12/10/2017
ENTRY, RULES, and INFO
*** USSSA rules will be used but the softball tournaments listed on this page are considered unsanctioned and are not affiliated with USSSA in any way. 8U rules are found in another post '8U COACH PITCH SPECIFIC RULES'.
*** The 2018 blue and gray (ASA version) ghost bat will be allowed. All other bats must have the current NSA or USSSA stamp.
*** ENTRY - There is no entry form, to enter simply message this page or call/text Shawn at 618-838-6334 with the tournament date, full team name, division, and primary contact ph #. Entry fee needs to be paid 1 month prior to the tournament to hold your spot. Please make checks out to and send to Shawn Sanders, 816 E. Cherry St., Olney, IL 62450. Paypal or venmo may also be used, text or message for info. For questions please use 'message' on facebook or call/text 618-838-6334. Using 'comments' to ask questions may not get a timely answer. This is an information page and not open to negative comments, they will be deleted and the user banned. All games will be played at Musgrove Park, 406 E. Florence St., Olney, IL 62450 unless listed otherwise. Noble city park, Noble H.S., East Richland H.S., Olney Central College, and St. Marie fields may also be used.
*** INSURANCE, ROSTER, and BIRTH CERTIFICATES - Insurance, rosters, and birth certificates will be strictly enforced for the safety and integrity of each tournament. Every team must check-in and present proof of team insurance and roster before being allowed to play. Rosters can be any type of handwritten or printed roster (sanctioned rosters are fine and will not affect your sanctioning). Carbon copy lineup cards are fine also. No guest forms are needed, if you already have a printed roster and need to add a player then write them in at the bottom. You may bring any player(s) you wish just as long as they only play for your team that weekend and not a pickup from another tournament regardless if it was sanctioned or unsanctioned. If your team has been protested and verified of using a player from another tournament they will be disqualified. No player can be added to the roster once the team has started their first game. All birth certificates need to be available at each tournament upon request. A $75 fee per player will be charged to protest a player's age. If a player is found to be too old or does not present a birth certificate then the fee will be refunded and the violating team will be immediately disqualified. If a team is disqualified and has not started a new game then the last team they played will take their spot in the bracket. If the violating team has already started a new game then the team they are playing will advance.
*** UMPS AND DISPUTES - Only the head coach should address the head Official or Director with any type of dispute. Parents and players will be advised to contact their head coach. Parents feel free to approach the Director at any time with tournament questions or to just talk softball but please allow your team's coach to handle any dispute. Official's calls during game play cannot be protested but there are situations where a team can request the Director and remain on the field. If you are not sure just ask for the Director and remain on the field. Once a team has left the dugout they concede victory and the game is scored.
*** SCHEDULE - No Friday games. To ensure every team gets their guaranteed number of games without any inconveniences or schedule changes, all teams need to be paid up before the schedule is released. It is important to fully complete all pool play games to fairly calculate seeding and so every team gets their guaranteed number of games. If 2 teams agree to end a pool play game early they will lose any 'runs allowed' tiebreakers as to not be rewarded for allowing fewer runs. The weekend schedule will be released anytime from Sunday to Wednesday of the week before the tournament.
*** CALCULATING POOL PLAY - Pool play will be calculated based on (1) Winning percentage (2) Most wins (3) Head to head if only 2 teams (4) Fewest runs allowed (5) Most runs scored (6) Best opponents record (7) Coin flip. If 3 or more teams have the same record then 'head to head' is not used in scoring any of them. Once the tie has been broken down to 2 remaining teams, those 2 teams will go back to (3) Head to head. The steps listed above will be posted with the pool play results at each tournament. Pool games can end in a tie and scored accordingly.
*** TIME LIMITS - All teams should be prepared to play 30 min before their scheduled game time and could be asked to switch fields. All games will finish any inning started unless the home team is batting and is leading when time expires. Game length is typically 70 min (8U-65 min) but may be longer at some tournaments. 8U and 10U will play 6 inn max, 12U and up can play 7 inn if time permits. Time can be added for injuries, equipment malfunction, or excessive stalling. There will be one warning for stalling, the 2nd offense is disqualification. Teams should exit their dugouts promptly at the end of each game to allow the next team to enter.
*** MERCY RULE - Mercy rule is 12 runs after 3 inn, 10 after 4, 8 after 5. (8U is 16 runs after 4 inn, 11 after 5 or anytime in the 6th).
*** REFUNDS - A tournament with a high probability of only getting 1 or 2 games in will not be started. For a 4gg tournament, 3 games played will be considered a full tournament with no refund, 2 games played - $180 (8U-$90) refund, 1 game played - $240 (8U-$120) refund. For a 3gg tournament, 2 games played - $105 refund, 1 game played - $165 refund.
*** RAIN SCHEDULE - Shortening the game time is really not an option but it could happen as a last resort. If rain is expected watch the page for daily weather updates and be prepared for schedule changes. If Sunday looks like a washout plan to start at 8 am on Saturday and play late. If games are rained out while in progress they will typically be completed where they left off but the director can officially score any game that has less than 15 min left on the game clock by the score of the last completed inn. The director can also use the following mercy rule for weather shortened games: 15 runs after 1 inn, 12 after 2, 10 after 3, 8 after 4.
*** TROPHY SCORING FOR RAIN SHORTENED TOURNAMENTS - Deciding who to give trophies to in a rain shortened tournament will many times end in controversy and can be done many different ways. If rain appears imminent on Sun then be prepared to play the winners bracket semifinals and possibly the winners bracket final on Sat night so we can get to a point to declare the top 2 teams. If Sunday becomes a washout then the winner's bracket final would become the Championship game making the bracket single elimination. Trophies will only be issued if there are 2 teams that have advanced farther in the bracket than the remaining teams. This means that both of the winner's bracket semifinal games must have completed at least 1 inning with a team leading. Any game that is in progress will be decided by the last completed inning unless the home team has scored more runs than the visiting team in the incomplete inning. If the winner's bracket final has not completed an inning with a team leading then the teams will be re-scored against each other using TROPHY SCORING with the pool play seeds being thrown out. TROPHY SCORING: (1) Head to head in bracket play (2) Pool play winning % (3) Most pool play wins (4) Head to head in pool play (5) Fewest runs allowed in pool play (6) Most runs scored in pool play (7) Best opponents record in pool play (8)Coin flip. If only one team is unbeaten in bracket play then they will receive 1st place trophies and the team that stayed in the winner's bracket the longest will receive 2nd place trophies unless they have started their next game in the losers bracket at which point the 2 teams will be scored for 2nd place based on last completed inn or TROPHY SCORING as mentioned above.
NOTE: Bracket play scores are not used in TROPHY SCORING due to teams playing different amounts of bracket games or incomplete games however head to head in bracket play is used and trumps all other tiebreakers. It is possible for a lower seeded team from pool play to prevail in TROPHY SCORING if they were in a different pool or lost a 3-way tiebreaker but still has head to head over the other team.
