TOURNAMENT RULES
The rules of NJBL Invitational Tournaments shall be the "2007" High School
Baseball Rules as published by the National Federation of State High School
Associations except where modified.
GENERAL RULES
1) INSURANCE
All teams must provide a certificate of insurance upon entry into the
tournament.
2) AGE GROUPS ARE DETERMINED USING MAY 1 AS THE CUT-OFF.
8 and under:
Born on or after 5/1/98
9 and under:
Born on or after 5/1/97
10 and under:
Born on or after 5/1/96
11 and under:
Born on or after 5/1/95
12 and under:
Born on or after 5/1/94
13 and under:
Born on or after 5/1/93
14 and under:
Born on or after 5/1/92
15 and under:
Born on or after 5/1/91
16 and under:
Born on or after 5/1/90
18 and under:
Born on or after 5/1/88
3) ROSTERS
Teams must bring rosters and photocopies of their birth certificates to their
first game. The maximum number of players on the roster is 20 though special
arrangements are possible. The roster will be kept by tournament officials and
birth certificates must be carried by the coaches for the duration of the
tournament.
4) PROTESTING A GAME
The only grounds for protesting a game is a decision based on an interpretation
of the rules, or the use of an ineligible player. The site coordinator will
decide the protest. He may decide to contact the rules interpreter for a
decision provided he feels the protest is not frivolous or an attempt to delay
the game.
5) HOME TEAM
This is scheduled in advance for all pool play. The home team for playoff games
will be determined by seeding (see section on Advancing to Championship).
6) PITCHING RULES
NONE!!! There are no restrictions on the number of innings a pitcher can throw.
7) COURTESY RUNNERS
NONE!!! Pitchers and catchers will run the bases for themselves.
8) INJURY RULE
If a player suffers an injury such that he cannot return to the game and the
team has used up ALL of their legal substitutes, the following rules apply:
A) The opposing coach can select an "illegal" substitute to replace the injured
player.
Example: A coach has replaced batters 2 through 9 in the batting order with
legal substitutes. Batter 1 gets injured and the team has nobody remaining on
the bench who hasn't already been removed from the game. The opposing coach can
choose one out of the players already out of the game to substitute for the
first batter.
B) An injured player replaced by RULE A can never return to the game.
C) A team with only 8 healthy players can complete the game with an automatic
out in their line-up. Note: A team must begin a game with 9 players. A team
cannot finish a game with fewer than 8 players.
9 ) ADVANCING TO CHAMPIONSHIP
Point System: A team will be awarded 2 points for a win. If a game ends in a
tie (and pool play games can end in a tie) each team will be awarded 1 point.
Any division with 8 or more teams will have the following playoff structure:
VISITOR HOME
game 1 4th place 1st place
game 2 3rd place 2nd place
game 3 Winner of Game 1 vs Winner of game 2 with higher seed as the home
team.
Any division with 7 or fewer teams will have the following playoff structure:
VISITOR HOME
game 1 2nd place 1st place
The following tie-breakers apply when teams have the same number of points after
pool play.
I Head-to head competition
This applies in the rare event that only 2 teams are tied and they played
each other.
II Run Differential (12 run maximum)
When 3 or more teams are tied it is extremely unlikely that all of these teams
played each other and that 1 team beat all of the others. In that case they
couldn't be tied. So we use run differential. HOWEVER:
After we break the first tie with run-differential, we will revert back to Head
to Head to break a second tie.
Example:
3 teams (TEAMS A,B and C) are tied for 1st place with 6 points each.
Team A had the highest run-differential so they are awarded 1st place. Team C
allowed the second fewest runs but Team B defeated Team C. Team B is awarded
2nd place.
A team that forfeits a game is NOT eligible for the playoffs.
If all tied teams played against a team that forfeited, all games against that
team will be excluded from the run-differential calculation. If all tied teams
did not play the team that forfeited, the forfeit score of 7-0 will be used in
the calculation.
III Runs Allowed over-all
The same forfeit rules apply. If all tied teams played the team that
forfeited, the games vs that team will not be used in this calculation.
Therefore someone's 7-0 victory would be thrown out. However, if not all teams
played the team that forfeited we WILL use the 7-0 score in this calculation.
IV Runs allowed vs common opponents
If all of the above fail we will try this.
and so on.
V Runs scored over-all.
VI Runs scored vs common opponents
VII Coin Flip
TIME LIMIT = 2 HOURS
in all divisions!
AGE SPECIFIC RULES
8 YEAR-OLDS
Pitcher's Mound 42'
Bases 60'
Game length 6 innings
Official Game:
Losing team bats 4 times
Mercy Rule:
12 runs after 4 innings of equal at bats.
3 steals permitted per inning
Base runners may not leave the base until the pitched ball reaches home plate.
Runners who leave early will be sent back unless forced to advance by a batted
ball, a hit batter or a base on balls.
No stealing home; a player may inherit home plate on continuous action following
a batted ball or by being forced in by a walk.
No infield fly rule.
4 outfielders permitted.
Universal batting is optional.
Play is considered dead when the pitcher has possession of the ball in the
vicinity of the pitcher's mound.
NO BUNTING
Bat allowed: 2 1/4 diameter only.
Bats having anything other than straight
handles are illegal. All aluminum bats must have a handle grip.
Dropped 3rd strike: the batter is out.
Metal cleats are not allowed.
9 and under/ 10 and under
Pitcher's Mound 46
Bases 60'
Game length 6 innings
Official Game:
Losing team bats 4 times
Mercy Rule:
12 runs after 4 innings of
equal at bats.
2 EHs are permitted. We do not use a DH. EHs are allowed to play the field
during the game.
Base runners may not leave the base until the pitched ball reaches home plate.
Runners who leave early will be sent back unless forced to advance by a batted
ball, a hit batter or a base on balls.
Bat allowed: 2 1/4 diameter only.
Bats having anything other than straight
handles are illegal. All aluminum bats must have a handle grip.
Dropped 3rd strike: the batter is out.
Metal cleats are not allowed.
11 and under/ 12 and under
Pitcher's Mound 51'
Bases 75'
Game length 6 innings
Official Game:
Losing team bats 4 times
Mercy Rule:
12 runs after 4 innings of
equal at bats.
2 EHs are permitted. We do not use a DH. EHs are allowed to play the field
during the game.
Bat allowed: 2 1/4 diameter OR 2 5/8 diameter (if it's minus 10 or less)
OR 2 3/4 diameter (if it's minus 8 1/2 or less)
Bats having anything other than straight
handles are illegal. All aluminum bats must have a handle grip.
Leads and stealing are permitted.
Dropped 3rd strike: the batter is NOT out.
Metal cleats are not allowed.
13 and older
Pitcher's Mound 60' 6"'
Bases 90'
Game length 7 innings
Official Game:
Losing team bats 4 times
Mercy Rule:
12 runs after 4 innings of equal at bats.
Bat size: -3 in accordance with High School Federation Rules.
Metal cleats are allowed.
The are no EHs. A DH is permitted for anyone in the batting order.