ROSTERS: All roster changes are to be submitted online on the Holland Area Softball webpage. For Summer Softball, players must compete in three (3) regular season games to be eligible for the tournament. For Fall Softball, players must compete in two (2) regular season games to be eligible for the tournament.

HOME RUN LIMIT: A limit of three (3) over-the-fence home runs will be used in all leagues. Any in excess of three (3) will be considered an out. 

“FLIP FLOP RULE”: If the home team is trailing by seven (7) or more runs at the end of six (6) complete innings, they will take the spot of the visiting team and bat in the top of the seventh inning. 

TIE GAME: Tie games will not be played out or continued, with the exception of tournament play or if time is still left on the clock. 

MINIMUM PLAYERS: All teams need eight (8) players present to start a game and maintain a game. 

LEAVING MIDGAME: If a player leaves during a game their spot in the batting order will be skipped. Exception: If the team roster falls under eight (8) players the team will forfeit. 

BAT CHECKS: All bats must be approved and display the proper marking to be used in a game. 

TEAMS PER NIGHT: Players are allowed to play on a Men’s and a Co-ed team on the same night. However, no schedule accommodations will be made to avoid conflicts. 

CANCELLATIONS: Game cancellations will be made by 5:30pm. 

COURTESY RUNNER: One courtesy runner is allowed per inning. 

COED: One per gender per inning. 

TOURNAMENT SEEDING: Based on overall season record. 

AWARDS: Awards will be presented to the teams with the best record (including tie-breaker) for each half of the season. 

LEAGUE FORMAT
Holland Area Softball is a sanctioned member of USA Softball. Official rules as adopted by USA Softball will be used with Local Exceptions that are listed in this document.

1. There are multiple league formats that are laid out below. All league formats will have a tournament following the regular season. 

• Summer 12 game league - this league will have a first half and second half.
• Summer 10 game league - this league will not be divided into halves.
• Fall 6 game league - this league will not be divided into halves.
  
  

2. League champions will be determined by the following criteria in the following order:

• Best overall record 
• Head to Head winner 
• Run differential – between games played with teams tied 
• Run differential – season 

4. All games will be played as scheduled unless circumstances dictate otherwise (i.e.: weather, athletic events, etc…) Games may have to be re-scheduled at other locations and on nights other than your regularly scheduled playing nights. Team managers will receive the information regarding rescheduled games, and this information will be placed on the web site. 

5. Teams must be ready to play at their scheduled game time. Teams will get a grace period of 5 minutes after the scheduled time to get players to the field. If a team does not have 8 or more players at the field by 5 minutes after the scheduled start time it will go down as forfeit. 

6. Game cancellations will be made by 5:30 p.m. on the day of the game. Any cancellations will also be updated on the City of Holland’s website and Facebook. Managers will also be notified by email or text. 

7.  12 game league awards - First half league champions will receive an award. Second half league champions will receive an award. Tournament winners will receive a team award. Standings reset after the first half of the season and are not considered when determining the second half champion.

8. 10 game and 6 game league awards - Regular season champions will receive an award. Tournament champions will receive an award. 

9.  Team managers are responsible for informing their players of the league rules & guidelines; the manager is also responsible for the conduct of its team members and its spectators. 

10. Under extenuating circumstances, the Area League Director reserves the right to amend all rules for the best interest and safety of the program. 

11. GUIDELINES FOR PLACING TEAMS IN LEAGUES: 

• Please indicate on your team registration form as to what level your team should be placed in. The Holland Area Softball League may use prior year’s records to place teams properly as well. Division 1 is the most competitive; Division 3 is least competitive.
• Teams have the right to appeal any of the preceding guidelines to Holland Area Softball
  

• All players that participate must be on a team roster and have signed the roster/waiver. We recommend having no more than 16 players on your roster. Teams may have more players on their roster, but only sixteen championship shirts will be given to teams.
• All players must be sixteen (16) years of age or older by the first scheduled game of their specific team. All players under the age of 18 must have a signed participation waiver by a parent or legal guardian as well as a signed concussion awareness form. The team manager is responsible for completing the online concussion awareness training. 
• No player will play on more than one (1) team in the Holland Area Adult Softball League on the same night, regardless of Division. Exception: Men’s & Coed teams playing on the same night. Players may play in a Coed/Men’s League on the same night, but no guarantees will be made for game times. Violators may be suspended for the season, and the games in which the offense(s) occurred will be forfeited. 
• A female player may play on a men’s softball league team, but a male player cannot play on a women’s softball league team. 
• Tournament Eligibility: Players must play in at least three (3) games during the regular season with their respective team to be eligible for their tournament for the Summer leagues. Players must play in at least two (2) games during the regular season with their respective team to be eligible for their tournament for the fall league. 

14. League standings will be based on win/loss record. Standings will reset for the second half of the season. Tournament seeding will be based on overall season record (first half and second half record combined). Standings are posted weekly at the ball park and can be found on the website: www.hollandrecreation.com 

15. All participants are required to wear shoes. Metal spikes are not permitted. Helmets are encouraged, but not required. 

16. Completion of  five (5) innings or 45 minutes will constitute a legal game. A game being terminated by inclement weather will be a completed game if five (5) innings have been completed or, if the home team is leading after 4-1/2 innings. The umpire(s) shall have the authority to determine the continuation or calling of games due to inclement weather. Any game that is terminated due to weather before meeting the legal game criteria will be rescheduled and started from the beginning. 

GAME RULES

1. A team in is required to have a minimum of eight (8) players to start a game, and can bat as many players that are on your roster. Once a team goes below eight (8) players, a forfeit will occur. If a player leaves the game prematurely, his/her spot in the batting order will be skipped unless they are replaced by a rostered player. 

2. Any player, coach or manager showing unsportsmanlike behavior will be ejected from the game. Any player ejected from a game or after the game may be suspended for the next playable game and possibly more, depending on the severity of the offense. All suspensions are subject to appeal by the manager of the offending team. Any person who touches, strikes, or pushes an official will be suspended from ALL Holland Recreation and Holland Township activities for a minimum of one (1) year. 

3. Protests will be handled by Holland Area Softball administration. The manager must make an umpire and the site supervisor aware of the protest. 

4. Ground rules will be made by the umpires as the need arises. 

5. The line-up card is due to the scorekeeper five (5) minutes prior to the game time as designated on your schedule. Umpires will give one warning to managers. Failure to turn in your line-up card after the warning will constitute the offending team to start the game with an automatic out. First and last names are required. Please verify your line-up with the scorekeeper prior to the start of the game. 

6. TIME LIMIT: No new inning may start after a sixty (60) minute time period. The time clock will start when the first pitch is made providing that the defensive team takes the field when instructed to do so. Unusual delays because of serious injury etc. will extend the time limit. Time limit will not apply to league championship games. 

7. HOME RUN LIMIT: A limit of three (3) over the fence home runs will be used in all leagues. Any in excess of three (3) will be considered an out. 

8. “Flip Flop Rule”. If the home team is trailing by seven (7) or more runs at the end of six (6) complete innings, they will take the spot of the visiting team and bat in the top of the 7th inning. 

9. If after seven (7) complete innings two teams are tied, and there is still time on the clock, the last official batter in the top of the seventh inning will start at second base to start the eighth inning… and every inning after until the tie is broken or the time limit is up. 

10. Tie games will not be played out or continued, with the exception of tournament play. Tie games will be played out if there is still time on the clock. 

11. A game will be determined and declared official if one team has a 20-run lead after three (3) complete innings. A fifteen (15) run lead after four (4) complete innings or a ten (10) run lead after five (5) complete innings. This also pertains to tournament play. 

12. Jewelry deemed dangerous to the umpire must be removed. 

13. Courtesy Runner Rule: Any eligible player on a team's roster may be used as a courtesy runner. A courtesy runner may be used once per inning. Any courtesy runner used in coed softball must be gender specific. Coed teams may use one courtesy runner per gender, per inning. 

14. All leagues will start with a one and one count with one mercy foul ball after two strikes.

15. Arch rule of 6’ - 10’ will be used. 

ADDITIONAL RULES FOR CO-ED LEAGUES

1. A minimum number of four (4) males & four (4) females are required to start a game. 

2. Teams may have four (4) males and up to six (6) females play in the field but cannot have more males than females in the field to play. 

3. The batting order will alternate sexes. Batting order may “Weave” if an odd number of players. 

4. If a male batter receives a base on balls, the female batter must bat, unless there are 2 outs. In that case, the female batter has the option to walk. 

5. Coed defense positioning will include two (2) males and two (2) females in the outfield; two (2) males and two (2) females in the infield and one (1) male and one (1) female in the pitcher/catcher position. 

6. If a team is playing shorthanded, they must stick with the defensive positioning as best as possible. Each gender must be represented in the outfield, infield, and in the pitcher/catcher.

7. An encroachment line will be used in the outfield. If an outfielder encroaches in front of this line before the batter hits a pitched ball, the batter will receive a double or the result of the play, whichever is most beneficial to the offensive team.

7-3 COED SOFTBALL RULES & GUIDELINES

1. Number of Players on the Field – Maximum number of players in the field is 10, including at least 3 women. Position requirements of women players: one in the outfield, one in the infield and one in the catcher/pitcher position. Minimum number of players in the field/your starting line-up is 8 (at least 3 of whom must be women). There is no maximum number of women allowed on the field/in your line-up. No more than 7 men are allowed on the field at one time. A player arriving late may be inserted at the bottom of the order even if you have batted around one or more times. You are allowed to place that player in the field. Make the umpire and opposing team aware of these additions. 

2. Number of Players in the Batting Order/Line-Up – In order to encourage maximum participation, teams may bat more than ten players. Regardless of how many people you choose to bat, you must bat 3 women in the first 10 spots and no more than 3 men can bat in a row. In situations where additional players wish to bat, the line-up must come as close to a 7 to 3 ratio as possible, even if some women need to bat twice in the rotation. Men CANNOT bat twice in the line-up to achieve a 7 to 3 ratio if a team plays with more women than men. 

3. A team does not need to bat more than 10 (the players in the field). All other players could substitute into the game at any point. 

4. Teams must designate which women will bat twice on their line-up card. Only those women will be allowed to bat twice or the batting out of order rule will be enforced. 

5. Batting Out of Order – If the error is discovered while the incorrect batter is hitting, then the correct batter will assume the ball/strike count of the incorrect batter. If the incorrect batter reaches base safely and the error is discovered, the correct batter will be called out. All runners will return to their original base and the incorrect batter will return to the bench. The opposing team must make the umpire aware of "batting out of order" before a pitch is thrown to the next batter. If not, then the incorrect batter will stay on base. 

6. Position Changes/Substitutions – Players may move freely from one field position to another, but the batting order must stay the same. Teams must report all substitutions and players reentering the game to the umpire & opposing team. 

7. A player may be in the batting order and not play in the field. However, in order to play in the field, a player must be in the batting order. While in the batting order, a player may enter, leave, or re-enter the fielding team (free substitution). 

8. Walks to male batter with a female batter behind him in the batting order, male batter only gets a one-base award. The female batter must bat, regardless of how many outs there are.