The Basic Game

Indoor Softball is played by teams with 7 players each. One of the great things about Indoor is that it can be played on various sizes of playing areas. Only seven players take the field at one time but you can have an unlimited number of batters. There should be 4 men and 3 women on the playing field.
NB For this Tournament we will be playing with a MINIMUM of 3 women.

The basics are a variation of slowpitch softball. The pitcher pitches the ball to the batter who hits it and runs round as many bases as possible before the ball is brought under the control of the defensive team. The aim of the game is to score more points than the opposition.

Meanwhile the defensive team trys to get the batters and baserunners out in the same ways they do in slowpitch.

• Strike Outs
  
• Fly Outs - balls hit in the air and caught including off the walls or ceilings.
  
• Force Outs
  
• Tag Plays
  

Indoors is two innings long and are not defined by the number of outs, but rather by time. Each half inning is usually 6 minutes long - duration is flexible as long as its applied to each half inning.

Players still bat in a pre-arranged order and in mixed-sex games the batting order should alternate male and female batters. Batters continue to bat in that order for six minutes regardless of any outs being made.

NEW - Venue Policy

• Non-Marking Soles will only be permitted on the courts.
There are 3 main types of material used in soles: -

* Rubber, which is used in basketball, tennis and cross trainers to provide non-marking traction and external durability.
* Gum rubber, which is used with indoor court shoes eg: squash or indoor soccer. A non marking compound designed to offer maximum traction on a wooden playing surface.
* Carbon Rubber, which is a compound used mainly in running shoes due to its hard wearing properties. However, although being a more durable compound, these outer soles have the disadvantage of being a marking sole, and are not advised for surfaces such as tennis courts, where they will leave marks on the court.


• No Sliding - To avoid damage to the flooring we must enforce this policy - Sliding into bases = OUT!

Tournament Rules & Scoring

1. One pitch per batter (ball or strike).
2. Each game will be 2 innings with each half inning 6 minutes in length. There are stopwatches provided in each court.
3. Defence should consist of 8 players with a minimum of 3 women on the field at all times.
4. EXTRA PLAYERS in batting order – as long as the ratio is kept to M:F - 5:3, 6:4, 7:5 extra players may be used during batting. 3 males should not bat in a row. Equal numbers of M:F is also permitted and they should bat M:F:M:F etc.
5. There are 4 playing courts - any warm-ups can be done outside DO NOT do batting practice on the fields or near building.
6. Slowpitch rules apply except that bunting is allowed.
7. Running through 1B is permitted though runners should run straight through or turn to the RHS. Any player who appears to advance can be tagged out.
8. We strongly suggest you do not use your “good, expensive” bats. Please lay the bat down gently and don’t throw it after your turn at bat.
9. Batting team should stand to the right of home plate leaving the LHS clear for the scorer.
10. 1 Point for each batter who safely reaches 1B - the batter gets 1 additional point for each base they reach on their turn at bat (even if they stop at each base before advancing on an overthrow or mis-fielded ball etc. Baserunners do not get points as they advance to the next base on another batter's turn at bat, except for the following circumstance: 1 Point is given for each baserunner who safely crosses home.
11. 5 Points are scored for a Homerun AND an additional 1 Point for each runner on base when the Homerun was hit. (A point is subtracted if the batter is caught off the back wall).
12. - 1 Point for each out made by the defensive team.
13. Outs (-1pt) will be given for - any ball hit over the nets, any ball that is hit into the viewing gallery, a direct hit on the ceiling & metalwork and any deliberate hit into the cricket nets.
14. HOMERUNS - A home run can be 'run out' or scored by hitting the Home Run target on the back wall (Yellow bricks). Where a direct home run is caught off the back wall target, ball is dead and runners on base return to their bases. When a direct home run is not caught, all runners on base come off the field immediately and re-join the batting line up - score 5 points for the batter, plus 1 point for each runner on base.
15. Ball stuck in the net – A 1 base award will be given to the batter and any baserunners.
16. If the ball hits the walls and then rolls into foul ball area it must be played as FAIR.
17. Format – There will be a complete round-robin played. Top 6 teams will contest the Duddingston Cup, Middle 4 teams the Dunsapie Cup and bottom 4 teams the Burgh Cup. After the RR has been completed SF’s, 3rd/4th place game and a Final will be played.
18. Umpiring & Scoring – Each team will be given games to umpire and score. There will be a chair, pen & paper and a stopwatch in each court. The result should be handed to Liz immediately after each game.
19. Slow Play – Any team deliberately slowing play will be warned for the 1st offence. ANY further warning(s) during the tournament will incur a 10 points penalty each time. Teams should change over quickly and not be throwing the ball around the court wasting time.
20. Only closed sports drinks containers are permitted on courts – NO open cans or bottles please. Do not take any food into the court area.
21. No children under 16yrs of age will be permitted to play EXCEPT where the child is aged 15 and with the agreement of the organisers and a letter from the parent accepting full responsibility for their welfare.
22. "Borrowing Players" - If teams are short then they may borrow players from other teams. These players MAY NOT play Pitcher, 1st Base or Short-Stop.

Home Runs Area
Yellow bricks on the back walls only. Above this area ball is live and able to be caught on the rebound.

Sin Bin Areas
On courts 1 & 4 there are "Sin Bin" (bag storage) areas. If the ball enters this then a 2 base award is given.

Cricket Nets
On court 2 there are cricket nets on the RHS of the wall. If the ball becomes stuck in this area a 1 base award will be given. Any player deemed to deliberately be hitting the ball into these nets will be called out.

Viewing Gallery
On courts 1 & 4 if the ball is hit into the gallery then the batter will be called out.


Indoor Playing Positions

Home Runs

A home run can be 'run out' or scored by hitting the Home Run target on the back wall. Where a direct home run is caught off the back wall target, ball is dead and runners on base return to their bases. When a direct home run is not caught, all runners on base come off the field immediately and re-join the batting line up - score 5 points for the batter, plus 1 point for each runner on base.

Scoring the Game

As Indoor Softball scoring is more complex than the outdoor it is usually done by a non-player who scores for both teams.

Points are scored as following

• 1 Point
for each batter who safely reaches 1B - the batter gets 1 additional point for each base they reach on their turn at bat (even if they stop at each base before advancing on an overthrow or mis-fielded ball etc) baserunners do not get points as they advance to the next base on another batter's turn at bat, except for the following circumstance:-


• 1 Point
is given for each baserunner who safely crosses home


• 5 Points
are scored for a Homerun AND and additional 1 Point for each runner on base when the Homerun was hit. (A point is subtracted if the batter is caught off the back wall).


• - 1 Point
for each out made by the defensive team. Note it is perfectly possible for a team to have a negative score!!

Outs will be given ( -1pt )

• Any ball hit over the nets
• Any ball that is a direct hit on the ceiling
• If a ball lands in Fair Territory then rolls into the Dead Area
Local Rule

• Deliberate placement of the ball in the cricket nets on court 2
  
• Any ball hit into the viewing gallery on Court 1 & 4

Equipment

Standard equipment for slowpitch is used - ie a set of throwdown bases, same gloves and bats. It is, however, worth remembering that the floors are usually made of concrete and you should probably not be using your expensive bats.

The only equipment that is different is the ball - Indoor balls are still 12" standard size but are softer and more "squidgy" - they are often referred to as practice balls.

Created on 04/25/2005 07:17 AM by festiball Updated on 01/30/2008 08:34 AM by lesley

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