Rules
General
Unless otherwise noted, the official Federation High School Rulebook will be used for this tournament.
NOCSAE high school standard catchers gear and baseballs are not required. One piece catchers helmets are required (no 2 piece skull cap and mask).
All paperwork (team waivers and insurance) will be completed in advance of the event. We will not accept any paperwork at the field.
Game schedules will be available approximately 7 days prior to tournament start.
Coaches/parents should plan on the following for the tournament weekend: Team check-in will occur at your field prior to your first game. Games will start promptly at 8AM Friday morning. All teams MUST have completed all paperwork and be prepared to play at 8AM Friday. NO EXCEPTIONS! Due to the large nature of this event (over 100 teams) we cannot accept schedule requests.
Team will play as many as 2 games Friday and 2 games Saturday. Playoffs rounds (top teams only) on Sunday.
Absolutely no alcohol or tobacco products are allowed in, near or in the parking lots of any of our facilities. Procession of either on school grounds is a violation of New York State law and will be strictly enforced.
There is no email or phone being monitored for contact during the event. All communications will be done using the documented text service and via the web site announcements on the schedule pages.
Failure to appear for any pool play, playoff or consolation game will result in permanent removal from future events.
9U Only
60’ bases - 46’ pitching.
Bat Requirements - USABat or wood only.
All games are 6 innings.
Teams will field 9 Players defensively.
Runner may not leave base until ball crosses plate. One dead ball team warning for leaving early. Subsequent call will result in dead ball and runner being out.
Stealing of all bases, including home, is allowed.
Runner may attempt to advance at their own risk on any pitch delivered or errant return throw from the catcher to the pitcher or any throw from the catcher to any other defensive player not the pitcher. Any runner not advancing (stealing) at the time the ball is returned to the pitcher can only then steal if that return throw is an errant throw that the pitcher does immediately possess. Standing in place or taunting while off the base while the pitcher is in possession of the ball in the mound area is not a form of advancing and will result in dead ball and runner being returned to the base previously occupied.
No dropped third strike or infield fly rule in effect.
No metal spikes.
10U thru 12U divisions only
70’ bases & 50’ pitching mounds.
All games are 6 innings.
No metal spikes.
Bat Requirements - BPF 1.15, USABat, BBCOR certified or wood only.
13U and older divisions only
90’ bases & 60’ pitching mounds.
All games are 7 innings.
BBCOR certified or wood bats only
Metal spikes are permitted.
All Ages
Age Determination: For all divisions age is determined based on the age of your oldest player on April 30th of the current tournament year. There are NO EXCEPTIONS to our age requirements.
Team Warm-up: The infields on each of the fields cannot be used for warm-ups. The outfield of each field or grass areas around the fields can be used for playing catch and warming up pitchers only. For safety reasons, no fielding can occur (batted balls) outside of the fenced in fields themselves. Hitting baseballs into sock nets or use of wiffle/pickle balls is permitted.
Standings/Game Scores: Standings and game scores will be updated on the Cap Classic web site periodically throughout the day. This is the only official source for this information.
Official Score Card: The home team will be responsible for keeping the official score book. Winning team is responsible for reporting score to the on site tournament official.
Seeding for Sundays Playoffs: Seeding results will be available online on the Cap Classic website between 10PM and 11PM Saturday.
Time Limit: Pool play and playoff games have a 1 hour 45 minute time limit for all ages. That means no new inning can be started after the time limit has been reached. However, the current inning in progress will be completed if it is necessary to determine the outcome of the game. Ties will be considered ties in the final standings once the time limit is reached or the maximum innings (6 or 7) have been completed. Mercy rule applies to all pool and playoff games.
Mercy Rule: Mercy rule is 12 runs after 3 innings, 10 runs after 4 innings, 8 runs after 5 or anytime thereafter. Home team, if losing, is always given opportunity to bat before mercy rule can be applied. In the event of rain, 1 inning is considered an official game.
Playoff games only: If the game is still tied at the time limit, the International Tie Breaker rule will be used (place last out of the last inning at second base). 1 out on the batting team. Play full innings until the tie is broken. Mercy rule still applies. Pool play - tie ends in a tie. No extra innings.
Championship games will have no time limit. No tie breaker rule. Game must be played to completion to determine a winner. Mercy rule still applies.
The tournament committee reserves the right to shorten official games, time limits and playoff formats in the event of inclement weather.
Forfeit games will be scored as 25-0.
Use of electronic devices for the sole purpose of game scorekeeping is permitted both on the bench and in the coaches boxes.
Use of electronic bat sensors approved for league play by MLB, Ripken Baseball or the NCAA, for the purpose of player skill development, will be permitted.
Catchers mask must be one piece (no two piece masks), with full back of head and ear protection as required by NFHS Rules.
Pitching Restrictions: None
Batting Order Options: Teams may bat 9 players using the official MLB DH rule for the pitcher. Use of the DH is optional and must be declared when lineup is submitted. The DH can be removed as defined in the official MLB rulebook.
Teams may also choose to bat one extra hitter (EH). For substitution purposes, the EH will be considered a defensive position (he may be freely used defensively). Re-entry will be allowed once for any starting lineup player only as long as he returns to the exact spot he occupied in the batting order when the official starting lineup was presented.
Teams may also elect to bat their entire lineup. There is no option to bat more than 10 but less than your entire bench.
Injury Substitution Rule: For teams batting their lineup, an out will be taken in the vacated position. For teams not batting their lineup: In the event that a player becomes injured or is ejected and all eligible substitutions have been exhausted, the opposing coach will select a player to re-enter the game for that player from the roster of players not in the lineup. The batting order does not shrink as a result of an injury or ejection if a valid substitute is available. If no valid substitutes exist, an out is taken in the vacated spot. Regardless of the number of batters being used in the lineup, in the event a batting order becomes less than 8 batters, a forfeit with a score of 25-0 will be declared. Teams cannot at any time play with less than 8 players in their batting order.
Player/Coach Ejection: In the event that a player is ejected from a game, he will automatically be assessed an additional 1 game suspension to be served on the players bench. In the event of a coach ejection, the coach will be removed from the bench for 1 additional game.
Courtesy Runners: Courtesy runner (someone not in batting order if batting less than your entire lineup - or last batted out if batting entire lineup) only for the pitcher and catcher of record can be used at any point in the game. Cannot be used for DH. The pitcher and catcher of record will be defined as follows: In the top half the first inning, it is the player assigned that position on the official score card. If positions were not supplied then no pitcher/catcher of record currently exists. For all subsequent innings, it is the player who occupied the pitcher/catcher’s position when the last defensive out of the most recent defensive inning was made. Coaches remember this is a ‘speed up’ rule not a ‘slow down’ rule. Have your Courtesy Runner ready to go when needed. Stopping the game for several minutes to get your runner in place is not an appropriate use of this rule. Use of a Courtesy runner is optional.
Pitcher Visits: On the second visit in the same inning or third visit in the game to a specific pitcher, that pitcher must be removed.
Avoiding Contact Rule: Baserunner must attempt to avoid contact at all times. Sliding is one form of avoiding contact. It is the umpire’s discretion as to whether the contact was avoidable. If it was deemed avoidable, the offending player is out. If the contact, in the judgement of the umpire, was deemed intentional and excessive, the player may be ejected from the game.
Head first sliding is discouraged, but not illegal.
Intentional Walk: Awarded automatically. Does not require 4 balls to be thrown.
Base Coaches Helmets are strongly encouraged, but not required, for all adult (age 18 and over) coaches. Coaches who elect not to wear them do so at their own risk. A full helmet with ear protection is required for all base coaches under age 18.
Protests: Protests will be handled on field only by contacting a tournament official thru the scorer’s tent at each location. A $100 fee must be presented with the protest and will only be returned if upheld. Game will be stopped until protest ruling is made. Tournament official ruling will be final with no opportunity for appeal. No protest can be filed once play has resumed.
Home Team: Home Team will be decided by a coin toss during pool play. During the semi-finals and finals, the higher seed will be the home team. Where multiple pools are involved it may be possible for seeds of the same ranking to meet each other in the final playoff games. If that occurs the seeding tie-breaker below will be use to determine home team.
Seeding Tie Breaker Rule: For determining seeding for the playoffs (when all teams have played an equal number of games).
Winning percentage is the first tie breaker, followed by number of wins (ties are considered ½ win, ½ loss for determining winning percentage). A 1-1 record is considered a better record than 0-0-2.
After winning percentage, if at each step further breakdown is necessary, head to head will be used whenever it can be applied. It can only be applied when one team beat all other teams (one or more) it is currently tie with.
If head to head cannot be applied runs allowed (average per game) is the next tie breaker. If, at any point after using runs allowed to determine the first team, head to head can be applied again to the remaining teams, head to head will take precedence.
If runs allowed does not determine a seeding order (due to a tie), strength of schedule (by looking at the win/loss record of all opponents) will be the next tie breaker. In the event strength of schedule does not break the tie, runs allowed after throwing out the highest runs allowed in any single game will be used. If, at any point after using runs allowed to determine the first team, head to head can be applied again, head to head will take precedence.
If all of the above does not yield a seeding order, a coin toss involving the teams still tie will be used to determine the final order. Tournament officials will represent any team not present in the coin toss.
In the event that pool play games cannot be completed due to conditions such as weather, seeding rules will be adjusted to account for unequal number of games. In those situations, teams with loses will be penalized more than teams who could not play their games when determining final seeding. Winning percentage and average number of runs allowed per game will be used in place of wins and total runs per game. If playoff or consolation games cannot be completed, higher seed will be declared the winner.
Each team will have the opportunity to order 18 caps as part of their non-refundable registration fee as long as completed before the order deadline of April 1st. For the purpose of refund credits - credit card processing fees are non-refundable. Refund requests prior to event start: Prior to your cap order being placed and before June 1 - your credit toward a future event will be your full tournament registration. Once your cap order has been placed and prior to June 1 - you will receive your team caps plus a registration fee credit less $475. After June 1 - no credits will be given. You will receive your team caps.
In the event no games are played, you will receive your team caps plus a partial credit for a future tournament in the amount of your registration fee less $475.
In the event your team ordered additional caps beyond the 18 included with the tournament registration, no credits will be issued while any outstanding balance for additional caps remains. Due to production capacities, teams who register or pay after April 1 or do not complete their order by April 1 are not eligible for free caps.