GORDY "MAC" MCFARLAND SPORTS COMPLEX LEAGUE REGISTRATION
Men Women &
Coed
To sign up for the 2009 Summer Softball League send in a deposit of $300.00 with the "Registration form", (click here). The league meeting for all leagues will be held Thursday March 5th, 7:00 p.m. at GORDY "MAC" MCFARLAND SPORTS COMPLEX. The league tournament will be April 3, 4, and 5 if needed. This is for coed and men and entry fee is $50.00. There will be State tournaments held at Gordy Mac's this year. There will be many tournaments this year including NSA qualifiers. Modified NSA rules will be used for league play.
The summer softball season will start the week of April 6th. Every team will
play 14 regular season games. The top finishing 8 teams make the play offs. You
can play as many as 3 play off games.
League fees before March 15 (this includes all fees) $775.00
League fees after March 15 (this includes all fees) $800.00
The umpire fees are included in the $775.00
The forfeit fee of $30.00 will be refunded at the end of the season if there are no forfeits .
The league fees are due March 15 2009.
There will be a $25.00 late charge if not paid by March 15.
League starts the week of April 6th.
League tournament starts April 3rd
To print a copy of the registration form, click here.
Gordy "Mac" McFarland Sports Complex is not a Public Park. Public Parks are built and keep operating because they receive tax money.
LEAGUE RULES
1. This will be 14 game season plus playoffs for the top 8 teams. 2 rainouts guaranteed. Game ball for women is an 11” optic yellow ball (co-ed go to H below) and for men a Decker optic yellow 44 COR 400 compression ball (no other balls may be used). Balls will be sold at the concession stand for $5.00. The umpire will put a new ball in the game. After the game that ball belongs to the home team. The home team will supply all the good used balls (Decker optic yellow 44 COR 400 compression ball) needed for that game. Except when a team hits a home run. The team who hits the HR replaces that ball before the next pitch.
2. Any team forfeiting two (2) regularly scheduled games may be dropped from the league permanently, and will not receive any part of its entry fee or forfeit fee back or be eligible for playoffs.
3. The Official 2009 NSA rule book will be used with the following exceptions:
a. Non-official rain-interrupted games will be replayed from the last completed 1/2 inning and you can start batting from any spot in your lineup. 5 innings can be an official game.
b. A run rule and the time limit will apply for all games, including playoffs: 18 after 3, 15 after 4, and 10 after 5.
c. A team must have 8 players to start and continue and finish a game. If a team starts with 8 players that team can add players at any time. The new player will bat last in the batting order. When playing with 8 the 9th place in the batting order is automatic out. If your team starts with 9 there is no automatic out. If you go down to 9 from 10 there is an automatic out.
d. If a team does not have 8 players to start the game it will be a forfeit. A team may not use non-roster players. If a team plays with a non-roster player the game will be forfeited. Rosters are filled out before you play your first game. Rosters will be checked this year so players should have their drivers license with them. If a team does not have 8 players they will forfeit the game but both teams can play the game without umpires (unless you can talk them into umpiring) The game after the forfeited game will start on time.
E A team may use unlimited batters in a game. Remember if a player gets hurt and has to come out of the game and you have no sub, that spot in the batting order will be passed over and will result in an automatic out. If you take batters out of your batting line up the vacated spots in the line up will be an automatic out.
f. Protests may be made any time before the final out of the game.
g. Co-ed: There must be at least 5 females playing in a lineup of 9 or 10. Coed teams can bat unlimited players and can have more men than women in the lineup or more women than men in the line up. The umpire can show you how to do an uneven line up.
g1 Because there is one division in coed and some teams are much more completive than some other teams there will be a 5 run max per inning except for the 7th which will be unlimited runs. The losing team bats in the top of the 7th inning. The game clock will be set at 47 minutes. If the clock gets to 0 and the game is not in the 7th inning the next inning will be the last and unlimited run inning. The inning ends as soon as the last out is made or a runner crosses the scoring line. The runner must physically cross the scoring line for a run to score except when a over the fence HR is hit.
h. Co-ed: The Decker 12 inch ball will be hit when men bat and a 11 inch ball will be hit by the female batters. Male/female must alternate in the batting order with no restriction to the leadoff hatter. On defense 2 girls must play infield and 2 girls in the outfield. Male female pitcher catcher. 3 and 1 up over the fence home runs. A line shall be marked across and perpendicular to the foul line and placed 20 feet from home plate. Once a runner's foot touches the ground on or past this line, the runner is committed to advance to the scoring line. There is a scoring line at home plate to cross to score a run in coed. If the base runner touches home plate it is an automatic out. The defensive team must always touch home plate (while in possession on the ball) to record an out. Just like first base. If the fielder attempts to tag the runner the runner is safe. No contact at home.
i. Home team will be the scorekeeper and will report the score to the home plate umpire who is the official scorekeeper.
j. The arch limit is 6 to 10 feet from the ground. There will be a mat at home plate. When the pitched ball hits the mat or the plate it is a strike.
k. NSA bat list. Bats with unreadable manufacturer markings are not allowed. If a player comes up to bat with an illegal bat and is ready for the pitch, the bat and the player are ejected from that game and the next game. The bat list is on the web site. If a bat is not on this list it is not legal. No steel spikes.
L. Home run limit. Wednesday men 1 & 1 up. Wednesday coed 3 and 1 up. Thursday South 3 and 1 up. Thursday North 1 then out. Friday men 3 and 1 up. Friday coed 3 and 1 up.
m. There is no batters box. The batter will be called out for stepping on or across home plate or the mat while the ball is in contact with the bat, but is not for stepping in front of or behind home plate.
n. Game time The clock will start at the scheduled game time, and the team who is not ready will lose 3 outs. After 5 minutes have passed the late team will lose another 3 outs. After 10 minutes have passed the late team will lose another 3 outs. After 15 minutes the game is forfeited.
o. There is a time limit on all games except for the last night of playoffs. The game clock will start at the scheduled time when games are on time. When a game is going to start after the scheduled time the game clock will be set at 60 minutes as soon as the last out of the previous game is made. You can start your game as soon as both teams are ready. Official clock is the umpire’s clock. No infield or pitching practice after the first inning.
p. If the score is tied and there is no time on the clock and a new inning starts the count on the batter is 2 strikes and 2 balls.
4. Gordy "Mac" McFarland Sports Complex is not a public park. Due to safety, insurance purposes, state and city laws there are rules that prohibit bringing in food and drink, and this includes the parking lot. If your team is bringing in food or drink your team will play with 9 players the next game or finish the game that is being played with 9 players or asked to leave. If you do not think that your team can respect this policy it would be better if your team would play at a complex that does not have a policy like this. There is food and drink for sale in the concession stand. There is even a kid’s menu. This means bottled water, Gatorade, soda, burgers, fries, etc. IF YOU CAN EAT IT OR DRINK IT DO NOT BRING IT.
5. Official league rosters must be turned in before the first game. The official roster is the insurance waver. To add players to your team roster they must come to the concession stand and sign a roster sheet and it will be put into your file. The roster must be signed by every team member including coaches score keepers (not someone signing for them) if not that player is not a legal player. Rosters will be frozen after the 6th game of the season and no player shall be added after that date. Players can only be on one roster per league. If a player appears on two or more rosters, the player is legal on the roster which has the earliest date on it. Minimum age for players is 18.
6. Any abusive conduct, including language, or throwing a bat on or off the field will not be tolerated. The team coach/manager is responsible for their player’s actions while at Softball Central. This means if a player gets out of hand the manage needs to get that player under control if not and that player gets ejected from the game the coach may also be ejected. When a player or manager is ejected from a game, said player will be suspended for the remainder of that game and suspended for 1 additional game. If after this ejection said player is still causing a nuisance and has to be approached by an official, said player and the manager will be suspended for 2 additional games and will be asked to leave the property.
7. If a team wants to protest an illegal player there is no fee. Just ask the umpire for a roster check. You must do this after the player in question has played in the game and before the last out. Notification of intent to protest (other than for roster) must be made by a team representative to plate umpire before the next pitch. A formal written protest must be turned into the concession stand with $30.00 not more than 48 hours after the incident. The league directors will review the protest in a timely manner. The protest fee will be returned if the protest is upheld.
8. No player will be allowed to play with an open wound or blood on his or her uniform.
9. Every player and team is urged to buy their own insurance.
10. In case of rain or inclement weather, league officials will decide at 5:00 whether or not to play the 6:30 games and will decide at 6:00 whether or not to play the 7:30 8:30 and 9:30 games. Managers and players are urged not to call the park office until after 5:00 p.m. Rainout info go to www.softballcentraltroy.com The phone number is 667 2250. There will be a recording if the games are rained out. Sometimes it may rain in Granite City O'Fallon, Collinsville, Edwardsville, or Highland and it will not rain in Troy. When this happens I most likely will not have a recording on the phone or I will not have anything posted on the website because the games are on. It is the responsibility of the manager to find out if the game is rained out and when the game has been rescheduled. If there are more than 2 rainouts they may be scheduled on a different night than the regular night. No refunds on entry fees.
Read the rule book. Know the rules before you have a discussion with the umpire. Remember the umpires are human. People like to blame the umpire for their own or their team’s weaknesses. Comments like: That one call in the 4th inning beat us. What should be said is if I could have gotten that hit in the 2nd inning of if my team mate would have gotten a hit in the 6th inning or your team mate would not have made that error or those 3 or 4 or 5 errors. Remember the umpire does not swing your bat or catch with your glove.
Don't complain Improve your game.
To print a copy of the registration form, click here.