Coach Pitch 7 & 8

General Rules

• No tobacco, alcohol, firearms, or profanity on the field at any time.
• Games are 6 innings or 1:15 time limit.
• 3 outs or 5 runs limit per inning.
• USA Stamped bats only
• Safety equipment (cups) must be worn at all times during games or practice, especially the catcher.
• All coaches on the field and all team parents in the dugout must be Cal Ripken certified. No bat boys or girls.
• No throwing bats back to the dugout
• When a coach or player is ejected from a game, they must leave the field immediately and may not be present at the game site for the remainder of the game. Any coach or player that is ejected will be subject to review by the park’s governing board.
• All coaches must either wear a team jersey or approved Westside apparel. All coaches must wear a team hat or approved Westside hat.
• All coaches coaching the last game of the night on the field are responsible for raking around home plate and the bases and are responsible for emptying the trash cans in the dugout.

Offensive Rules

• Three coaches allowed on offense – pitching, one coaching first, and one coaching third. All other coaches must remain in the dugout.
• Any offensive coach that touches a baserunner will result in the baserunner being called out.
• The coach must pitch from behind the 30ft line for 7U and the 35ft line for 8U. They may step forward from that line, but a body part must remain behind it.
• 5 pitches per batter. If the batter fouls the last pitch, the at-bat continues until a strike out or hit. If the batter fails to swing at the last pitch, the batter is out.
• No intentional walks.
• Bunting is allowed.
• No slash bunts. That is, if the batter shows bunt, then pulls back and swings, they are out. If the batter shows bunt, they must either bunt or pull the bat back.
• If the ball hits the coach pitching, it is a dead ball, and the batter is awarded 1st base. All other base runners advance one base, if forced. NOTE: If the coach intentionally lets the ball hit them, the coach will receive a warning. It is a dead ball and batter will return to the at bat and the pitch will be considered a foul ball. After the first warning, the coach will be removed as the pitcher.
• All players hit.
• Base runners must slide or avoid contact with the defensive player in the act of making a defensive play.
• A courtesy runner may be used for the catcher. There MUST BE 2 outs and it MUST BE the last player who got out. The catcher who was run for MUST catch the next inning.

Defensive Rules

• 3 coaches allowed on defense. 1 coach may be in the outfield grass to assist outfielders. 1 coach may stand outside of dugout to assist infielders. 1 coach must be behind the catcher to help retrieve pitches. All other coaches must remain in dugout.
• All players play on defense. The infield consists of normal positions (1st, 2nd, SS, 3rd, Catcher and Pitcher). All other players are to be positioned in the outfield in the grass.
• The infielders must be positioned in the infield dirt. They MAY NOT be positioned in the outfield grass.
• Outfielders may come forward from the outfield grass once the ball is in play.
• The pitcher must remain within 5 feet of the coach pitching, either to the left, right, or behind the coach. The pitcher MAY NOT be in front of the coach pitching. A pitching circle should be drawn, which helps define this area.
• NO shifts allowed. The 1st baseman and 2nd baseman must be on the right side or directly behind second base. The SS and 3rd baseman must be on the left side or directly behind second base.
• Once the lead runner is contained or runners are no longer making an active attempt to advance a base, the play is over. This is a judgement call by the umpire.
• Each team gets 2 defensive time outs per game. Switching defensive positions once an inning has started counts as a defensive time out. Once both defensive timeouts have been exhausted, the player must finish the inning at the same position that they started the inning.
• If a player shows bunt, all fielders may charge immediately, except the pitcher.  The pitcher may charge once the pitcher has released the ball.

Overthrow Rules

• An overthrow is defined as a throw that is unsuccessful and that gets by the player fielding the base.
• A runner may advance 1 base on an overthrow. The rule applies at the base where the overthrow occurs. All runners ahead of the base where the overthrow occurs can advance as many bases as they want, at their own risk.
• When a runner is advancing the one base that is allowed on the overthrow rule defined in the rule above, they are doing so at their own risk. It is not automatically awarded. If that runner advances beyond the one base that is allowed, they do so at their own risk and may be tagged out. If they advance safely to the additional base, they will be returned to base they were allowed by rule to advance to.

Spring Season Specific Rules

• 10 run-rule after 4 innings. 6 run-rule after 5 innings. When the game is mathematically out of reach, as defined by the run-rules, the game is over. If the coaches decide to continue playing, as time allows, the score recorded is the score when the game was officially over.
• 1 extra inning in case of a tie, either after six innings OR time limit. If game is still tied after 1 extra inning, the game will result in a tie.
•  A new inning may start if ANY time is remaining.

FALL SEASON SPECIFIC RULES

• The game ends either at 6 innings or when time expires, regardless of game situation.  If an at-bat is in progress when time expires, the at-bat may complete; then the game is over.