Baseball Rules & Regulations

COACH PITCH

7 & 8-YEAR-OLDS

PITCHING
-Fair Ball Arc: There must be a 20’ arc drawn from 1st baseline to 3rd baseline in front of home
plate. A batted ball must go past this line to be a fair ball.
-Safety Arc: There must be a 30’ arc drawn from 1st baseline to 3rd baseline in front of home
plate. Infielders must stay behind this line until the ball has been hit.
-The pitching coach must keep one foot on or straddle the pitcher’s line. The coach may pitch
anywhere in-between the 30’ Safety Arc and the 42’ Pitching Circle.
-The pitching coach shall not coach while in the pitching position but may communicate to the
third base coach.
-If a coach violates this rule, a warning will be given. A second violation will result in the
coach being ejected from the pitching position for the remainder of the game.
-The pitching coach must position himself to avoid being an obstruction to the defensive team
on any possible play once the ball has been hit.
-If a coach violates this rule after the ball is pitched, obstruction will be called.
-If a batted ball hits the Pitching Coach, the following will apply:
-If the umpire judges that the coach did not make a legitimate attempt to avoid
contact, the batter is declared out and no runners may advance.
-If the umpire judges that the coach did make a legitimate attempt to avoid contact, the
ball becomes dead and a no-pitch is declared.
-The Pitching Coach must be an adult at least 18 years of age.

CATCHING
-The catcher must receive the pitch in the catcher’s box in an appropriate baseball manner.
-If the catcher is not receiving the ball in an appropriate baseball manner, a warning will
be issued by the umpire. If the catcher continues to receive the ball in a way that is not
an appropriate baseball manner, he will not be allowed to play the catcher position for
the remainder of the game.

DEFENSE
-Ten defensive players will play in the field with four outfielders. The fourth outfielder cannot
assume an infield position.
-All outfielders must stay behind the baseline.
-No player may sit more than one inning in a game.
-Exception 1: Player injury
-Exception 2: Disciplinary action due to a player not attending previous practices or
games for unexcused reasons.
-Exception 3: Disciplinary action due to player disobedience.
-The defensive player listed as the pitcher cannot leave the pitching circle until the ball is hit.
-Play continues. After the play has ended, the offensive team has the option of ! !
taking the result of the play or no-pitch.
-Defensive coaches are not allowed on the field of play and must coach from the front of the
dugout.
-The Infield Fly Rule will not be in effect at any time.
-Umpires will call “Time” after every play and declare the ball dead. “Time” will be called
as soon as all runners are not attempting to advance. “Time” does not have to be
called by the defense for the purpose of this rule.
-When a runner stands off a base and “jukes” or “feints” back and forth, this is to be
interpreted as “not attempting to advance” and “Time” shall be called.

HITTING
-The batting order must consist of all present players on the team roster at the beginning of the
game. Late arrivals must be inserted at the bottom of the batting order. All players on the roster
must bat before returning to the top of the batting order.
-Teams may start a game with 8 players. The 9th & 10th positions in the batting order will be
declared an out each turn at bat.
-A 9th & 10th player and all subsequent players may be added to the bottom of the batting lineup
as soon as they become available.
-Teams may use free substitution on defense, but the batting order must remain the same.
-No bunting allowed.
-The batter will receive a maximum of 6 pitches or 3 swinging strikes.
-A player may be Intentionally Walked once per game by decision from the defensive team.
-Runners can not lead-off or steal bases.
-A runner is out for leaving the base before the ball is hit or reaches home plate.
-A courtesy runner for the catcher from the previous inning may be used. The courtesy runner must
be the player that made the previous out. If no outs have been recorded in the game, the
courtesy runner must be the previous batter not on base. If the team batting has not played
defense yet and a courtesy runner is used for a player, the player that was run for must assume
the catching position the next inning. This scenario only applies in the first inning for the visiting
team.
-A team may score a maximum of 7 runs per inning.
-The game is over when the opposing team is mathematically eliminated from scoring enough
runs to win or tie the game.

RUN RULES
-15 run differential after the 3rd inning
-8 run differential after the 4th inning

GAME DURATION
-Time limit for each game is one hour or 6 innings (whichever comes first).
-Once the time limit has been reached, the inning must be completed. A new inning may be
started if more than 5 minutes remain before time is up.
-Games may not end in a tie.
-If a game is tied after the completion of the regulation number of innings or at the time limit, play will
continue until the visiting team has scored more total runs than the home team at the end of a
completed inning, or the home team scores the winning run in an uncompleted inning.
-Each extra inning will begin with the last player that batted in the previous inning at third base
and the second to last player that batted in the previous inning at second base.

60’ BASE PATH
40’ PITCHING DISTANCE