NBFSS Regional Tournament – Gulf Coast (Mobile/Biloxi)

New Balance Future Stars Series All-American Super Regional Tournament Rules:

NFHS Rules are used with the following exceptions:

HOME TEAM DETERMINATION

In POOL PLAY, the Home Team is determined by a coin flip.  During Championship Round games, the HIGHER SEED will be the Home Team.  The Home Team is responsible for the official book and will record the start time which will be announced by the umpire before the first pitch.  If seeds were not used, then a coin flip will determine Home Team.

PLAYER ELIGIBILITY – Age or Grad year depending on tournament format

In all age divisions, your age on May 1^st of that year will determine your eligibility OR Your High School Graduation Year

If the team is found with an illegal player due to incorrect reporting of that players age or grade, that team will be KICKED OUT of the tournament and will forfeit ALL games with a score of 7-0

A player is ONLY eligible to play for ONE Team per age group

TIE BREAKERS AND ADVANCEMENT RULES:

POOL WINNERS will always be the higher seed than a non-pool winner, and to determine POOL WINNERS, we will use the following:

Win/Loss Record

Head-to-Head (Only if all teams that are tied have played each other)

Total Runs Allowed

Run Differential (8 runs are the maximum amount of runs per game scored or allowed)

Total Runs Scored

Coin Flip

In a situation where there is an uneven amount of pool play games per team, WINNING PERCENTAGE will come into play and AVERAGE RUNS ALLOWED AND AVERAGE RUNS SCORE will come into play

RUN RULE/MERCY RULE:

12 Runs after 3 innings

10 Runs after 4 innings

8 Runs after 5 innings

During Championship Round games, RUN RULES will remain in effect through the Championship Game AND the Higher Seed is REQUIRED to be the Home Team

TEAM PREPARATION:  Teams need to be ready to play 30 minutes before their scheduled game time

There will be no official infield/outfield

Use outfield for ground balls and fly balls

Some field may have cages available for use on a first come first serve basis.  The availability is to be determined by the facility and not the tournament director.  No balls are provided.

TIME LIMIT/COMPLETE GAMES:

The time starts at first pitch of the game, not once ground rules are completed

ALL Pool Play games will have a 2-hour time limit

Championship Round games up to and including the Semi Final round, the time limit will continue to be 2 hours

Championship Games will have a 2:15 time limit

Consolation games will have a 2-hour time limit

No inning can start after the time limit has been reached

If the time limit comes during the middle of an inning, the inning is to be completed, UNLESS the home team is winning and they are batting, the game will then be final

The time limit must be reached before the last out of the current inning, not before the first pitch of the next inning

During Pool Play, if the time limit is up and the game is tied, the game will count as a tie.  If a game is tied after 7 innings and time remains the teams will play as normal until the time limit is reached or a winner is achieved.

During Championship Round games, if the time expires and the score is tied:

Last batted out will start at 2^nd base, 0-0 count on EVERY batter, with NO outs to start each half inning, and play the game from there

Complete Game Rules: If rain or weather suspends a game, a complete game is as follows:

6 inning games – 4 innings (or 3 ½ innings if the home team is winning)

7 inning games – 5 innings (or 4 ½ innings if the home team is winning)

All games called before these limits will be considered suspended

COURTESY RUNNER:

A Courtesy Runner is OPTIONAL for the pitcher and/or catcher at anytime

The Courtesy Runner must be a legal sub or the last batted out if you are batting a continuous lineup

Same runner cannot be used for both the pitcher and the catcher in the same inning

BATTING LINEUPS:

Hit 9 hitters with or without a DH

A starter can re-enter one time in their original batting order

Substitute cannot re-enter

Hit 9 or more players with the 10^th+ players being EHs

A starter can re-enter one time in their original batting order

Substitute cannot re-enter

EHs have free defensive substitutions

Modified College DH Rule is legal

The pitcher can be the P/DH, which means when they come out of the game as the pitcher, they can be the DH for their defensive sub

If you are using an EH, the player must be in the batting order at the start of the game

Pickoffs 3^rd to 1^st

3^rd to 1^st is an ILLEGAL play

PROTESTS:  No protests will be permitted, should a tournament director need to be called in for a ruling, time will be stopped and a final decision made on the spot.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS:

Teams can start games with a minimum of 8 players

If started with 8 players, when the 9^th player shows up, they can be inserted into the lineup in the 9^th spot in the batting order

If a team ever drops below 8 players, the game is ruled a forfeit and will not be rescheduled

If a team starts with 9 players and a player is injured, an automatic out is not required

If a team starts with 9 players and a player is ejected, an automatic out is recorded unless they have a legal substitute to replace the ejected player

FORFEITS:

A 10-minute grace will be awarded from the original start time before the game is considered a forfeit

If a team forfeits the final score will be recorded as follows: 7-0

Tournament Director has the ability to amend forfeit scoring

If a team forfeits a game, they are ineligible to move on to Championship Round games, but they are eligible for Consolation Round games

COACHES:

The tournament provides each team with 3 free coaches passes each weekend, coaches MUST BE listed on the roster.

The tournament strongly encourages that only 3 coaches be in the dugout

The tournament reserves the right to limit the number of coaches in the dugout, if deemed necessary

INJURIES:

If a team has no substitutes and a player gets injured and is unable to continue playing, his spot on the batting order will be skipped at no penalty

Once an injured players’ spot in the batting order is skipped, they may not re-enter the game

EJECTIONS:

If a coach/spectator/player is ejected from a game, they must exit the park as soon as possible, failure to do so in a timely manner will result in a forfeited game

If a coach is ejected from a game:

They will be suspended for the remainder of that game and potentially the next game if the Tournament Director deems the act was flagrant/malicious

If a player is ejected from a game:

They will be suspended for the remainder of that game and potentially the next game if the Tournament Director deems the act was flagrant/malicious or there was intent to injure or harm another player

PITCHING RULES:  New Balance Future Stars Series will not be enforcing pitching rules.  Each team will be responsible for their own players pitching load management.  We recommend that teams use USA Pitch Smart guidelines for the appropriate age.

BATS:  Wood or Baum Bats only – no exceptions

FIELDS AND DUGOUTS:

Upon completion of your game, the dugout is to be cleaned and trash is to be thrown away

Failure to do so could result in a forfeit or payment of any fees that the tournament incurs

TURF FIELDS:

NO:

Gum

Sunflower Seeds

Metal Spikes

Teams that break any of these rules will be immediately ejected and will forfeit their game and pay ALL costs that the tournament incurs

PLAYER/COACH/SPECTATOR CONDUCT:

Coaches are responsible for everyone that is associated with their teams

REFUND POLICY:

If you request to be removed from an event within 90 days of the events start date, you will receive no refund

If you request to be removed from an event before 90 days of the events start date, you will receive a refund minus:

$250 for a 5-game guarantee event

$200 for a 4-game guarantee event

$200 for a 3-game guarantee event where umpires are included in the entry fee

$150 for a 3-game guarantee event where umpires are paid on the field

Weather refunds will be:

0 games played – 75% refund

1 game played – no refund

Gate Fees are non-refundable

BASEBALLS:  Each team is responsible for providing their high school or better baseballs.  Teams will each provide 3 brand new balls per game.