LITTLE LEAGUE MAJOR HOUSE LEAGUE TOURNAMENT RULES
All rules will follow the little league rule book and house league rules unless mentioned below.
1. Every team is guaranteed 3 games.
2. Games are 6 innings and no new inning after 1 hour 30 minutes and games will end at 1 hour 45 minutes. If the inning has not finished at that time, score will revert back to the last complete inning unless the home team is at bat and has tied or gone ahead during the inning. If rain forces a cancellation of a game, 3 innings played will be considered a complete game.
3. Round robin games can end in ties. If the score is tied in a playoff or finals game, the extra inning will begin with the last out on second base (international tie breaker rules).
4. If in the bottom half of the last inning of a game the home team is winning, then the home team will not take their last at bat.
5. Mercy rule is in effect. 5 run max per inning for all games. If after 3 complete innings in round robin a team is up by 10 runs or more, mercy rule will be applied and the game will end. Mercy rule of 10 runs after 4 complete innings in effect for final games.
6. Pitching:
i) Maximum 3 innings per game per player.
ii) A maximum of 5 innings in ONE day for any given pitcher
iii) One pitch in an inning counts as an inning pitched.
iv) Once a pitcher has been removed from a game, they cannot be re-inserted as a pitcher in the same game. He or she may play any other defensive position.
v) A pitcher must be removed from the game if he/she hits 3 batters in an inning or 4 batters in a game. Only one mound visit by coach per player per inning, unless to pull the pitcher or to attend to an injured pitcher.
vi) Pitching/Catching - if a player has caught more than two innings they will not be substituted as a pitcher in the same game. After pitching, a player will not be substituted in as a catcher in the same game.
7. All players present at the game are to be listed in the batting order and must bat in turn (continuous batting order). Late arriving players must be added to the bottom of the order. Players may only play on one team in the tournament. They must be registered with little league in major division or may be called up from the minor division. Players may only be called up if the team has 9 or less players.
8. The last recorded out can be used as a pinch runner for the catcher if they are on base or reaches base safely with 2 outs.
9. A team may field with a min of 8 players. Less than 8 players result in a game forfeiture. If during the game, an injury or ejection causes a team to field less than 8 players, this will result in forfeiture regardless of the score or point in the game. Forfeit games will be recorded as a 10-0 loss. We will be playing with 9 defensive players in the field.
10. Unlimited defensive re-entry and substitution is permitted except for the pitcher.
11. Two adult base coaches are permitted or a registered team player wearing a helmet.
12. The umpire’s decision is final. Abuse of umpires will not be tolerated and will result with removal from the park. Any belligerent parent or fan will be warned then on the second offence the coach of the team involved will be ejected from the game. A third offence will result in forfeiture of the game.
13. If there are two umpires under the age of 18 doing the game, the home team must appoint a game coordinator to oversee the game.
14. The tournament director or league president will handle tournament decisions and decisions are final.
15. Home team for round robin will be determined by a coin toss. Semi finals and finals determined by standings.
16. Infield fly rule is in effect.
17. If there is a play at home, players must slide. Avoidable collisions at home will not be tolerated and the base runner will be called out.
18. There is no head first slides but diving back to a base is acceptable.
19. Dropped third strike rule is in effect.
20. A runner can advance home on a passed ball or wild pitch.
21. Base runners may not advance on a passed ball thrown back to the pitcher by the catcher.
22. There is no “leading off” and base runners may not leave the base until the ball crosses home plate.
23. On Deck batters are not permitted, except for the first batter between innings and the start of the game.
24. Coaches will not smoke during games. Proper attire will be worn, including closed-toed shoes.
25. Bats must have the appropriate USA baseball stamp.
26. Standings in each division will be decided as follows:
i) 3 points for a win.
ii) 1 point for a tie.
iii) 0 points for a loss.
27. Ties in the standings will be broken as follows:
i) Head-to-Head (unless a 3-way tie - in which case go to 2)
ii) Least total runs against
iii) Ratio - total runs for / (total runs for + total runs against)
iv) Coin toss
SCORES FROM EACH GAME MUST BE TEXTED IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE GAME BY BOTH COACHES FOR VERIFICATION. TEXT GAME SCORES TO THE TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR.