Florida State 8u Machine Pitch Rules
8u Machine Pitch Rules
9.01 There will be no 20 ft. Fair Ball Arc in FL USSSA Machine Pitch tournaments. A fair ball will be determined solely by the foul lines and not the distance it travels. Bunting is ALLOWED, maximum 2 bunts per inning (Rule 9.13). Fake bunts shall not be permitted (Rule 9.13.A)
9.02 There will be no 30 ft. Safety Arc in FL USSSA Machine Pitch tournaments. The umpire reserves the right to move any player back if he/she feels there is a safety issue.
9.03 The clay surface of the pitching mound will constitute the Pitching Circle. The pitcher must remain even with or behind the machine with one (1) foot inside the circle until the ball is hit.
9.06 The machine operator will be an adult coach from the team up to bat.
9.09 The defensive team will be allowed (1) coach positioned in foul territory of the outfield down each baseline. The defensive coaches are there to help position players only and cannot interfere with play in any way. The umpire reserves the right to remove any and all coaches from the field and restrict them to the dugout at his/her discretion.
9.11 Coaches can choose to bat; 10, 11, 12 or the entire roster. Players not in the batting order will be listed as substitutes and normal baseball substitution rules will apply. A start can re-enter the game (1) time in the same place in the batting order. Substitutes cannot re-enter after being removed.
9.14 If the batter fouls off the 6th pitch, the batter will continue to get pitches until they swing and miss or take a pitch at which time they will be declared out.
9.16 Stealing bases WILL be allowed. Runners cannot leave the base until the ball reaches home plate and can only steal (1) base at a time. If a runner leaves early and is thrown out, the out will stand. If the runner steals safely after leaving early, the umpire will return the runner to the previous base. If the runner attempts to steal more than (1) base on the same pitch, the umpire will return the runner to the first base that was successfully stolen. If the runner is tagged out at any point after successfully stealing the first base, the out will stand. A runner can never steal home or score on a wild pitch.
*If a runner leaves early and the batter hits the ball into fair territory, the base runner can only advance (1) base in front of the hitter. Ex #1: Runner on 1st base leaves early and reaches 3rd base on a single. The runner will be returned to 2nd base. Ex #2: Runner on 2nd base leaves early on a single. The runner will be returned to 2nd base. Ex #3: Runner on 1st base leaves early and the hitter is thrown out at 1st base. The base runner will return to 1st base.
9.17 Courtesy runners for the catcher must be legal substitutes. If a team does not have any legal substitutes, the courtesy runner shall be the last batted out.
9.19 The game is over when a team is mathematically eliminated from scoring enough runs to win or tie the game. The Mercy Rule for all machine pitch games will be 10 runs after (4) innings or 3 ½ innings of the home team is winning.
9.21 If a batted ball hits the machine or the operator and stays within the pitching circle or pitcher’s mound, the ball will be declared dead and the batter will be awarded 1st base. All base runners will advance (1) base. If a batted ball hit the machine or the operator and leaves the pitching circle or pitcher’s mound, it will be a live ball. Under no circumstances will a player reach into or around the machine to play a call.
9.22 The umpire can declare a “Bad Pitch” in the event the machine bounces a call or throws it severely over the batter’s head. A “Bad Pitch” can be called if the batter swings. A “Bad Pitch” does NOT count on the batter’s total and runners cannot steal on a “Bad Pitch”. If a base runner attempting to steal is thrown out, the out will stand regardless of the “Bad Pitch”. A “Bad Pitch” is solely an umpire’s judgement call and CANNOT be questioned.
The above Florida USSSA Machine Pitch Rules will supersede all Official USSSA Playing Rules at any Florida USSSA sanctioned tournament. These rules will not apply to any other USSSA sanctioned tournament unless the tournament director specifically notifies all teams prior to the event.
Any rule not specifically mentioned in the FL USSSA 8u Machine Pitch Rules will revert to the Official USSSA Playing Rules. Florida USSSA reserves the right to change or amend any 8u Machine Pitch Rules at any time. Any changes to the Florida USSSA 8u Machine Pitch Rules will be made prior to the start of an event and will be posted online prior to the event.
