Park/ COOLER/ANIMAL RULES:
Houston, TX – Scrapyard Sports – No pets, coolers, outside food, smoking or sunflower seeds.
Reno-Tahoe – Golden Eagle Sports Complex – No pets, coolers, outside food, smoking or sunflower seeds.
Panama City Beach, FL – Publix Sports Complex- No pets, coolers, outside food, smoking or sunflower
seeds.
Cleats:
No metal Cleats in Houston and Panama City Beach – All athletes must wear rubber/molded cleats or turf shoes.
LEGAL BATS:
Only ASA/USA and/or USSSA softball certified bats are legal for game play. Any violation of this rule will cause the player to be called out and the head coach to be ejected from that game.
HOME/VISITOR DETERMINATION:
Home/visitor for pool play will be determined by a coin-flip before the game. Higher seed has the option (choice) of home/visitor in the elimination rounds. Players MUST bring both jerseys to ALL games. The home team will wear the “light-colored” jersey. Teams must change due to the coin toss outcome. IF a player forgets a jersey, they must wear what they have.
GAME WARM-UPS:
No warm-ups on the infields. All pre-game warm-ups will need to be made in the outfield grass. No soft-tossing into fences.
BATTING LINE-UP:
All players will bat during pool play and bracket play games. Rolling line up for Pool play. Coaches have the option of choosing the order of their lineup for elimination day, all players will still bat on elimination day.
DEFENSIVE LINE-UP:
No player will sit more than 2 defensive innings per game.
SUBSTITUTIONS:
Free Defensive Substitutions with the exception of pitchers. See below for pitcher-specific reentry guidelines.
PITCHER RE-ENTRY RULE:
Once a pitcher has been removed from the pitching position, she can re-enter as the pitcher once.
PITCHING DISTANCES:
HS: 43 ft (12 inch ball – 14U-18U)
12U: 40 ft (12 inch ball- 12U)
10U: 35 ft (11 inch ball -10U)
PITCHING RULE:
A coach is allowed one mound visit per pitcher, per inning. Pitchers must start back and not step.
INTENTIONAL WALKS:
If the pitcher desires to walk the batter, all pitches must be delivered.
DROPPED THIRD STRIKE:
The dropped third strike rule will apply to ALL age groups.
INFIELD FLY RULE:
The infield fly rule will apply to ALL age groups.
STEALING:
Stealing is allowed in ALL age classes.
IN-GAME INJURIES:
If a player is injured during the game, their spot in the lineup is skipped with no penalty.
COURTESY RUNNERS:
Courtesy runner for the pitcher and catcher allowed at any time. If substitutions exist, the courtesy runner must be a sub. If not, the courtesy runner must be the player who made the last batted out.
SLIDING:
Must slide/avoid contact. A player must slide or attempt to avoid contact on all close plays (umpire discretion). If, in the umpire’s judgment, there is intentional contact, that umpire may call the runner out on that play. If the contact is judged as intentional and malicious, that umpire may also eject the player from the game.
REGULATION INNINGS:
10u will play 6 innings for a complete, regulation game time of 1 hour and 15 minutes.
The Championship game is a full 6 innings or 1 hour and 30 minutes of play… 10u.
12u and HS will play 7 innings for a complete, regulation game time of 1 hour and 15 minutes.
The Championship game is a full 7 innings or 1 hour and 30 minutes of play…12u and HS.
IN GAME TIE-BREAKER:
Pool Play games can end in ties. No new innings should start after the 1 hour 15 minute time limit. IF there is a tie during bracket play games, we WILL use the International Tie-Breaker Rule.
RUN/MERCY RULE:
A Run rule will be enforced for all games, including both pool play and elimination games. The run rule shall be 12 runs after 3 innings, 10 runs after 4 innings or 8 runs after 5 innings. If the home team is behind at the point of the defined run rule, they will still get their last at-bat. If the home team is ahead by the run rule they will not bat in the bottom-half of that respective inning.
INCLEMENT WEATHER/GAME GUARANTEE:
In case of a team event being canceled or shortened at any time due to inclement weather and/or field conditions, Softball Youth will issue credits as follows:
- 0 Games: 100% credit toward a future Softball Youth event in 2026/2027.
- 1 Game: 50% credit toward a future Softball Youth event in 2026/2027.
- 2nd Game Started: 25% credit toward a future Softball Youth event in 2026/2027.
- 2 or more Games Completed: No credits Due
AGE REQUIREMENT:
Match month (top line) and box with year of birth. The player’s age and division is indicated on the right.
NOTE: This age chart is for USA Softball, and only for the 2026 season.
