PART IV
NASP SENIORS SOFTBALL
Any softball rules not covered or found in this section will be covered or found in Part I in the current edition of the official NASP Rulebook.

RULE 2 - PLAYING FIELD

Sec. 4 The Official Diamond will have base distances of 65 feet.
NOTE: The NASP Senior Division will use a safety base at 1st base.
a. If the first play is at first base, either from the infield or outfield a runner will be called out for touching the white bag. The runner must go to the orange bag. NOTE: The safety base rule is in effect.
b. If the play is elsewhere the inside of the base may be tagged in a continuation toward 2nd base.
c. A runner running toward 1st base may cross over to the inside of the base to avoid a collision if a wild throw occurs.
d. The batter-runner or the base runner can use the inside of the base if they are attempting to get back to 1st base.
e. If in the judgment of the Umpire, the batter-runner touches the inside bag solely in an effort to avoid collision, the play will be called as though the batter-runner actually touched the outside base.

Sec. 5 The Official Diamond will have a pitching box 50 feet from home plate and extending back six feet perpendicular to the pitcherís mound towards second base.

Sec. 6 A strike mat will be used in all senior play.

RULE 3 - EQUIPMENT

Sec. 1 The official bat shall be of one-piece construction and can be made of wood (hardwood) or other materials approved by the NASP, or formed from a block of wood consisting of two or more pieces of wood bonded together with an adhesive in such a way that the grain direction of all pieces is essentially parallel to the length of the bat. Below is a list of additional requirements: The bat shall not be more than 34 inches in length and no more than 38 ounces in weight and shall meet the BPF standard of 1.20 on the entire length of the barrel, (see above *NOTE & **NOTE for further bat standards) and shall have BPF 1.20 permanently stamped by the manufacturer. Bats without the BPF stamped on the bat shall be considered illegal. Exception: wood bats do not have to have the BPF stamp if the bats meet all other requirements of Rule 3 Sec. 1.
m. The bat shall have a safety grip of cork, tape (not smooth plastic type), or combination material.
n. The grip shall not be less than 10 inches long and shall not extend more than 15 inches from the small end of the bat.
o. The bat shall be marked ìOFFICIAL SOFTBALLî by the manufacturer.
NOTE: If the words ìOFFICIAL SOFTBALLî cannot be read, due to normal wear, the bat shall be declared legal, if it is legal in all other aspects.
p.The bat may be made of metal or other materials approved by the NASP and may be angular; however, the NASP must approve any material before it is used in sanctioned events.
q. All exposed surfaces of the bat must be smooth and free of burrs, pins, rivets, DEEP DENTS OR DANGEROUS DENTS, fractures of any type, sharp edges or any type of exterior fastener that would present a safety hazard.
EXCEPTION: At the umpireís discretion slightly dented bats may be considered legal.
r.Unless the bat is made of one-piece construction with the barrel end closed, it should have a rubber or plastic insert in the barrel.
s. A one-piece rubber grip and knob combination is illegal.
t. Metal or other approved material bats must have a knob on the handle and welded or mechanically fastened.
u. All bats must have a safety knob of a minimum of º inch protruding at a 90-degree angle from the handle. The º inch is measured from the outer edge of the knob 90 degrees to the outside layer of wrapping. The knob portion of the bat may be taped as long as the bat does not exceed 34 inches in length; however, the umpire may request tape to be removed from both the handle and knob if there is any question concerning the bat being altered or illegal. After determining the bat legal, the player may tape the bat back to his/her preference, providing the bat meets the requirements set forth by Rule 3, Sec. 1 (m-w).
v. A flare or cone grip may be attached from the factory or a factory flare or cone may be attached to the bat by the player, but the flare or cone must be installed properly to the bat. The flare or cone must be taped or covered by an approved bat grip and the bat must meet all requirements of Rule 3, Sec. 1 (m - w) after installation to be considered legal.
w. Shall be rounded and smooth. Shall not be more that 2-1/4 inches in diameter at its largest part. A tolerance of 1/16 inch is permitted, to allow for expansion on the round bat.

Sec. 2 The official softball shall be a smooth-seamed, concealed-stitched or flat-surfaced ball. The center of the ball may be made of either long fiber kapok or mixture of cork and rubber, and or machine wound, with a fine twisted yarn and covered with latex or rubber cement. Or it may be made of other materials approved by the NASP. The cover of the ball shall be optic yellow, tanned horsehide, cowhide or any other materials approved by the NASP, cemented to the ball by application of cement to the underside of the cover and sewn with black waxed cotton or black linen thread to form a black-stitched softball. The solid core ball must be stamped with THE official NASP logo that contains the maximum C.O.R. and compression standards. The ball MAY NOT bear any other logo except for the NASP official logo unless otherwise approved by the Executive Director or the Executive Vice President of the NASP. MAXIMUM C.O.R. is .44, or .40. Maximum Compression for NASP softballs is 40 or 525 pounds. Directors have the option as to which compression and which C.O.R. are to be used.

Sec. 6 Players must wear visible numbers of a minimum of 6 inches in height with no number being identical on the same team.

RULE 4 -PLAYERS & SUBSTITUTIONS

Sec. 1
a. A team is allowed 10 players on defense in the 50+, 55+ and 60+ divisions.
b. A team is allowed 11 players on defense in the 65+ division.
c. A Team is allowed 11 players on defense in the 70+ and 75+ divisions.
d. A team is allowed 15 players on offense in the 50+, 55+, 60+, 65+ and 70+ and 75+ divisions.

RULE 5 - THE GAME

Sec. 2 In the 50+ to 70+ age divisions: When the game has been played 50 minutes, the home plate umpire will notify the teams that they will finish that inning and play one (1) additional inning. No time limit will be played in the Semi Final, Championship and IF Game. A regulation game shall consist of seven (7) innings. A full seven (7) innings need not be played if the home team (the team 2nd at bat) scores more runs in six innings or before the third out of the seventh inning. EXCEPTION: When the ten (10) run rule is in effect.

a. A game that is tied at the end of seven innings or time limit will use the tie-breaker rule in the top of the succeeding inning and continues with each successive inning.

b. TIE BREAKER RULE: The last batter of the previous inning whose turn at bat had been completed, assumes 2nd base with no outs and the game continues until one team scores more runs at the end of a completed inning (bottom of the inning)

Sec. 3 The NASP Senior Softball Division will have the following run rules
a. 15 runs after 3 innings, 15 runs after 4 and 10 runs after 5.
b. The (5) run rule will be used in all senior play. Senior games will have the following maximum run rule of five (5) runs scored in an inning. EXCEPTION; When the last inning is reached or declared or is in the tie breaker; this inning will be an ìopen run inningî which allows the team unlimited runs scored.
c.In any inning where the five (5) run rule applies, a team is allowed to score enough runs to bring them inside the run rule by one (1). (Example: Team B is trailing Team A by 16 runs in the 5th inning. Team B is allowed to score up to 7 runs).

Sec. 9 Senior Competition shall begin at the age of 50 and will advance each five years thereafter to include the following age divisions of play: 55+, 60+, 65+ and 70+ and 75+. Eligibility for all senior players pertaining to age shall be the calendar year. Senior players must have a legal picture identification card (i.e., photo ID, in their possession at all sanctioned events.

RULE 6 ñ PITCHING REGULATIONS

Sec. 1 The pitcher must release the ball after coming to a complete stop with one foot or both feet in contact with the pitcherís plate or anywhere within the pitcherís box. (See Rule 2, Pitchers Box for complete details) One foot must remain in contact with the plate/box when the pitch is released with an underhand motion. A step simultaneous with release of the ball may be taken (but not mandatory) in any direction with the non-pivot foot. The pitcher must be facing the batter when delivering the pitch. The catcher must remain within the lines of the catcherís box until the pitched ball is swung at or reaches the plate. If, anytime during the course of the game the pitching distance is found to be in error, the error should be corrected immediately, and the game should continue. THIS IS NOT A POINT OF PROTEST.

RULE 7 - BATTING

No changes, Refer to Rule 7, ìGeneral Playing Rulesî.

RULE 8 - BASERUNNING

Sec. 1 The three (3) foot commitment line shall be marked across and perpendicular to the foul line and placed twenty (20) feet from home plate. Once a runnerís foot touches the ground on or past this line, the runner is committed to advance to the scoring plate. NOTE: If a runner retreats across the commitment line, he will be declared out and the ball will remain alive. A runner may retreat across the commitment line to retag base on a caught fly ball.

Sec. 2 A scoring plate shall be located with its right corner eight (8) feet from the back of home plate. The scoring plate shall be situated on an imaginary extension of the first base foul line. The scoring plate should be anchored to the ground to prevent slippage and changes of position of the plate during the game. The offensive team must always touch the scoring plate when scoring a run. EFFECT: If the runner touches home plate that runner is automatically out. The defensive team must have possession of the ball and always touch home plate to record the out. If the defensive team attempts to tag the runner, the runner is automatically safe.

Sec. 9 Sliding is permissible at second base, third base and returning to 1st base. No sliding at home plate or going to 1st base the first time. EFFECT: The runner is declared out.

Sec. 10 Running off or through a base is not permissible in Senior Competition. It is permissible at 1st base and home plate.

Sec. 11 Courtesy Runner(s). In the NASP Senior Division an unlimited number of courtesy runners shall be allowed in all divisions. A courtesy runner may not be used more than once per inning. Any courtesy runner caught running more than once per inning, or when it is their turn to bat will be declared out. If a courtesy runner is on base when itís their time to bat an out will be recorded on that runner on base with the runner being allowed to bat. In all Senior Divisions, the courtesy runner may not run for another courtesy runner, with the exception of a courtesy runner being injured. If a courtesy runner is substituted for illegally, the infraction must be caught before the next pitch.