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Colchester Men's Softball League follows the ASA Official Rules of Softball as well as the following additions, restatements, and changes.

The 2009 Colchester Men's Softball League is Registered ASA, unclassified.

Teams will be registered ASA unclassified unless they inform the league otherwise.
If any player on a team plays on another league's team that is ASA Classified, the team MUST file unclassified.

General League Rules
  • All fees must be in prior to start of the first game.

  • All rosters must be in prior to start of the first game. Games will be forfeited until the roster is turned in. Amended rosters must be filed before June 1st

  • Team managers/coaches will be held responsible for compliance of all league rules by his team and it's players.

Penalties / Warnings
  • Smoking, illegal substances and alcoholic beverages are not allowed in the park. WARNING - Parking Lots will be patrolled by the town police for the drinking of alcohol, etc.

  • No profanity or Unsportsmanlike conduct will be allowed. Violation will result in player ejection and a $20.00 fine payable (by player or team) prior to the start of the next game.

  • No physical violence will be tolerated. Violation will result in player ejection and immediate indefinite suspension pending board decision.

  • Multiple forfeits will result in the following disciplinary action(s):
    • 2 forfeits - $50.00 fine
    • 3 forfeits - Season suspension and loss of all league fees

  • Any team that forfeited 2 or more games the previous season will put up a $50 forfeit bond.

  • All balls hit out of play (fair or foul) will be retrieved by the team that hit them or replaced with a game complient replacement.

  • For the safety of the Little League, no batting practice will be allowed, until the Little League has completed their use of R4. (exception: Hitting infield practice)
    The penalty for failure to comply to the no bat rule will be:
    • 1st occurrence: All involved will be ejected from upcoming game
    • 2nd occurrence: League Suspension for remainder of season

Player / Team
  • All Players Must:
    • be at least 18 years of age (as of April 1st)
    • be listed on a team roster
    • sign the ASA Player Waiver, Release of Liability and Indemnification Agreement
    • Per the Town of Colchester, provide a copy of their driver's license (front and back) or pay a $20.00 Out of Town fee (This town fee is passed directly to the town)

  • No player will be allowed to play on more than 1 team, even if his original team folds during the season. Each player will be on the team whose roster he has signed in order to play.

  • A player must play in 1/2 (50%) of his team's games to be eligible for the playoffs. Special Consideration will be given to identified active duty personnel

  • No metal spikes are allowed. Any player violating this rule will be ejected from the game.

Starting, Playing, Ending the Game
  • Official Game ball will be the Worth Gray Dot (.40 core). Both teams will present a League furnished game ball to the umpire before the game.

  • Game times will be 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. 11:00, 12:00, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 and 4:00 Sunday. There will be a five minute grace period from the scheduled start time of each game. Once a team has eight players the game must begin.

  • The home team of the last game will be held responsible for lights left on. A $25 per week night, $50 per Sunday night fee will be assessed, payable prior to the Playoffs or team will be excluded from the Playoffs. Should the team not make the playoffs, the fee will be payable prior to admission into the following season.

  • Teams are allowed to start with a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 12 players (10 fielders and 2 extra hitters). If a team starts the game with 8 or 9 players there will be NO automatic out penalty. A 9th or 10th player may be added at anytime but must bat in the last position in the batting order. If a player is removed from the game and is not replaced his batting slot will be an automatic out.

  • Infield and outfield balls will be allowed for the 1st inning and 1 warm up pitch between innings for the remainder of the game. Any new pitcher into the game will be allowed 5 warm up pitches.

  • Every batter will start with a one ball, one strike count.

  • 15 run mercy rule after 5 full innings (4 1/2 innings if the home team is leading by 15 or more runs), full innings must be completed.

  • If the game is stopped due to darkness, (ie field lights can not be turned on for any reason, including 11:00pm town curfew), it will be suspended no matter what inning it is in. Should the game be called for any other reason, (ie weather related reasons) ASA Rule 5 section 3 will be followed (If it is not an official game, the game will be suspended and continued at the point it was called).

  • There will be a Three and Out Home Run Rule for all games. After a team has hit three Home Runs, all subsequent Home Runs will be Outs.

  • A team is allowed to have a courtesy runner for NO MORE THAN 2 players per game. They must be declared before the game and they must use the courtesy runner each time they reach base. The replacement runner will be the last batting out made. If any extra runners are needed it would be at the discretion of the opposing team.

  • Base Stealing is not allowed.

  • All protests must be submitted in writing to the executive board within 48 hours of the protested game with a non-refundable $10.00 fee.

Post-Season
  • The Tie Breaker structure (to seed playoff teams, ties that affect playoff status will be broken by a playoff game):
    • Should any ties exist, head to head records is the first tie-breaker. Run differential will be the used if the tie still exists.
    • If any of the teams are still tied, those teams still tied will be re-evaluated using the above tie breaker.
    • If a tie can not be broken by the above tie breaker rules, it will be broken by random draw.

  • The Playoff tournament structure:
    • Season with 12 or more teams:
      • Top 6 teams get a bye into the double elimination tournament.
      • Seeds 7 through 10 will play a single elimination with the winners advancing to the tournament.
    • Season with 11 or less teams:
      • Top 8 teams advance into the double elimination tournament.

  • The higher seed will be the home team throughout the playoffs until the Championship Game. A coin flip will decide the alternating home team in the Championship Game(s).

Executive Board
  • Each Team is invited to have one voting member of the League Executive Board. Each team representative must be approved by the existing board members before gaining voting rights.

  • Board Members are not allowed to vote on matters that involve their team.

  • Rulings must have majority vote of those members present to pass (3 member minimum). The League President will not vote unless his vote is the deciding factor.

Equipment
    The Colchester Men's Softball League will adhere to Connecticut ASA rules regarding the use of any type of equipment associated with playing the game. The League, at it's discretion, also reserves the right to further restrict equipment deemed to be detrimental to the safety of it's participants.

    • Titanium Bats will not be allowed (Also not allowed by ASA)
    • The Town of Colchester Park and Recreation Commission has mandated the use of Single Wall bats.
      The 2009 list is available in PDF form here