the base shall not change the safe/out call regardless of the location of the base after movement. Player movement to the moved bag will not alter the safe/out call. A runner advancing to the bag without sliding – standing up – may not move the bag with their momentum beyond one foot of its original location, or they will be deemed to have over run the bag and they can be tagged out regardless of the continued contact with the moved bag. If the runner has rounded the bag, or gotten up after a safe slide, and attempted to advance and is now returning to the base, but it has moved, the runner will return to where the base was originally and the umpire will make the best judgment call possible relative to the location of where the bag should there be a play on the runner returning to the base. Batting and Base Running: Clarification from ASA: A base runner is allowed to overrun first base.

They will be called out if after overrunning first base the runner attempts to advance to second base and is legally touched with the ball while not in contact with the white first base bag. The wording is direct from the ASA manual and clarifies that the issue for being tagged out is not which way the runner turns but their intent of advancement beyond first base as the reason they can be tagged out. Runners cannot overrun second or third base. All bats for both divisions must conform to the ASA equipment standards. /USA-Softball/Play-ASA/Certified-ASA-Equipment.aspx can be found in this document. The Official bat must bear either the ASA approved 2000 certification mark , the ASA 2004 certification mark as shown below, or the ASA 2013 Certification Mark (Slow Pitch ONLY) as shown below and must not be listed on an ASA Non-Approved Bat List with Certification Marks, and Must be included on a list of approved bat models published by the ASA National Office; Must, in the sole opinion and discretion of the umpire, have been manufactured prior to 2000 and if tested, would comply with the ASA bat performance standards then in effect.