Tournament Rules

I.                 Format

a.     Games for twelve and under teams will be six innings or one hour and forty-five minute time limit.

b.    Games for thirteen and fourteen teams will be seven innings or one hour and fifty minute time limit.

c.     Games for fifteen and up will be seven innings or a two hour time limit

d.    Semi Finals and Finals have no time limit (weather pending)

II.             Time  

a.    All teams are required to be at RoundTripper ready to play at least 50 minutes prior to the scheduled start time of their game.

b.    If the game prior to yours ends early there will be 15 minutes allotted to your team for warming up and then the game will start promptly thereafter.

c.     Any team not ready to start ten minutes after the scheduled start time of their game maybe subjected to forfeit their game.

d.    Time Between Innings

                                                             i.      Pitchers are allowed to throw 8 warm-up pitches in their first inning and 5 warm-up pitches in all subsequent innings

III.         Run Rule for 9u – 14u

a.    There will be a 12 run rule after three innings

b.    There will be a ten run rule after 4 innings

c.     There will be an eight run rule after five innings

IV.           Run Rule for 15u and up

a.    There be a 15 run rule after three innings

b.    There be a 12 run rule after four innings

c.     There be a 10 run rule after five innings

V.               Infield

a.    There will be no infield practice prior to the start of any game

b.    You are allowed to use the indoor field(all team must share this facility)

c.     Warm Up will be allowed for fifteen minutes prior to the scheduled start of the game and will take place down the outfield lines.

VI.           Home team/Visiting team

a.    A coin flip between opposing coaches will take place prior to the start of the game to choose which team will be the home team. (pool play)

b.    Semi Finals and Finals Round Higher seed is HOME team.

VII.       Mound Visit

a.    The pitcher must be removed upon the second visit to the mound in the same inning or the third overall visit in a game

VIII.   Reentry overall

a.    There will be free Substitution allowed in the 9u – 14u age groups

b.    Starters may be reentered once, including the DH, as long as the player occupies the same position in the batting order. (15u and up)

c.     Pitchers may re-enter but not as a pitcher.

d.    Subs cannot re-enter the game once they have been removed. (15u and up)

IX.           Pitching Restrictions

a.    There are no pitching restrictions. (Coaches are to make responsible choices regarding pitchers. Throw a pitcher as much as you want at your own risk. YOU ARE PREPARING THEM FOR LATER IN LIFE NOT JUST TO WIN THIS TOURNAMENT.)

X.               Designated Hitter

a.    The DH must be declared prior to the game.

b.    The player for which the hitter is designated to hit for can be used as a substitute and the DH will enter the game defensively.

c.     The role of the DH will be terminated for the remainder of the game if the DH enters the game defensively.

XI.            Extra Hitter (15u and up)

a.    In all age divisions, an EH will be allowed. This will give a team a 10-player line-up that must be declared before the start of the game and used the remainder of the game. The player in the EH position, while not actually playing a defensive position, will be treated as though they are for substitution purposes. The re-entry rule applies for the EH.

b.    e.g., Baker is the EH and batting second, Charles is the catcher and batting third. Baker can become the catcher and Charles the EH. Both players remain in their original order.

XII.       Foul Balls

a.    Each team is asked to track down foul balls on their respective side of the field throughout the entire

XIII.   Courtesy Runner

a.    A courtesy runner can only be used for the catcher

                                                             i.      It may be used for the pitcher for 15u and up

b.    This is not a substitution

c.     It is MANDATORY with two outs

d.    The courtesy runner must be the last Batted out or a player currently not in the lineup.

XIV.     Slide Rule

a.    A player MUST slide to avoid contact.

b.    A player MUST try to avoid contact on all plays. (Umpires Discretion)

c.     Head First sliding is allowed at all bases(any age)

XV.         Bat Restrictions

a.    There are no bat restrictions

XVI.     Tie Games After Regulation or Time Limit

a.    If a game ends in a tie after the allotted innings or the time limit, the following format will be used to determine a winner:

1st extra inning: Each team will start their offensive half of the inning with the last batter of the previous inning on 2nd base.  Each batter will start with a count of 1 ball and 1 strike, with one out.  

2nd extra inning: Each team will start their offensive half of the inning with the last batter of the previous inning on 2nd base, the next to last batter of the previous inning on 1st base.  Each batter will start with a count of 1 ball and 1 strike, with one out.

All subsequent innings: Each team will start their offensive half of the inning with the last batter of the previous inning on 3rd base, the next to last hitter of the previous inning on 2nd base, and the third to last hitter of the previous inning on 1st base.  Each batter will start with a count of 1 ball and 1 strike, with one out.  

XVII. Game Delays

a.    A complete game is 4 innings or an hour and ten minutes on a seven inning game

b.    A complete game is 3 innings or an hour and one minute on a six inning game.

c.     If play is suspended after these two points the score of the game will revert to the last completed inning.

XVIII.         Rain Out Procedure

a.    DUE TO THE POTENTIAL OF INCLINEMENT WEATHER ROUNDTRIPPER HAS CREATED A STANDARD CANCELLATION POLICY FOR ALL OF OUR TOURNAMENT EVENTS.  REFUNDS STIPULATED IN THIS POLICY REFER TO THE INDIVIDUAL TEAMS ENTRY FEE MONEY.

                                                             i.      25% if tournament is cancelled on the first day of the event which no games have been played.

                                                          ii.      Otherwise, no refunds.

                                                        iii.      No gate admission refunds. If chance of rain we recommend fans stay out of the park until game begins.

                                                        iv.      PLEASE UNDERSTAND WE ARE ONE OF THE HARDEST WORKING CREWS AROUND AND IF IT RAINS WE WILL DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO GET IN AS MANY GAMES AS WE CAN

                                                           v.      BUT UNFORTUNATELY, THESE THINGS DO HAPPEN AND WE HOPE EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS AND COOPERATES WITH THE ABOVE PROCEDURES.

XIX.     Managers Meeting

a.    There will be a mandatory Coaches / Managers meeting prior to the start of any RoundTripper Tournament

XX.         Tie Breakers

a.    Head to Head for two teams who are tied for one spot who have played each other

b.    Total runs allowed during pool play

c.     Total runs scored during pool play

d.    Coin flip; by the coaches to be called in the air by the coach who has traveled the farthest to play