THE CITY OF SOUTHAVEN OFFICIAL BASEBALL TOURNAMENT RULES & GUIDELINES

THE CITY OF SOUTHAVEN IS PROUD TO ADOPT THE SANCTIONING HOST RULEBOOK, WITH EXCEPTIONS, AS THE PRIMARY RULEBOOK GOVERNING ALL TOURNAMENT PLAY.

• EXCEPTIONS: Any District, State, Regional or World Series play will be governed strickly by the sanctioning hosts' rulebook.

TOURNAMENT ENTRY FEES

Tournament entries are only guaranteed after receipt of the entry fee. Online payment for entry fee is available @ www.snowdengrovepark.com or you may mail the entry fee to: City of Southaven Parks Department - Tournament Operations; P.O. Box 365; Southaven, MS 38671.

TEAM INSURANCE

All teams are required to provide proof of team insurance. A copy of the teams' certificate of insurance must be provided at the team check-in prior to a teams participation in any City of Southaven event.

PROOF OF AGE

It is the Head Coaches responsibility to have his players proof of age in his possession and be able to produce on demand his players' birth certificate or legally accepted proof of age in the event of any question regarding the age of his players.

GAME TIME LIMITS

 ** The City of Southaven reserves the right to modify game times as needed.

TOURNAMENT ENTRY CANCELLATIONS / WEATHER RELATED REFUNDS

Entry into a tournament implies that you are aware of and can play during the advertised / specified dates and times that tournament games will be held. Please do not enter an event you can't commit to. CANCELLATIONS are NOT subject to refund within 14 days of an event.

In the event a Tournament is cancelled due to inclement weather, the following refund schedule will apply:

• Full refund if no games have begun;
• 2/3 refund if 1 game is completed;
• 1/3 refund if 2 games are completed.
• No refunds after 3 games are completed.
• No gate refunds or rain checks at any time. Tell your fans / supporters, if play is in doubt due to inclement weather or rain, to wait until play begins to enter the park.

INDIVIDUAL GAME TIE BREAKERS

In Pool Play, if all regulation innings have been played or the imposed time limit has expired and the score is tied, the game shall be considered complete and will end in a tie.

In Bracket Play, if all regulation innings have been played or the imposed time limit has expired and the score is tied, the game shall continue using the Extra Innings guideline below. The following applies to all age divisions EXCLUDING the 6, 7 and 8 year old coach pitch divisions.

Extra Innings will be governed by the following:

1. Each team will have the opportunity to bat with NO outs.
2. The bases will be "loaded" with the 3 batter in front of the proper bateer in the lineup being placed on 1^st base, 2^nd base and 3^rd base respectively as if they had been "walked". EXAMPLE: If the proper batter is the 6^th batter in the lineup, the 5^th batter in the lineup would be placed on first base, the 4^th batter would be placed on second base and the 3^rd batter would be placed on third base.
3. Each team will bat until 3 outs are recorded. At the end of the complete extra inning, the team with the most runs will be declared the winner. If the game is still tied, the extra innings with the prior stipulations will continue until a winner has been declared.
4. All substitution and courtesy runner rules remain in force. For teams using a continuous lineup, the courtesy runner would be the 4^th batter in the lineup prior to the proper batter until an out is recorded in the inning.
5. For the purposes of the divisional pool play tie breakers and the order of finish, all runs scored and all runs allowed will NOT be recorded for the extra innings played. 

    

• EXCEPTIONS: District, State, Regional and World Series individual game tie breakers will be governed by the sanctioning host tournament guidelines / rules.

DIVISIONAL / POOL PLAY TIE BREAKERS

At the end of divisional pool play teams may be tied going into the final championship rounds with the same Overall Won / Loss record. The following tiebreakers will determine which team advances and in what order of finish.

1. Head to Head Competition (Only if 2 teams have the same overall record, If 3 or more go to Fewest Runs Allowed in all games played).
2. Fewest Runs allowed in all games played.
3. Run Differential (Runs scored minus Runs allowed).
4. USSSA ranking points (Applicable only in USSSA sanctioned events).
5. Coin Toss

• EXCEPTIONS: District, State, Regional and World Series divisional / pool play tie breakers will be governed by the sanctioning host tournament guidelines / rules.

In the Event of a Forfeit in Divisional / Pool Play, the non-forfeiting teams will be credited with a 1 run differential victory. The runs allowed in the forfeited game will be the average of runs allowed by the non-forfeiting team an all games actually played. EXAMPLE: Team A gets a forfeit win from Team B. Team A has allowed a total of 10 runs in their other games. Therefore, the average runs allowed by Team A would be 5 runs. The credited score for their forfeit win against Team B would be 6-5.

Any team due to the unsportsmanlike conduct of any of the coaches or fans which result in the forfeit of a pool game for that team OR the conceding of a pool game to reduce the # of runs allowed will result in that team not being eligible to advance to the Championship rounds.

ORDER OF FINISH (The following policy is for City of Southaven Invitational events only!!)

In the event of a rainout, the policy to determine the order of finish of the tournament will be based on the following:

• Rainout during / after completion of pool play: The tournament order of finish will be set by the tournament tie breakers listed in the DIVISIONAL / POOL PLAY TIE BREAKERS section above. Two complete rounds must be completed in order to establish a tournament order of finish. In the event that all teams did not play the same number of games Winning Percentage will replace Overall Record as the first tie breaker.
• Rainout after completion of any Championship Round Games: No consolation awards will be presented in the event of a consolation round. All awards will be presented to the Championship division. The completed game(s) will be recorded and the winner of the completed game(s) will advance to the next round and be placed higher in the order of finish than those teams that did not advance or have the opportunity to advance due to the rain based upon the tie breakers listed in the DIVISIONAL / POOL PLAY TIE BREAKERS section above.  In the event that all teams did not play the same number of games within each round, Winning Percentage will replace Overall Record as the first tie breaker.

PITCHING LIMITS

Any District, State, Regional or World Series play will be governed strictly by the sanctioning host rule book. All other City of Southaven invitational tournaments will be governed by the USSSA Rule Book.

RUN / MERCY RULES

TEAM CHECK IN

Team must check in at the Tournament Office 30 minutes - i hour prior to commencing play in their first game. Please be prepared to produce all tournament documentation, i.e. certificate of insurance, sanction # (if required), roster, etc. Failure to check in will result in a delay in starting your first game.

COACHES PASSES

Each team will receive THREE (3) coaches' passes upon check-in at the Tournament Office. Coaches who lose, forget or misplace their passes will be required to pay a non-refundable gate admission. Individuals who abuse or miss-use these passes shall forfeit their passes for the duration of the tournament.

PRE-GAME WARM-UP

All team pre-game warm-ups will only be allowed in designated warm up areas, or in the outfield of a ball field. No pre-game practice on any mounds or plates. Absolutely NO Soft Toss (including plastic balls) allowed into any permanent fencing within the complex.

LINE-UP CARDS

Each manager must prepare a minimum of 3 written copies of his line-up, listing first name, last name and numbers of all players including all substitutes. Lineups must be provided to the plate umpire and opposing manager. A game shall not start until this is completed. Managers are responsible for providing their own line-up cards.

HOME TEAM (*USSSA Events Only)

During pool play the Home team will be determined by coin toss. During bracket play, the higher seed will be the Home team. During the Championship game Home team is determined by a coin toss. Home team scorekeeper will be the official scorekeeper and must record the starting time in the scorebook. EXCEPTION: For all District, State, Regional or World Series the City of Southaven provides the official scorekeepers.

GAME BALLS

Game Balls will be provided (with limitations) by the City of Southaven for all events.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT ALTERATIONS

The City of Southaven reserves the right to alter, change or abbreviate tournament formats, when necessary, in order to complete the tournament.

AWARDS

Awards will vary depending on the tournament event. However, individual awards will always be presented to all players of the top two finishing teams. Team awards will vary by tournament.

GATE ADMISSIONS

All City of Southaven events will have an admission charge for all persons age 6 or over, EXCLUDING players and up to 3 coaches per team. Children ages 5 or younger will be admitted free. Gate fees will vary depending on the event, i.e. State Championships, World Series, etc.

PETS

NO Pets Allowed.

TOBACCO

Use of tobacco products are prohibited on all fields and in the dugouts during games. Snowden Grove Park is a Smoke Free Facility. No smoking is allowed within the park.

FOOD / BEVERAGES

NO outside food or beverages are allowed to be brought into the ballpark. ABSOLUTELY NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ALLOWED. The City of Southaven provides Water Coolers with ice in each dugout. Teams are also allowed to bring in their own circular (5 or 10 gallon) Cooler with pre-mixed sports drink. Individual bottled water or bottled sports drinks are NOT allowed. NO CHEST COOLERS ALLOWED.

We ask for the teams' assistance in bringing cups for your players, with the large # of teams that attend our events, we do not have the storage space to accomodate the amount of drinking cups that would be needed for all of the players.

Coaches, Please help us to prevent an embarrassing situation at the gates by informing your teams' parents of this policy. We do allow small personal coolers for towels and "refreshing" water (mixture of ammonia spirits, ice and water) to help keep the players cool during their game that MUST be kept in the dugout. HOWEVER, our gate workers will ask to inspect the coolers for any outside food or drink. NO CHEST COOLERS of any kind will be allowed into the park.

SPORTSMANSHIP

By players, coaches and fans are expected at all times. The Umpire in Chief will handle any rule misinterpretations (no judgement calls will be addressed) immediately and finally. There will be no Protest. Coaches will be responsible for their own fans behavior. Razzing, heckling or making disparaging remarks towards opponents, in any manner, is prohibited.

• EXCEPTIONS: Protest may be allowed in all District, State, Regional or World Series events. Check with Tournament Director(s) for protest guidelines prior to each respective tournament.

A Letter from Our Tournament Staff:

Good sportsmanship is a vital part of youth sports and is something that we should all be striving to teach our youth. For the most par, coaches and fans act appropriately at Snowden Grove Park. However, when there is pressure and the temperature rises, unfortunately tempers rise as well.

Coaches and Umpires alike are expected to keep their tempers in check and set the proper example for our young people at all times. Just as a good attitude makes an impression upon players and fans, so can a bad one. We are fortunate to have a very small percentage of ejections. Our goal is to eliminate all ejections. Our umpires are instructed not to talk to fans during or after any game. The umpires are in charge of the game until they reach their dressing room. Any inappropriate conduct immediately after the game can result in a game ejection for the coach in his next game. The umpire in chief will be available to talk to the HEAD COACH ONLY (no parents or assistant coaches) about a rule interpretation before, during or immediately after any game.

All ejections for coaches will result in banishment from that game and may also result in the banishment of the following game. Remember, rule interpretations may be disputed. Not judgement calls, especially balls and strikes. Coaches are also responsible for the actions of their fans. Inappropriate conduct by fans can result in a coach ejection.

This is youth baseball; bad sportsmanship will not be tolerated at our events. The game is not for the glorification of the umpires, tournament officials, coaches or parents. Simply state, "It is for the kids".

Let us work together and do our very best to make this a reality.

Yours in Baseball;

City of Southaven Tournament Staff

FINAL NOTE

The City of Southaven venues will be without question some of the finest, most well maintained youth sports facilities available. Teams are expected to pick up trash and debris in the dugout before departure from all games. Your assistance in keeping these facilities in pristine shape would be greatly appreciated. Please urge your coaches, players and fans to use all trash receptacles provided. We believe that the respect of a ballpark and ball fields is something that coaches, parents and fans can, by example, teach young players along with learning how to play the game we all love.