Mid Shore League

General:

· Diamonds should be 75 foot bases and 54 foot pitching rubber

· 7 innings games. One extra inning if tied. If game is still tied after the extra inning, it should be reported as a tie.

· Metal spikes are optional.

· Home team provides at least two game balls. Balls must be 9”, 5 oz leather.

· Home team schedules and pays for umpires.

· Teams can be comprised of both 7^th and 8^th graders. Grade is based on grade as of January 1 of current year.

Rules:

National Federation of State High School Association and WIAA rules will apply, with the following exceptions:

Leadoffs and stealing are allowed.

Balks will be called by the umpire. The balk rule is modified to allow for minimal turning of the shoulders.

Pitchers shall not pitch more than 4 innings per game. Once a pitch is delivered, it is considered an inning.

Bats: 2 5/8 barrel bats are allowed, but must be a -3. Minimum barrel of 2 ¼ and any drop. Wood bats are legal.

Additional Hitter (AH) is an option that can be used. A team may insert an AH into its line-up. The batting order must remain constant, however, any nine of the ten players can take a defensive position throughout the game. It is not mandatory to use an AH, but failure to declare such a hitter prior to the game precludes the use of AH in that game.

ReEntry –The starting nine defensive players will be designated “players” and any player taking the place of a starter will be a substitute. A starter may be removed from a game and re-enter once. He must return to the same spot in the batting order, but may field different positions. A substitute may not re-enter the game once he has been removed.

WIAA 10 run rule will apply to all games after 5 innings, (4 ½ innings if home team is ahead by 10 runs). Does not have to be equal at bats. Sudden Death Rules Apply.

Rescheduling postponed games is the responsibility of the home team. If a game is called on account of darkness, it is considered a suspended game and must be rescheduled and finished starting exactly where it was when called.

Two umpires per game. Minimum age of an umpire should be 16 years old. Every attempt should be made to have at least one WIAA umpire for each game.

Player/Coach Ejection – if the event of ejection from a game, a coach/assistant coach will be required to leave the park. In addition, anyone ejected from a game will be required to serve a one game suspension for the following League game.

Courtesy runners can be used for the next innings pitcher or catcher at any time. It is not considered a substitution. The courtesy runner should be a player not previously inserted into the game. In the event that all players have been in the game, the courtesy runner should be the player who made the last out.

All catchers are required to wear a protective cup.

Pitchers are allowed a maximum of 7 warm up pitches upon their first entry into the game. Only 5 warm up pitches are allowed for subsequent innings of the same pitcher.

Upon the second mound visit by a coach in the same inning to the same pitcher, that pitcher must be replaced.