NOTE: 3 SHORT BLASTS OF THE HORN WILL SIGNAL THE IMMEDIATE HALT OF ALL GAMES FOR EMERGENCY PURPOSES. Should this occur, the teams will be advised to immediately stop the game and return to their vehicles. Volunteers will direct the safe and efficient evacuation of the venue. Please follow their directions.

1. ALL DIVISIONS:  The “defensive” pitcher must be positioned as an infielder in the area in front of the bases and behind the pitching rubber set at 55’ – see attached diagram. No infielder except the catcher can be positioned closer to home plate than the 55’ mark until the ball is hit.

2. Game time is forfeit time, please be considerate of your opponents and be ready to play. All teams must start and end the game with 10 players. 

3. No metal cleats/spikes will be allowed.

4. No bunting, stealing, or leading off is allowed.

5. The infield fly rule will be in effect. (Base runners are on 1 & 2, or the bases are loaded, and an infield pop fly is hit with less than 2 out. The Umpire will call an Infield Pop Fly and the batter is out.)

6. Only defensive players may bat. (The offensive pitcher is NOT allowed to bat, unless they also play any defensive position). If a pitcher has also played a defensive position, it is recommended that the pitchers only switch out when the active pitcher is “in the hole”.

7. Re-entry rule will be in effect. That is a player may be substituted for at any time by a substitute player who has not yet been in the game. The starting player may re-enter the game one time providing he/she re-enters to the same batting position and substitutes for the same player who replaced him/her. (Original player and substitute cannot be in the lineup at the same time.)

8. A maximum of five (5) runs only can be scored in any half of any inning. Unlimited runs during   the 7th inning only.

9. Each team shall have a pitcher from their own team pitch to them. Each batter will be pitched to 3 times. The batter must put the ball in play with those 3 pitches or is out. No balls or strikes will be called.

10. Batted balls that contact the “pitch to yourself” pitcher will result in the baserunner / batter being automatically ruled out and the runners cannot advance. If an offensive pitcher purposely plays a batted ball (to break up a double play for example) or interferes in any way with the play, all runners and the baserunner / batter will be ruled out.

11. Pitching arc is a six (6) foot minimum and a fifteen (15) foot maximum. The umpire will be responsible to determine the height of each pitch. (Umpires should use the backstop as a maximum height and the height of the pitcher as a minimum height estimate.) The umpire shall call “No Pitch” before the ball reaches home plate when the ball is under the minimum or over the maximum height. The ball is dead (cannot be hit) and each No Pitch shall be counted as one of the three pitches per batter.

12. The player pitching to his/her own team MUST start his/her normal delivery with one foot on the pitching rubber set at 55’.  

13. A three pitch warm-up before and during the game is allowed.

14. No infield practice is permitted between innings.

15. A coed line rule will be in effect in the outfield. This is an arc 150 feet from home plate. No outfielder is allowed in front of the line until the ball is hit. If an outfielder is judged to be in front of the line, the batter is awarded first base, or the hit, whichever is greater.

16. A commitment line will be used. The commitment line is a line drawn twenty (20) feet from corner “1” of the home plate (corner closest to third base) and perpendicular to the third base line and shall extend six (6) feet from the baseline into foul territory.

17. To avoid a collision at home, there will be no stepping on home plate by the runner. The runner must cross the scoring line. A player who touches home plate will be ruled out. When a runner passes the commitment point designated between third base and home plate, he/she has committed to go home and the play becomes a force out situation. He/she will cross the home line that will be extended to the backstop. Should any player intentionally step on home plate or interfere with the catcher, they may be subject to the unsportsmanlike-like conduct rule.

18. The coach/team captain is responsible for his/her players and fans and is expected to control any excessive/unwarranted actions/physical/verbal abuse between them or any officials and the game in progress.

19. Unsportsmanlike-like conduct will not be tolerated, including:

Unnecessary rough tactics.

Harassing or threatening an official staff member or event volunteer.

Derogatory statements or abusive language.

UNSPORTSMAN-LIKE PENALTY: Player will be removed from the game and the next scheduled game. If the behavior occurs again, suspension for the remainder of tournament will result.

20. Any team with players bringing liquor onto the field, or into the dugouts, shall immediately be disqualified from the tournament.

21. If the weather is questionable on the day of the event, team managers are urged to go to the ballpark and talk to the coordinator for specific rain-out information. If the tournament is rained out, it will not be rescheduled. If it becomes possible to continue, the tournament will go to a one (1) pitch tournament of 3 innings only.

22. A pinch runner will be the last out of the same gender. There is a maximum of 2 per game per gender. Pinch runners must be used from 1st base, so a batter must make it to 1st base and be safe before they can bring a runner in.

23. Games that are defaulted (a full team does not show up) or forfeited (including a game has begun but 10 players are not fielded due to injury or suspension during the game) will end with a 7 – 0 score awarded to the winning team.

PLAYOFF TIE BREAKER: Any elimination or playoff game that is tied at the end of 7 innings or when the horn sounds (within the limitations of the score as of the last full inning) shall continue until a winning team is determined. The SPN international rule will apply where the last player out of the visiting team in the previous inning (male or female) is put on 2nd base and the batting order resumed. The same goes for the home team in the bottom of the inning. It is recognized that the following game(s) will be affected. ALL Playoff games will be afforded at least the 1 hour & 15 minutes minimum.

The home team will be determined by a coin toss and shall be considered to be the last team at bat in each inning.

Field specifications: distance from home plate to pitcher's plate is 55 feet - from the tip of the diamond at home plate to the pitcher's plate; distance between bases is 65 feet; the commitment line is 20 feet from home plate.

There will be a maximum of 12 medals awarded to each winning team.

Cancellations must be emailed to the Corporate Challenge office. If a team must cancel their participation in a sport, the Penalties are as follows: 

CANCELLATION: (Within 48 hours of your event start time)

Teams that provide written notification (by email) that they are canceling out of an event within 48 hours of the start of the event will be penalized 5 points. A company with participants who register at the event but are unable to register an eligible team will be considered a cancellation and the penalty will apply. 

NO SHOWS: (No notification of cancellation)

A No Show will result in a 10-point deduction and disqualification from that sport for the following year. A NO SHOW is a team that has not provided any notification that their team is not participating in an event prior to start time of the event. 

MISSING A GAME:

A company missing two (2) games throughout the tournament will be considered a Cancellation or No Show and the penalty will apply. If you think your team will DEFINITLEY miss ONE game, please call the Corporate Challenge office with at least 24 hours notice so that, out of courtesy, we can inform the challenging team.