AAA DIVISION (Minors):

REGULATION GAME: Games will be considered final after six (6) innings of play or after time has expired. There will be no new inning of play after 1 hour and 45 minutes of play has occurred, unless there is a tie. Games will revert to the previous full and completed inning for the final score, if suspended due to a weather or curfew issue that causes the game to end. Games CANNOT end in a tie for regular season. Teams will be allowed to start and play a game with 8 Players. See Batting for additional information.

SCORING: Scores and standings will be kept for this division. Five runs per team each inning may be scored (Maximum). Once the fifth run has crossed the plate, the half inning will end (unless a Home Run has been hit). Teams must keep a scorebook to assist in keeping track of playing time and the batting order. Game Changer is HIGHLY encouraged. Home team will have the Official Book for each game. The (15) run rule will exist after two and one half innings (2 1⁄2 ) or ten (10) run rule will exist after three and one-half (3 1⁄2) innings for the visiting team. The eight (8) run rule will exist after four innings. Games may continue to be played after the Run Rule is reached to provide more player development, however, after the Run Rule is reached, the team in the lead will be awarded the Win for the game. There will be unlimited runs in the last inning of play only as determined by the UIC but limited to batting through the Order.

COACHES: This division can consist of up to one (1) manager and two (2) coaches per game. No more than 3 coaches will be allowed on the field per team. One (1) Adult coach must be in the dugout at all times to oversee the players. When batting, two (2) offensive coaches shall coach bases during play. Only players and coaches will occupy the dugout.

MANDATORY PLAY: Players shall not sit on the bench for more than one (1) consecutive inning. Any manager failing to meet the minimum playing time for each player may be subject to disciplinary action by the Board of Directors.

BATTING: All players shall be in the batting order for the entire game. Each team shall bat until three (3) batters have been put out or five (5) runs have scored, or the entire lineup has batted, whichever happens first. Each team will bat the same number of players each inning ie: if one team has 12 players and the other 8, the team with 8 will bat 12 players to be considered as batted through the order Rule 5.07 shall apply. Any player arriving late to a game must be placed at the bottom of the lineup and any player that leaves during a game will simply be skipped over when their time at bat comes up (skipped, not called as an out). Teams may start the game with 8 players, with no penalty assessed when the 9th spot is up to bat. Batting out of order see Rule 6.07b. The batter must keep one foot in the batter’s box at all times during his or her at bat with exceptions. Please read Rule 6.02c. USA bats are to be used for Minors and Majors provided they bear the USA Baseball logo signifying that the bat meets the USA Baseball Performance Standard. Solid one-piece wood barrel bats may be used and do not require a USA Baseball logo. Additionally, the bat diameter shall not exceed 2 5/8 inches for this division of play. Courtesy runners may be used for the Pitcher and/or Catcher when there are two outs.

INTENTIONAL WALK: Defensive teams may elect to intentionally walk a batter (once per game) by announcing the decision to the plate umpire at any time before or during the at-bat. After appropriate notification is made by the defensive manager, the ball is ruled dead and no other runners may advance unless forced by the batter’s award of first base. Once the award is granted, the appropriate number of balls will be added to the defensive pitcher’s official pitch count.

PITCHING: Refer to Regulation VI-Pitchers in the Official Regulations and Playing Rules booklet of the current year. Violations of the pitching rules will result in a one (1) game Manager suspension for the first offense, three (3) game suspension for the second offense, and suspension for the remainder of the season for the third offense.

PITCHING REPORTS: Pitching logs MUST be available from both teams at the conclusion of each game verifying accurate pitch counts, ages and names of all players who pitched. Game Changer is HIGHLY encouraged, as this will then be done automatically. Each team’s pitching logs MUST be available for review at ALL TIMES by a member of the Board of Directors or an opposing manager. These records may be viewed electronically on Game Changer, Slack, or other email communication. The home team‘s pitch count will be the official count for the game. It is strongly suggested that the visiting team verifies the pitch count of each pitcher after each half inning. The winning team is responsible to submit game pitch counts to the league directly after the game or the following morning to ensure reports are up to date for all managers (use of the league’s Game Changer system will allow this to be done automatically).

BASE RUNNING: No steals or leadoffs are permitted until the ball has reached the batter. Stealing of home will be allowed in this division. Rule 7.13. A runner must try to avoid contact with a fielder for the safety of all involved. Rule 7.08 A3.

DEFENSE: Each defense will consist of nine (9) players, a pitcher, catcher, first, second, third, shortstop and three outfielders. The infield fly rule WILL apply in this division.

CHATTER: Chatter will only be allowed as positive cheering for the team. There will be no chatter that includes using derogatory words or raising the level of chatter as the pitcher is pitching a ball. See Rule 4.06 for more information.

PINCH RUNNER: Rule 7.14 will not apply due to continuous batting order. If a player becomes injured and cannot be a runner, the last recorded out may run for the injured player. If the injured player cannot return, he is skipped over (NO OUT) if he returns, he is reinstated into the lineup where he was.