Division One Rules

The Villages Division 1 Softball

Version 6

A. Introduction

Division 1 (D1) provides the highest level of recreational slow-pitch softball in The Villages for residents age 50 and over. Games are governed by Senior Softball USA (SSUSA) rules except where these D1 rules differ — in which case the D1 rules take precedence.

B. Player and Volunteer Qualifications

1. Eligibility. Players must hold a valid Villages Resident ID and reach age 50 within the current calendar year.
2. Evaluation of new players. New players complete the three-session Recreation Department evaluation. Players rated at the D1 level become Priority Subs for the remainder of the season. When a team needs a substitute, the Priority Sub list is used before equivalently rated rostered players from other teams.
3. Minimum tenure. A player evaluated as D1 must play at least six D1 games before being permitted to move down to a lower division.
4. Full-season replacements. A player who has been replaced for the season by a full-season substitute may not return to a D1 roster during that same season.
5. Playoff eligibility. A player must be on a team's roster for the team's last four scheduled regular-season games to be eligible for the playoffs.
6. Moving up from Division 2. Players promoted from Division 2 must be rated in the top 25% of Division 2.
7. Returning players. Players returning to D1 after an extended absence may be required to be re-evaluated, at the Board's discretion.
8. Volunteers. Volunteers (umpires, scorekeepers, managers, Board members, and others) must complete a volunteer application and sign a waiver. Volunteers are not required to be registered players.

C. Equipment

1. Pitching screens are mandatory in all games.
2. Bats must display an approved SSUSA insignia.
3. Warm-up donuts and weighted sleeves must be stored off the playing surface when not in use.
4. Passive bat warmers are permitted.

D. Pre-Game Preparation

1. Line-up sheet. Managers submit line-up sheets — including batting order, player numbers, available substitutes, and one designated protected batter — to the scorer's box at least 15 minutes before game time.
2. Late arrivals. Players already listed on the line-up may enter the game upon arrival. An out is recorded for each plate appearance missed before they arrive.
3. Minimum players. A team must field at least nine players to begin or continue a game.

E. In-Game Rules

D1 follows SSUSA rules except where overridden below.

1. Cancellations. A game may be cancelled by the Recreation Department, by the umpires, or by mutual agreement of the managers when weather or field conditions make play unsafe or impractical.
2. Ties. Regular-season games tied after nine innings end as ties.
3. Catch-Up Rule (innings 1 through 6). A team may score up to 5 runs per inning. If the team is trailing by more than 10 runs, it may instead score up to half the deficit, rounded up — for example, 7 runs when trailing by 13. The catch-up cap does not apply in the seventh inning and later.
4. Mercy Rule. The game ends when the trailing team has batted at least five times and is behind by 15 or more runs.
5. Umpire interaction. Only the manager, or one designated player identified on the line-up sheet, may discuss calls with the umpires.
6. Protests. A protest must be raised immediately by the manager or designated player. The on-field umpire decides the protest after consulting a Board member or the Umpire Committee Chairman if either is present. The umpire's decision is final.
7. Ground-rule adjustments. Ground-rule changes may be made for safety reasons only — for example, a wet field. Sun-related adjustments to pitch height are not permitted.
8. Re-entry. A player who has been replaced by a legal substitute after the game has begun may not re-enter the game.
9. Starting count. Every batter starts with a 0-0 count.
10. Batter's box. A batter is out if his foot is on the ground completely outside the lines of the batter's box when he hits the ball, fair or foul.
11. Hitting the pitching screen. A batted ball that strikes the pitching screen is a dead ball and a strike on the batter (an out if it is the third strike). Runners return to their original bases.
12. Two-strike fouls. Any foul ball — including a ball that strikes the pitching screen — with two strikes already on the batter is strike three; the batter is out.
13. Foul tips. A foul tip caught by the catcher is an out, regardless of count.
14. Safety base at first.
    • When there is a play on the batter-runner at first base, the batter-runner must touch only the orange safety base. Touching any part of the white base is an out, unless the umpire judges that the runner did so to avoid a collision. This is not an appeal play.
    • Once the batter-runner has reached first safely, the runner and fielder may use either bag.
15. Intentional sliding. Intentionally sliding into the orange safety base at first, or into the scoring plate at home, is an out.
16. Shortened games. A game cut short (for example, by weather) is complete if the visiting team is leading after five innings, or if the home team is leading after 4½ innings.
17. Pitching mechanics.
    • The pitcher must have one foot on the pitching plate when he delivers the ball.
    • The pitching screen is placed no more than four feet in front of the pitching plate and must cover at least half of it.
    • The screen may not be moved during a half-inning except when displaced by a hit ball or when a new pitcher enters.
    • Pitchers may release the ball from either side of the screen, but not over the top.
18. Pitcher safety. When the ball is struck, the pitcher's whole torso and head must be behind the screen. If the pitcher is not behind the screen and touches a batted ball, the ball is dead, the batter is awarded first base, and any forced runners advance one base. Umpires may issue a warning to a pitcher who fails to get behind the screen. A second warning requires a change of pitcher.
19. Masks. Pitchers are not required to wear masks. Infielders are encouraged but not required to wear them. A discarded mask is part of the playing field.
20. Courtesy runners.
    • Any player on the line-up sheet may serve as a courtesy runner up to twice per seven-inning game (both uses may occur in the same inning), plus one additional use in extra innings.
    • A courtesy runner may enter the game at any time.
    • If the scorekeeper identifies an illegal courtesy runner on base, the scorekeeper notifies the umpire and the runner is called out.
21. Protected batter.
    • Each team designates one protected batter on the line-up sheet before each game.
    • If the protected batter is replaced due to injury, the substitute inherits protected status for the remainder of that game.
    • When a protected batter who has already been walked once in the game receives a four-pitch walk with no strikes thrown, he is awarded second base, and all runners advance two bases.

F. Warnings and Ejections

1. Code of conduct. Players and volunteers must follow The Villages Code of Conduct while participating in D1 events.
2. Authority. Board members and the umpires assigned to a game have the authority to warn or eject any D1 participant — player or non-player — from the time they arrive at the field until they leave it.
3. Grounds for warning, ejection, or suspension. Grounds include, but are not limited to: unsportsmanlike conduct, profanity, abusive behavior, smoking or alcohol use on the field, and use of an unsafe bat.
4. Consequences of an in-game ejection.
   • An ejected player may not be replaced for the remainder of that game. An out is recorded for each subsequent plate appearance that would have come to the ejected player.
   • If the team falls below nine players as a result of the ejection, the team forfeits.
   • The umpire submits a written report of the ejection to The Villages Recreation Department (TVRD), the Board, and the player.
   • All further sanctions and appeals are handled exclusively by TVRD.

G. Substitute Players

1. Sub limits. Sub-use limits are governed by the D1 Sub Policy.
2. In-game injury subs. A player who is injured during a game is replaced through the normal sub process. If no legal sub is available, the team plays short and an out is recorded only the first time the open spot in the order comes to bat.
3. Replacing a suspended player. When TVRD imposes a multi-game suspension following an ejection, a substitute may be used in the games covered by the suspension. This is distinct from rule F.4 — in the game in which the ejection occurs, the ejected player may not be replaced.
4. Playoff subs. Substitutes used during the playoffs must be drawn from regular-season rostered players.
5. Approval. All substitute ratings and in-season roster changes require Board approval.
6. Mid-season departures. A player who quits a team mid-season is not eligible to be drafted for the following full season, unless the Board grants an exception for hardship or other legitimate cause.