FINAL SOFTBALL MEMO---2007

 

Here are several situations and comments prior to the end of our regular season and heading into our tournament season.

 

EJECTIONS--- If a coach or player is ejected, the school must submit the ejection report form to the IGHSAU Office the following work day.  A short written summary is also required from the ejected party.  In addition, the umpire who issued the ejection must also submit a short summary to the IGHSAU Office on the following work day.  Remember that normal circumstances require a suspension be served.

 

PITCHING---I continue to hear that some pitchers continue to be illegal due to being airborne (not dragging) or replanting during the delivery.  Supposedly this is not being called consistently in some parts of the state.  If it is illegal then it is illegal and shall be called regardless of the score or whether it got called in previous games or not.  Coaches---two things----1) it is your responsibility to make sure your pitcher is legal.  Whether it has been called regularly or not, you know if she is illegal and it is your job to make her legal and 2) as we progress into the tournament series, the further we go the higher rated umpires will be used,  so the more likely illegal pitches will be called. 

 

INFIELD FLY---It is the umpireÕs judgment whether a fly ball can be caught by an infielder with ÒORDINARY EFFORTÓ in an infield fly situation.  If it is called, it does NOT cause the ball to become dead.  A runner on third base could still legally tag up after a catch and score.

 

SUBSTITUTION---A sub that enters in any capacity (except courtesy runner) in any of the 1-9 batting spots is still allowed a re-entry but would have to be in the same batting spot or into the #10 non-batting position.  A sub cannot play in two different 1-9 positions in the batting order.

 

SITUATION:  The batter singles and is on first base.  The bat ends up near the offensive teamÕs dugout.  The umpire yells for someone to secure the bat prior to the next batter coming to the plate.  A non-player steps out of the dugout several steps, grabs the bat, and proceeds immediately back into the dugout with the bat.  RULING:  A certain amount of common sense needs to be exerted here.  Should this non-player have a helmet on when out of the dugout—Yes!  Should the runner be called out for this minor infraction? Absolutely not! If an umpire wishes to enforce the mandatory helmet rule in this situation—fine.  But the penalty is that the illegal equipment shall be made legal.  A team warning shall be issued.  The next offender and the head coach shall be restricted to the dugout for the remainder of the game.

 

HEADBANDS---Must be of a single, solid color and unadorned except for manufacturerÕs logo or team identification or logo.  Sequins or other decorations worn on a headband are illegal.

 

INTERNATIONAL TIE BREAKER---Regardless what inning it is, the runner placed on second base is the player who is in the batting spot immediately preceding the first legal batter of the inning.  It does not matter who made the final out of the previous inning.  The deciding factor is who is the first legal batter of that inning.

 

UMPIRE TOURNAMENT ASSIGNMENTS---All assignments have been made at this point through the district and regional tournaments.  It was overwhelming the high number of changes and replacements we had to make due to turndowns.  The number of games received is contingent on how high the umpire is scored resulting from last yearÕs ratings and recommendations.  Even though you may have done slightly better in either or both of those areas, so might many others in your district.  In some geographical areas of the state, there simply arenÕt enough teams and games for everyone to have multiple games.  For example---if you are on page 4 or 5 in your district, that means there are 50-60 other umpires rated higher.  So you might have been assigned 1 or 2 games.  That doesnÕt mean you are a bad umpire or that the IGHSAU has anything against you.

 

ORANGE BASE---Just a reminder that when a batter/runner walks and stops on first base or over-runs first base and returns directly to the base—the runner may go to the orange base first but must then move immediately to the white.  Remind your runner to not remain on the orange but instead move to the white.

 

CHARGED CONFERENCES:  In extra inning games, each team is allowed one additional conference on offense and defense for the duration of the game in addition to any of the original three conferences they have not previously used.  They do not get one additional per inning, just one additional for the rest of the game.  For example---if Team A has used two defensive conferences during the regular game, Team A would now have two conferences remaining once extra innings began.

 

STATE TOURNAMENT CHANGES:

  1. The state tournament will run on Tuesday through Saturday this year.
  2. On Tuesday through Friday, the evening games will begin at 4:30 pm on Diamond 1 and 5:00 p.m. on Diamond 2.
  3. The time interval between all games will be 1 ½ hours.
  4. The championship games will begin at 12:00 noon on Saturday with 1A and proceed every hour and  a half.
  5. All games in the consolation bracket will have a 90 minute time limit.  In addition, the international tie-breaker will be used in all consolation games.  If the 90 minutes have expired and the score is tied, the international tie-breaker will go into effect regardless what inning we are in.  If a tie exists after seven innings and the 90 minutes is not a factor, then the international tie-breaker will begin in the eighth inning as usual.
  6. Tarps have been purchased for both fields so hopefully we will be able to keep the fields dry overnight and get the infield covered during a rain delay.
  7. The Iowa High School Sports Network will be televising the State Softball Tournament live on Iowa Public Television (analog channels). The IHSSN will also provide free video streaming on the its website.  For complete channel breakdown along with schedules, visit the IHSSN website by clicking here.

 

RULE CHANGE FOR 2008---GOOD NEWS---I SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST!!!

STEEL/METAL CLEATS AND METAL TOE PLATE WILL BE LEGAL EQUIPMENT.  The National Federation has approved this rule change effective for 2008.  After considerable lobbying and extensive study, they have determined that steel cleats are actually safer and will now be legal starting next season. 

 

 

Mike Dick

Associate Director