Those marked in bold read indicate changes from 2010 rules.

• 2012 8U Marysville/North Lewisburg Rules

  League will follow OHSAA/NFHS official fast pitch softball rules with the following exceptions: (Revision Date: April 7, 2011)

  • Age Qualifications

    1. Age shall be as of January 1.

  • Playing Field

    1. Pitching and base path distances
       • Pitching: 35ft. (unless agreed upon by both coaches prior to start of the game)
       • Base Path: 60ft.
    2. Umpire is required: Shall not be a relative of a player. Umpire must be 12 years old or older. (Also applies to tournament)

  • Equipment

    1. Batting helmets with face guard and chin strap are mandatory.
    2. Will use an 11” softball. (Yellow in color).
    3. Home team will provide (1) new and (1) good used ball for each home game.
    4. Shoes are required equipment. Shoe sole or heal projection other than the standard shoe plate are prohibited. Metal toe plates and metal cleats are prohibited.

  • Player Substitutions

    1. Teams may borrow up to (3) players.
    2. No borrowed player will be permitted to play, if a full line up of roster players is present and able to play.
    3. Must bat all available players, open substitutions will apply. If a player gets injured or has to leave the game for any reason while using continuous batting order, that player is then skipped in the batting order with no out taken. This player may also re-enter in a later inning.

  • Games

    1. Innings: 6; Official Game: 4
    2. 7 runs per inning limit, except for the declared last inning (you may then score as many you can up to your 3 outs)
    3. No new inning shall be started after 1 hour and 45 minutes from the start of the game.
    4. No infield warm-up is permitted after the first inning.
    5. Play with (6) infielders and (4) outfielders.
    6. No coaching from the pitchers’ mound, while the ball is in play.

  • Official rosters

    1. Official rosters must contain
       • Team name, area, age division
       • Coaches name, phone number
       • Players name, DOB
    2. Players may only be on (1) Marysville/North Lewisburg League fast pitch roster.
    3. Rosters must be presented to the opposing coach at the 1st scheduled game with that team. Players may be added to a roster up to the 3rd game of the season by contacting the association representative. Final rosters must be presented to the tournament director prior to the 1st game of the tournament.
    4. Final rosters must contain a minimum of (8) players and a maximum of (20).
    5. No boys are permitted to play in the Marysville/North Lewisburg League games or tournaments.

  • Tournament - Rules will be the same as league rules with the following exceptions.

    1. Trophies of at least (7) inches tall shall be provided to the 1st place team/coach and trophies at least (5) inches tall, not to exceed the height of the 1st place trophy, shall be presented to the 2nd place team/coach.
    2. Tournament fees shall be determined by the hosting team and league representatives.
    3. Host team area representative or designee is to be present at all tournament games.
    4. In order to qualify for tournament play, a roster player must have participated in at least 50% of the Marysville/North Lewisburg League game schedule. Injury exceptions will be determined by the league representatives. Current season score books must be available upon request.
    5. All protests are to refer to OHSAA and Marysville/North Lewisburg League rules and are to be resolved immediately. Home plate umpire’s decision is final.
  • No game shall be declared a forfeit because of a lack of players. The opposing coach will loan players.
  • The offensive teams coach will pitch 7 pitches. A player’s at bat cannot end on a foul ball. No base on balls is to be awarded. Umpire will not call balls and strikes. 3 swings of the girls’ bat will count as an out.
  • (1) Player shall stay, with both feet, in an 8 ft. circle around the pitching plate until the ball is hit. Coach must pitch from the pitching plate. A batted ball hitting the coach shall be declared a foul ball.
  • Stealing is not allowed under any circumstances. No Lead off until a batted ball is put into play.
  • No bunting is allowed.
  • All fair-batted balls will be defined as an infield or outfield ball. When a ball is hit and stays in the infield, base runners may advance a maximum of one base. Infielders are encouraged to attempt a defensive play and outs can and will be recorded. The intent of this rule is to allow and encourage the defense to attempt the correct defensive play. When the ball is hit into the outfield runners may advance at will. Once the ball is controlled by any infielder in the pitchers circle all play is stopped and a dead ball will be called. Base runners will be awarded the next base only if they were already on their way. If the grass outfield is within a reasonable distance it should be used as the dividing mark. If not the coaches and umpire need to agree upon a reasonable distance.
  • A team fielding 10 players must have each player in the normal playing position. Maximum of (6) players may be considered infielders. The (4) outfielders must be in a normal playing position at the start of the play, approximately 20ft beyond the base paths. A team may field a minimum of 7 players w/no out taken for vacant position in batting line up.
  • Coaches may stand behind the catcher and in the outfield behind the players, but may not touch the ball if the ball is in play.
  • If a player gets hurt on a batted ball, play stops and runner is awarded the next base.

• 2012 10U Marysville/North Lewisburg Rules

  League will follow OHSAA official fast pitch softball rules with the following exceptions: (Revision Date: April 7, 2011)

  • Age Qualifications

    1. Age shall be as of January 1.

  • Playing Field

    1. Pitching and base path distances
       • Pitching: 35ft.
       • Base Path: 60ft.
    2. Umpire is required: Shall not be a relative of a player. Umpire must be 13 years old or older.

  • Equipment

    1. Batting helmets with face guard and chin strap are mandatory.
    2. Will use an 11” softball. (Yellow in color).
    3. Home team will provide (1) new and (1) good used ball for each home game.
    4. Shoes are required equipment. Shoe sole or heal projection other than the standard shoe plate are prohibited. Metal toe plates and metal cleats are prohibited.

  • Player Substitutions

    1. Teams may borrow up to (3) players from a lower division. If an area does not have a lower division, they may borrow from another Marysville/North Lewisburg League lower division team.
    2. Borrowed players from a lower division must be on a Marysville/North Lewisburg League roster. Games may be played with 8 players, without penalty. Five of those players must be on the team roster. Example: With (7) roster players you may borrow (3) players from lower division to make a team of (10). With (5) roster players you may still only borrow (3) players to make a team of (8).
    3. No borrowed player will be permitted to play if a full line up of roster players is present and able to play.
    4. Must bat all available players, open substitutions will apply. If a player gets injured or has to leave the game for any reason while using continuous batting order, that player is then skipped in the batting order with no out taken. This player may also re-enter in a later inning.

  • Games

    1. Innings: 6; Official Game: 4
    2. 7 runs per inning limit, except for the declared last inning (you may then score as many you can up to your 3 outs)
    3. No new inning shall be started after 1 hour and 45 minutes from the start of the game.
    4. A pitcher entering the game for the 1st time will be allowed (5) warm up pitches. A pitcher re-entering will be allowed (3) warm up pitches. If the pitcher hits 2 girls in a row or 3 girls in an inning or 4 in a game she must be removed from the pitching position for the remainder of the game.
    5. Pitchers may pitch a maximum of 4 innings per game (free substitution). Any pitches thrown will constitute an inning.
    6. No infield warm-up is permitted after the first inning.
    7. Play with (6) infielders and (4) outfielders.
    8. No coaching from the pitchers’ mound, while the ball is in play.

  • Official rosters

    1. Official rosters must contain
       • Team name, area, age division
       • Coaches name, phone number
       • Players name, DOB
    2. Players may only be on (1) Marysville/North Lewisburg League fast pitch roster.
    3. Rosters must be presented to the opposing coach at the 1st scheduled game with that team. Players may be added to a roster up to the 3rd game of the season by contacting the league president. Final rosters must be presented to the tournament director prior to the 1st game of the tournament.
    4. Final rosters must contain a minimum of (8) players and a maximum of (20).
    5. No boys are permitted to play in the Marysville/North Lewisburg League games or tournaments.

  • Tournament - Rules will be the same as league rules with the following exceptions.

    1. (1) Sanctioned umpires are required for semi-final and championship games.
    2. Trophies of at least (7) inches tall shall be provided to the 1st place team/coach and trophies at least (5) inches tall, not to exceed the height of the 1st place trophy, shall be presented to the 2nd place team/coach.
    3. Tournament fees shall be determined by the hosting team and league representatives.
    4. Host team area representative or designee is to be present at all tournament games.
    5. In order to qualify for tournament play, a roster player must have participated in at least 50% of the Marysville/North Lewisburg League game schedule. Injury exceptions will be determined by the league representatives. Current season score books must be available upon request.
    6. All protests are to refer to OHSAA and Marysville/North Lewisburg League rules and are to be resolved immediately. Home plate umpire’s decision is final.
  • A player may steal 2nd and 3rd base only. A player may only steal (1) base at a time. A runner may not advance, any additional bases, while attempting to steal, on an overthrow from the catcher. No player is permitted to steal while the coach is pitching. A batter hit while the coach is pitching will not be awarded first base. Home base may be stolen ONLY if the catcher throws to anyone but the pitcher, no stealing on an overthrow to the pitcher.
  • Bunting is permitted, except off of the coach pitching.
  • A runner may advance (1) base only on an overthrow from a ball that is in play. Advance at your own risk. No additional bases will be granted on any additional overthrows per play.
  • The batter is out on a dropped 3rd strike. The ball is live and the runners on 1st and 2nd may advance at their own risk.
  • A batter cannot be walked. When the player throws the fourth ball to a batter, the coach comes in to pitch. The coach is then given up to 3 pitches to finish the count, regardless of the count. That means if the count is full, and the coach throws a pitch called by the umpire as not a strike, and the batter does not swing that the coach still has up to 2 more pitches. If the 2nd pitch is also not a strike, and the batter does not swing, then the coach has one more pitch. On that last pitch, the at bat is over regardless of the outcome unless the batter fouls that pitch off. If however in this situation with a full count from the player pitcher, the umpire calls a strike on the 1st or 2nd pitch, or the batter swings and misses on the 1st or 2nd pitch, then the at bat is over and an out is recorded. If there are no strikes on the batter, the coach still gets 3 pitches. It does not matter in this situation if they are balls or strikes; the coach pitcher is limited to 3 pitches. The coach must throw a flat pitch from the pitching rubber that is consistent in speed with the pitches thrown by the players in the league. Each illegal pitch will count as one of the 3 pitches for each batter. When the coach comes in to pitch, the player pitcher must have both feet inside the 8ft pitching circle. If the offensive coach is hit by, or inadvertently catches a batted ball, that ball will be called a foul ball.
  • Runners may not leave their base until the ball crosses home plate.
  • The 4 outfielders must be in a normal playing position. Depending on the size of the filed it can be defined as the edge of the grass or an approximation of 20 ft. beyond the base paths.
  • If a player gets hurt on a batted ball, play stops and runner is awarded the next base.

• 2012 12U Marysville/North Lewisburg Rules

  League will follow OHSAA official fast pitch softball rules with the following exceptions: (Revision Date: April 7, 2011)

  • Age Qualifications

    1. Age shall be as of January 1.

  • Playing Field

    1. Pitching and base path distances
       • Pitching: 40ft.
       • Base Path: 60ft.
    2. Umpire is required: Shall not be a relative of a player. Umpire must be 15 years old or older.

  • Equipment

    1. Batting helmets with face guard and chin strap are mandatory.
    2. Will use an 12” softball. (Yellow in color).
    3. Home team will provide (1) new and (1) good used ball for each home game.
    4. Shoes are required equipment. Shoe sole or heal projection other than the standard shoe plate are prohibited. Metal toe plates and metal cleats are prohibited.

  • Player Substitutions

    1. Teams may borrow up to (3) players from a lower division. If an area does not have a lower division, they may borrow from another Marysville/North Lewisburg League lower division team.
    2. Borrowed players from a lower division must be on a Marysville/North Lewisburg League roster. Games may be played with 8 players, without penalty. Five of those players must be on the team roster. Example: With (6) roster players you may borrow (3) players from lower division to make a team of (9). With (5) roster players you may still only borrow (3) players to make a team of (8).
    3. No borrowed player will be permitted to play if a full line up of roster players is present and able to play.
    4. Must bat all available players, open substitutions will apply. If a player gets injured or has to leave the game for any reason while using continuous batting order, that player is then skipped in the batting order with no out taken. This player may also re-enter in a later inning.

  • Games

    1. Innings: 6; Official Game: 4
    2. 7 runs per inning limit, except for the declared last inning (you may then score as many you can up to your 3 outs)
    3. No new inning shall be started after 1 hour and 45 minutes from the start of the game.
    4. A pitcher entering the game for the 1st time will be allowed (5) warm up pitches. A pitcher re-entering will be allowed (3) warm up pitches. If the pitcher hits 2 girls in a row or 3 girls in an inning or 4 in a game she must be removed from the pitching position for the remainder of the game.
    5. Pitchers may pitch a maximum of 5 innings per game (free substitution). Any pitches thrown will constitute an inning.
    6. No infield warm-up is permitted after the first inning.
    7. Play with (6) infielders and (3) outfielders.

  • Official rosters

    1. Official rosters must contain
       • Team name, area, age division
       • Coaches name, phone number
       • Players name, DOB
    2. Players may only be on (1) Marysville/North Lewisburg League fast pitch roster.
    3. Rosters must be presented to the opposing coach at the 1st scheduled game with that team. Players may be added to a roster up to the 3rd game of the season by contacting the league president. Final rosters must be presented to the tournament director prior to the 1st game of the tournament.
    4. Final rosters must contain a minimum of (8) players and a maximum of (20).
    5. No boys are permitted to play in the Marysville/North Lewisburg League games or tournaments.

  • Tournament - Rules will be the same as league rules with the following exceptions.

    1. (1) Sanctioned umpires are required for semi-final and championship games.
    2. Trophies of at least (7) inches tall shall be provided to the 1st place team/coach and trophies at least (5) inches tall, not to exceed the height of the 1st place trophy, shall be presented to the 2nd place team/coach.
    3. Tournament fees shall be determined by the hosting team and league representatives.
    4. Host team area representative or designee is to be present at all tournament games.
    5. In order to qualify for tournament play, a roster player must have participated in at least 50% of the Marysville/North Lewisburg League game schedule. Injury exceptions will be determined by the league representatives. Current season score books must be available upon request.
    6. All protests are to refer to OHSAA and Marysville/North Lewisburg League rules and are to be resolved immediately. Home plate umpire’s decision is final.
    7. If a player gets hurt on a batted ball, play stops and runner is awarded the next base.

• 2012 16U Marysville/North Lewisburg Rules

  League will follow OHSAA official fast pitch softball rules with the following exceptions: (Revision Date: April 7, 2011)

  • Age Qualifications

    1. Age shall be as of January 1.

  • Playing Field

    1. Pitching and base path distances
       • Pitching: 40ft.
       • Base Path: 60ft.
    2. OHSAA or ASA sanctioned umpire/ must be 18 years old or older if not sanctioned: Shall not be a relative of a player.

  • Equipment

    1. Batting helmets with face guard and chin strap are mandatory.
    2. Will use an 12” softball. (Yellow in color).
    3. Home team will provide (1) new and (1) good used ball for each home game.
    4. Shoes are required equipment. Shoe sole or heal projection other than the standard shoe plate are prohibited. Metal toe plates and metal cleats are prohibited.

  • Player Substitutions

    1. Teams may borrow up to (3) players from a lower division. If an area does not have a lower division, they may borrow from another Marysville/North Lewisburg League lower division team.
    2. Borrowed players from a lower division must be on a Marysville/North Lewisburg League roster. Games may be played with 8 players, without penalty. Five of those players must be on the team roster. Example: With (6) roster players you may borrow (3) players from lower division to make a team of (9). With (5) roster players you may still only borrow (3) players to make a team of (8).
    3. No borrowed player will be permitted to play if a full line up of roster players is present and able to play.
    4. Must bat all available players, open substitutions will apply. If a player gets injured or has to leave the game for any reason while using continuous batting order, that player is then skipped in the batting order with no out taken. This player may also re-enter in a later inning.

  • Games

    1. Innings: 7; Official Game: 5
    2. 7 runs per inning limit, except for the declared last inning (you may then score as many you can up to your 3 outs)
    3. No new inning shall be started after 1 hour and 45 minutes from the start of the game.
    4. A pitcher entering the game for the 1st time will be allowed (5) warm up pitches. A pitcher re-entering will be allowed (3) warm up pitches. If the pitcher hits 2 girls in a row or 3 girls in an inning or 4 in a game she must be removed from the pitching position for the remainder of the game.
    5. Pitchers may pitch a maximum of 5 innings per game (free substitution). Any pitches thrown will constitute an inning.
    6. No infield warm-up is permitted after the first inning.
    7. Play with (6) infielders and (3) outfielders.

  • Official rosters

    1. Official rosters must contain
       • Team name, area, age division
       • Coaches name, phone number
       • Players name, DOB
    2. Players may only be on (1) Marysville/North Lewisburg League fast pitch roster.
    3. Rosters must be presented to the opposing coach at the 1st scheduled game with that team. Players may be added to a roster up to the 3rd game of the season by contacting the league president. Final rosters must be presented to the tournament director prior to the 1st game of the tournament.
    4. Final rosters must contain a minimum of (8) players and a maximum of (20).
    5. No boys are permitted to play in the Marysville/North Lewisburg League games or tournaments.

  • Tournament - Rules will be the same as league rules with the following exceptions.

    1. (2) Sanctioned umpires are required for semi-final and championship games.
    2. Trophies of at least (7) inches tall shall be provided to the 1st place team/coach and trophies at least (5) inches tall, not to exceed the height of the 1st place trophy, shall be presented to the 2nd place team/coach.
    3. Tournament fees shall be determined by the hosting team and league representatives.
    4. Host team area representative or designee is to be present at all tournament games.
    5. In order to qualify for tournament play, a roster player must have participated in at least 50% of the Marysville/North Lewisburg League game schedule. Injury exceptions will be determined by the league representatives. Current season score books must be available upon request.
    6. All protests are to refer to OHSAA and Marysville/North Lewisburg League rules and are to be resolved immediately. Home plate umpire’s decision is final.
    7. If a player gets hurt on a batted ball, play stops and runner is awarded the next base.