Play9 Sports League Rules 

Play9 events are Wood Bat only events. 

All Play9 Events are a 4 Game guarantee with bracket play unless otherwise posted. Fall events are 3 Game guarantee Showcase Format, no bracket play. 

*Play9 Sports PROVIDES BASEBALLS FOR ALL EVENTS*

The number of teams who advance to the playoffs corresponds with the total teams registered – For Bracket Events, Pool Winners and (TBA) Wild Cards will advance.

Play9 Sports LLC reserves the right to amend these rules at any time.

National High School Federation Baseball Rules will be enforced with the following exceptions. 

IMPORTANT RULES and INFORMATION 

1. Pool Play: A strict two-hour time limit will be adhered to in all Pool Play games. The game clock will begin immediately following the home plate coaches meeting prior to the game. No inning will start after two hours has elapsed. The umpires will be the official timers for every game. A new inning starts when the last out of the previous inning is made. Each team’s pool play schedule will be predetermined. DURING ALL POOL PLAY GAMES AT Play9 Sports TOURNAMENTS, WILL BE DETERMINED BY A COIN FLIP PRIOR TO GAME START. Teams must adhere to this predetermined designation. All pool games tied after 7 innings or the 2 hour time limit (whichever occurs first) will be recorded as a tie. Tie games will not go into extra innings regardless of remaining time. A tie is equal to a ½ win and ½ loss for each team. 

2. Championship Round/Playoffs: A strict two-hour time limit will be used in all games leading up to the Semifinal and Championship games. In the semifinal and championship games there will be no time limit. In all championship round games leading up to the Championship game, if tied after seven (7) innings, the game will go to the tiebreaker procedures outlined below. In the Championship game, there is no tiebreaker. This rule is subject to change. The home team in Championship Rounds will be determined by the highest seed. This is the case in all circumstances. 

*Teams from the same organization will not play each other in first round of the playoffs. The organization’s lower seed will be moved down one slot. For example, Team Sox is number 3 seed, Team Sox Blue is number 4 seed and Lumberjack Baseball is number 5 seed. Team Sox Blue will now become the number 5 seed and Lumberjack Baseball will now become the number 4 seed. This process will be started once pool winners and wild cards have been established. Exception to this rule is, no team outside of the organization in question will be seeded lower. 

Tie Breaker: If after 7 innings in Bracket Play the two teams are still tied, the following tiebreaker rules will go into effect: 

The last three hitters from the previous inning will load the bases, and the base runners will be placed as follows: 

o   Last hitter from previous inning @ 1st Base 

o   Hitter before him in the lineup @ 2nd Base 

o   Hitter before that in the lineup @ 3rd Base 

o   Normal substitution rules apply to these runners. 

o   The hitting team will start the inning with one out. 

o   Play continues until one team is ahead at the end of an inning. 

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME WILL BE PLAY OUT UNTIL ONE TEAM IS AHEAD AT THE END OF THE INNING

3. Forfeits: All games must be started with at least nine (9) players. A game can be finished with eight (8) players, no less than (8). Once a team establishes it has 8 players it must finish the game with 8 players. The player leaving the original lineup cannot return and his spot in the hitting lineup will be recorded as an out. Any team not on the field and prepared to start the game, at game time, will give cause for immediate forfeit. Any intentional forfeit will result in the forfeiting team being eliminated from the tournament without refund. The tournament director will rule on all forfeits. No team should benefit from the result of a forfeit in an unfair manner. This rule could result in a dispute and the tournament director reserves the right to look at and rule in the fairest manner. The director’s decision will be final. In the event of forfeiture, the score is recorded as 7-0. If the teams decide to play a scrimmage following the forfeit decision, the forfeit result will stand regardless of the scrimmage outcome. 

4. Pre-Game: No infield will be allowed during the tournament BP will be allowed in the batting cages when available.  Teams may have to share cages.  Coaches from both teams must work together to insure all players are allowed to hit.

5. Mercy Rule: 12 after 3, 10 after 4, 8 after 5. These rules apply in all rounds of the tournament including Playoffs/Championship round. There are no mercy rules for our Showcase Summer/Fall events. 

6. Trips to the mound: The pitcher must be replaced on the 2nd trip to the mound in any inning. 

7. Hitting lineup: Lineups can consist of 9, 10, or 11 hitters. The lineup must stay with the same number of batters for the entire game. The 10th and 11th hitter, if used, will be designated as an EH and XH on the lineup card. XH is a 2nd EH. The EH and XH are the same as any position on the field. 

8. In case of rain: Time constraints will determine that status of all rain out games. It is solely the team’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of any scheduling changes. All information will be posted on Tourney Machine, Group Text and social media platforms as soon as it becomes official. 

Note: No special requests will be honored if rescheduling becomes necessary. If games are cancelled, pool winners and championship qualification will be determined by the tie breaking procedures (listed below). 

9. Stop in Play: If a game is stopped, the game must resume within 1 hour of the stop in play. If a game is not resumed, it will become suspended or called official. If five (5) innings have been completed, or 4 1/2 innings and the home team is ahead; the game will be official if not resumed within 1 hour. 

After 5 complete innings, a tie score will be recorded as a tie in pool play. A suspended game will resume where the game was stopped. If a tournament is stopped before or during championship determination is decided, the tournament champion will be decided by Play9 Sports based on the seeding and tiebreaker processes within the rules (listed below). *As a note, the results of any game cancelled after becoming official will revert back to the last completed inning. 

10. Protests: Protests will be heard and ruled on by the tournament committee. The team protesting must make cash payment of $100 at the time of the protest. If the protest is ruled in the protesting team’s favor the $100 will be refunded. The ruling made by the committee will be final. If during the game, protests must be filed and ruled on before the next pitch. If the protested call ends the game, the protest must be made before the umpires leave the field. 

11. Roster and Roster changes: Teams may change their rosters up until they start their first game. A player is eligible to compete in multiple divisions in the same tournament, but cannot play on more than one team per division in which they are eligible. In order to be eligible for playoff participation, the athlete participating in two different divisions must have appeared in at least two pool play games for the team he wishes to compete for. Division of play can be determined by grad class or age cut off. The age cut off is whatever the players age is on May 1. For example, a 17-year-old sophomore is eligible to participate in 16U tournaments. This is determined by the athlete’s graduating class. 

12. Pitch Counts: Play9 Sports encourages proper care for all participants. Although there is not a strict pitch count, the best interest of the athlete is always the expectation for coaches and organizations. The NFHS Pitch Count limits provide a framework for arm care, but are not used as the standard for Play9 Sports tournaments. 

13. Scoring: We recommend that all teams keep a scorebook. The official score of each game will be kept by the umpires. In case an emergency where the umpire cannot keep the official score, the field scout will be the official scorer, it the scout is not available to keep score, the home team will be the official scorer. To eliminate scoring disputes, scorekeepers should check with the official scorer throughout and after the game. 

14. Sportsmanship: In the interest of sportsmanship, the tournament director reserves the right to remove any person(s) from the tournament at any time for unruly or unsportsmanlike behavior. Any coach or player who is ejected for the second time during the tournament will be eliminated from participating for the remainder of the tournament. Person(s) (Player, coaches and fans) ejected from a game must leave facility if deemed necessary by tournament director. 

15. Bat Specifications: Play9 events are BBCOR or Wood Bat only events. Coaches are required to adhere to guidelines provided in the link below: 

https://www.mhsaa.com/portals/0/Documents/BA/18batinfo.pdf

16. Not covered in the Rules: In the event an item is not covered in the rules, the tournament committee will make the fairest possible final ruling. 

Seeding and Tie Breaker Rules. 

1.    Pool Play Record 

2.    If ONLY TWO teams are tied and have played each other – Head to Head winner advances. 

3.    If 3 or More teams are tied and have ALL played each other a equal number of times – Team with the best record against the teams tied will advance. If ALL teams have not played each other go to tie breaker 4. 

*For example, if 3 teams have the same overall record at 4-2 and all 3 of the teams played each other an equal number of times and one teams record against the other two was 2-0 and another was 1-1 and the other was 0-2. The 2-0 Team will advance. 

4.    Total runs allowed in pool play. Smallest total wins the tie breaker. 

5.    If still tied – Total runs scored in pool play. Highest total wins the tie breaker. 

6.    If still tied – Run Differential – The total difference between a teams score versus their opponents. The largest differential wins the tie breaker. Runs scored – Runs allowed. 

7.    If still tied – Coin Flip 

*In the event that a pool winner chooses not to participate in bracket play, the next best team within the pool will be declared the pool winner, and advance as such. This process will be continued down through the entire pool. If no teams from a particular pool are available for bracket play, an additional wild card team will be chosen to replace them, and will advance to bracket play as a wild card team. 

National High School Federation Baseball Rules apply in all other cases.