Sixteen – Inch Softball

Any softball rules not covered or found in this section will be covered or found in Part I of the current edition of the official NSA Rulebook.

The Playing Field 

• The official 16 inch diamond base lines will be sixty (60) feet.
• The pitching distance will be thirty-eight (38) feet.
• All batters start with 0-0 count
• No Extra foul balls!

Equipment 

• The bat shall have a safety grip of cork, tape or any combination of materials.
• The grip should not be less than ten (10) inches long and shall not extend more than fifteen (15) inches from the small end of the bat.
• The bat can be any ounce and length and does not have to meet the ABI/BPF standards.
• The bat can be made of wood, metal, or other materials approved by the NSA.
• Cleats:  Metal cleats are not allowed at LSSC.

Gloves

• NO GLOVES ALLOWED in Men’s divisions. 

Pitching Regulations

• A legal delivery shall be delivered with an underhand motion

• The pitcher must present the ball to the batter while standing on the pitching rubber.

• After presenting the ball for one second, the pitcher may take one step in any direction.

• Once a pitcher has taken the step, the ball must be presented again before the ball is delivered. NOTE: the non-pivot foot may be placed in any direction except in front of the pivot foot.

• The minimum and maximum pitching arcs from ground are six (6) feet and twelve (12) feet, respectively.

• The pitcher shall be allowed two fake delivery motions to either home plate or an occupied base. On the third motion, the ball must be delivered to home plate.

• At no time may a pitcher use a windmill motion

• No illegal pitch call will be made while the ball is in the air.

Base Running 

• Base stealing is not permitted
• A baserunner is permitted to lead off the base but is subject to being picked off of that base.
• If a pick-off delivery is made on a baserunner off first, second, or third base, he may advance at his own risk to the next base if it is unoccupied.
• Courtesy runner can be anyone on your roster
• A Courtesy runner can be used once per inning
• If player bats multiple times in an inning a different courtesy runner can be used

PLAYING RULES

1. Dome Roof: Any Ball hitting the roof will be considered a foul ball.
2. Out Mat: Every play at the plate is a force out. An out mat will be placed three feet in front of home plate. The catcher will use the out mat and the runner will use home plate. If the catcher has control of the ball while touching the out mat before the runner reaches home plate the runner is out. If the catcher touches home plate while in control of the ball no out will be recorded. The catcher may not tag the runner. If the catcher tags the runner, the runner will be ruled safe.
3. Force Line: The force line is half-way between third and home. If the runner crosses the line he must advance to home. If the runner returns to third after crossing the line the defense must attempt to make a play on the runner for him to be declared out. If the defense does not make a play on the runner, he will be allowed to remain on third.
4. Strike Mat/Home Plate: A “strike mat” will be used to determine sure strikes, if the softball touches ANY part of the Strike Plate or Home Plate legal pitch (6’ – 12’ arc), it will be considered a strike. Home Plate WILL BE considered a strike as well. The minimum height of a pitch is 6′ from the ground; the maximum is 12′ from the ground in all divisions.  . An umpire will determine all balls and strikes. All judgment decisions are final. Any excessive disagreements will result in an ejection from the game and/or league if deemed necessary by LSSC staff.
5. Home Run/One-up Rule: All leagues will use a three (3) home run limit. All over the fence HR’s in excess of the limit will be dead ball outs, except in the following situation.  Once both teams have reached the limit, teams are allowed to continue hitting home runs until they are one ahead of the opposing
6. Designated Homerun Hitter (DHH)- This is a player that may hit a homerun every at bat with no penalty towards your 3 homerun limit.
7.  Out of play areas: Any ball hit under a fence, thru the netting or past the yellow tape is deemed out of play. The batter will be treated as a ground rule double. If a runners on base will be awarded 2 bases. Example runner on 1st base gets 3rd base, runner on 2nd base gets home, and runner on 3rd base gets home. If a ball goes out of play raise both hands to indicate that it’s out of play. Below are the Out of Play areas.

1. 1. Any ball hit to the left of the yellow tape on Field 1
   2. Any ball hit under the outfield fences or bounces to the left or right and goes beyond these fences.
   3. Any ball hit thru the net at the far right corner of Field 2.

LSSC RULES

1. 1. 1. Only coaches and players are allowed in the dugout. Bat boys/girls will not be allowed.
      2. There is no smoking or vaping allowed in the playing area (field, dugout, and inside the dome).
      3. No outside alcoholic beverages are allowed in LSSC property. Alcoholic beverages purchased from or restaurant/bar or concessions may be consumed in the dome on the concrete area and inside the dugouts. No Alcoholic beverages will be consumed on the field.
      4. All trash should be thrown away after each game.

Softball is a contact sport, played with Composite, Aluminum, Wood and other approved materials in the design of approved bats and softballs. The game of softball can be a dangerous sport to participate in. In playing the game of softball, the player and the parents of the youth players participating in the game of softball assume for themselves and for the youth children participating in the game of softball the risk of serious injury or possible death. By agreeing to be placed on an NSA roster, the participants or parents of participants understand these risks. To reduce the risk of Injury; the National Softball Association HIGHLY RECOMMENDS THAT EVERY PLAYER wear protective equipment!