TOURNAMENT RULES

Coaches: Be sure you are aware of all rules and rule changes. 

PROSPECT SELECT BASEBALL, INC. reserves the right to amend these rules at any time for specific tournament play.

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

1. Pool Play: A strict two-hour time limit will be adhered to in all Pool Play games. The game clock willbegin on the first official pitch. No new inning will begin after two hours have elapsed. The fieldattendants will keep the official time. 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 PROSPECT SELECT TOURNAMENTS, THE TEAM LISTED SECOND (EITHER ON THE RIGHT OR THE BOTTOM) IS THE HOME TEAM. 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. 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 Championship Rounds (excluding the Championship game) 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:

• Last hitter from previous inning @ 1st Base

• Hitter before him in the lineup @ 2nd Base

• Hitter before that in the lineup @ 3rd Base

• Normal substitution rules apply to these runners.

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

• Play continues until one team is ahead at the end of an 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 eight (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 committee 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 committee reserves the right to look at and rule in the fairest possible way. The committee’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. Taking Infield: No infield will be allowed during the tournament.

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.

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 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. The tournament director can extend the delay if there are extenuating circumstances, i.e. lightning detector, working on fields, etc. 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 Prospect Select Baseball 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 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: If a player is listed on more than one roster, the player listed will decide as to which roster, he is legally on. This decision is up to the individual player. No player can appear in a tournament game for more than one team. If there are multiple divisions, each division will be considered a separate tournament. Division of play can be determined by grad class or age cut off. The age cut off is whatever the player's age is on May 1, 2024. 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: Prospect Select Baseball 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 Prospect Select tournaments.

13. Scoring: We recommend that all teams keep a scorebook. The official score of each game will be kept by the field attendant. 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 committee 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 committee.

15. 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 three teams are tied – If one team has defeated both other teams, that team advances. If not go to #4.

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 – Total runs allowed subtracting game with most runs allowed in pool play

7. If still tied – Total runs allowed minus two games with most runs allowed in preliminaries

8. If still tied – Coin Flip

*If 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.