12U Baseball Rules

All games will be played by Cal Ripken Rules with the following exceptions :

General

Players must play in half of the team's games in order to be eligible for the tournament.
Coaches may only put players who are present in their scorebook. Coaches must be diligent in making sure they note players who have played in the game.

Pitching

Umpires will be lenient on balks and illegal pitches. A warning shall be given on the first balk/illegal pitch. All balks and illegal pitches as following the initial shall be penalized according to Official Baseball Rules. Each pitcher will be given this courtesy.
A pitcher may pitch 6 innings per calendar week (Sunday-Sunday), where 1 pitch = 1 inning . A pitch count will be assessed in the tournament according to Cal Ripken rules and will start at zero.
Once a pitcher is removed from the game, they will not be allowed to re-enter the game at the pitching position. They may re-enter at any other position.

Batting

Coaches has the option to bat their roster. They must declare this at the Umpire meeting and it must stay the same throughout the entire game.
If a player cannot take their turn at bat due to illness, injury, etc., their spot will be skipped and the next batter in the lineup will bat. No automatic outs will be assessed, unless it is due to player ejection.
The batter may advance on the third strike if the catcher drops the ball.
Batting is complete at 7 runs or 3 outs – whichever comes first.

Base Running

Base runners are allowed to lead off and steal bases.
Base runners are allowed to steal home.
Courtesy runners are encouraged, for the pitcher and catcher only, and must be the player who made the last out.

Defense

Number of Defensive Players: 9
Every defensive half inning, all players who did not participate defensively in the previous half inning must enter the game defensively for this half inning.

Time Limit / End of Game

6 innings played / 90 minute time limit. No new inning shall begin with 5 minutes or less remaining in the 90 minute time limit.
Regulation games ending in a tie will have up to 2 extra inning played. If the score remains tied after 2 extra inning, the game will end in a tie.
Mercy Rule: 15 runs after 3 innings / 10 runs after 4 innings

Playing Field

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