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Men's Softball Rules
Applies to both men and coed leagues
LXC SPORT & SOCIAL CLUB OFFICIAL SOFTBALL RULES
(Unless noted here, please use USSSA rule sets.)
Pinch Runner Rule
- Batter must make it to 1st. Last out of gender. Unlimited amount.
Strikes and Balls
- Arc must reach 6ft and not exceed 10ft and hit the mat.
- All pitches must come from the hip on the throwing hand side of the body with no fakes.
- Pitchers are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to wear safety gear.
Male/Female Ratio
- A maximum of 6 male players are allowed on the field at once.
- Teams must have at least 3 females to play.
Commit Line
- Once a runner crosses this line, they are committed to home plate. They cannot return to third unless they are going back to tag up.
- Home is a force out and runner cannot be tagged after commit line.
Bats/Cleats
- Bats must be USA/ASA, NSA, or USSSA.
- No metal cleats.
Players
- A team may field 10 players.
- Must have minimum of 7 players (minimum of 3 females in coed leagues).
- There may not be more than 6 players in the infield when the ball is hit.
Time Limit
- Games are seven innings or 1 hour.
- If 50 minutes of play or more have passed at the start of a new inning, the umpire shall call last inning.
- Losing team will bat first in last inning.
- (USSSA Flip Flop Rule)
Hitting
- Each hitter will start with a 1-1 count.
- Batters will be given one foul with 2 strikes on the next foul they will be out.
- Any foul-tip caught by the catcher will be an out
Run limit
- There is a maximum of 7 runs allowed per at bat.
- If 7 is reached the following inning only 6 runs are allowed and the inning after only 5.
- This only applies to the team that is leading.
- The team that is behind is allowed to catch up and take the lead up to 7.
Home Runs
- Men’s Upper (D): 3 HR
- Men’s Lower (E): 1 HR
- Co-ed Strong Upper (D): 3 HR
- Co-ed Strong Lower and Weak Hand (E): 1 HR
- After the home run limit is reached, any additional home runs will result in an out.
- This is the HR limit per game.
- The HR-hitting team is responsible for retrieving the balls.
Walks
- (Coed only)
- Males will be granted 2 bases on a walk and the following female will have the option to hit or take first base.
- If the male receiving a walk, forces in the max runs per inning, the following female will start the next inning without the option to walk.
Batting Order
- ALL players must bat.
- The batting order must alternate male and female (for coed leagues).
- In the event of more female than male players on a roster, females may bat back-to-back, but two guys will not bat in a row.
Substitutions
- As long as substitutions are not preventing players from being involved or unfairly used they will be allowed at any time.
- Subs will not be allowed to play if a team has 10 rostered players able to play at the field.
