PICKERING BASEBALL ASSOCIATION

                                                                 TOURNAMENT RULES & REGULATIONS

                                                                    MINOR BANTAM – MAJOR BANTAM

 

1.                  Ontario Baseball Association (O.B.A.) Constitution and Official Rules shall apply, subject to exceptions as indicated in the following rules and regulations.

 

2.                  Payment of the entry fee will apply as an appearance bond and will not be refunded.

 

3.                  A team roster approved by the Baseball Ontario Affiliate Registrar must be available in the event player eligibility is questioned.

 

4.                  Prior to participating in any game of a sanctioned tournament, all players and coaches must sign the approved O.B.A. Tournament Sign-in Form.  These forms will be forwarded to the O.B.A. Tournament Chairperson.

 

5.                  Managers and coaches are responsible for the conduct of their players and anyone involved with the team, both on and off the field.

 

6.                  Line-up cards must be presented ten (10) minutes prior to the game.

 

7.                  Games will commence promptly on time as per the schedule.  Any team unable to field nine (9) eligible players at the scheduled game time will default the game.

 

8.                  Home field will be determined prior to the start of all games by the flip of a coin with the team travelling the farthest making the call in all games.

 

9.                  The home team is to keep the official score and hand back the scoresheet to the convenor at the end of the game with signatures of both team managers.

 

10.              The decision of the umpire(s) is final.  There will be no protest of judgement calls by the umpire(s).

 

11.              Any protest will be resolved on the field by the Tournament Convenor.  All decisions of the Tournament Convenor are final.

 

12.              In case of rain or other delays, the tournament schedule may be revised.

 

13.              Ejection from any tournament game will result in an automatic suspension from the next scheduled game and/or the balance of the tournament depending on the circumstances.

 

14.              Baseball Ontario pitching rules will be strictly enforced (where applicable).

i)                    Baseball Ontario Pitch Counts will be strictly enforced per Rule P2-10.

ii)                  Where the Tournament Host does not provide an Official Pitch Counter” for a game, the Official Scorekeeper will designate and inform the Home Plate umpire of the “Official Pitch Counter” for both teams prior to the start of the game.

iii)                 Pitch Counts of the “Official Pitch Counter” will be the only numbers used by the Umpires during a game regardless of what numbers (Pitch Counts) any coach or spectator may have – no appeal or protest of the numbers recorded will be permitted.
Note: It is recommended that coaches check the Pitch Count of a pitcher as recorded by the “Official Pitch Counter” at the conclusion of each inning.

iv)                Coaches shall sign the Official Game Sheet immediately following the conclusion of the game acknowledging the Pitch Counts of the pitchers used during that game.  In the event of a discrepancy in numbers, the Pitch Counts of the “Official Pitch Counter” shall stand.  In the event a coach fails to sign the Game Sheet, the Pitch Counts recorded will be considered official and no appeal or protest of the numbers will be allowed at a later time. 
Note: It is recommended that coaches initial the pitch count of a pitcher as recorded by the “Official Pitch Counter” immediately upon a pitching change.

15.              There will be no infield practice permitted before any scheduled game.

 

16.              Tournament awards are set at sixteen (16) per team.

 

17.              Games will be seven innings in length. No new inning will start after two hours have elapsed from the time of the first pitch of the game however, once started an inning will be completed. No time limit will apply in the Championship Games.  The official scorekeeper will record the time of the first pitch and the umpire will announce the time to both teams.

 

18.              In the event of a tie at the conclusion of 7 innings and/or upon expiration of the time limit in any Quarter-Final, Semi-Final or Championship Game, the game will continue until such time as a winner is determined.  The game will continue with complete innings being played.

 

19.              An eighteen (18) run mercy rule will apply after 3 innings (2 ˝ if the home team is ahead) and a ten (10) run mercy rule will apply after five innings (4 ˝ if the home team is leading) or six inning will be in effect for all games including the Championship and Consolation Championship games.

 

20.              Official Game:  A game shall be official if curfew is reached and the home team is leading after 3 ˝ innings or the visitors are leading after 4 complete innings.  In the event that the game is suspended prior to curfew and prior to 4 innings being completed then the game shall be resumed from the point of suspension.  The defensive team must resume their exact positions on the field.  The count, if any, on the batter will be unchanged and the batting order must be the same upon resumption of the suspended game. If the home team is batting and leading or scores the winning run when curfew is reached, the game will end immediately and be considered official at that point and the score and offensive and defensive innings recorded at that time (full innings will be assigned to the offensive and defensive teams). 

 

21.              Standings will be determined by the number of points earned (2 points for a win; 1 point for a tie & 0 points for a loss).

 

22.                   In the event of a tie, the following tie- breaking formulas will be used:

 

 

a)                 In the event of a tie within the division, the following tie- breaking formulas will be used:

i)                    The winner of the head to head game between the two (2) teams will advance.

ii)                   Team with the smallest runs against ratio (Runs allowed divided by the number of defensive innings played). 

iii)                 Team with the highest runs for ratio (Runs scored divided by the number of offensive innings played).

iv)                Coin Toss.

 

b)                 In all other circumstances (3 or more), the following will be utilized:

i)                    Team with the smallest runs against ratio (Runs allowed divided by the number of defensive innings played). 

ii)                   Team with the highest runs for ratio (Runs scored divided by the number of offensive innings played).

iii)                 Coin Toss.

Note:   In the event of a forfeit during the Round Robin, a score of “7-0” will be recorded with

            1 run being awarded per inning to the winning team (e.g. 4 runs after 4 innings).         

 

23.              The Pickering Baseball Association (PBA) and its officials accept no responsibility for the loss or damage to any equipment and/or injuries to any player, team officials or any other persons in the park during the tournament.