The Amateur Softball Association of America is the governing body for the sport in the United States. It administers more than 100 tournaments annually, including the ASA National Championships, the Disney Hall of Fame Tournaments and ASA Gold National Championship, as well as the requisite qualifying events. Tournament games use the same basic rules of play as non-tournament competition: "The Official Playing Rules of the Amateur Softball Association." A separate set of guidelines governs the operation of the event.
Changes to Game Operation
Some rules of play change during a tournament. The run ahead rule, popularly known as the "mercy rule," calls the game after a certain scoring margin has been reached and is mandatory for all national tournaments. In slow pitch, if a team is ahead by 20 runs after three innings or 12 runs after five innings, the game is called. Full innings must be played, though the game can be called immediately if the home team reaches the threshold.
In pool play for Junior Olympic Class A and B, and the Gold tournament, games are set to a time limit. Once the game eclipses the 100-minute mark, no new inning is allowed to start. The international tie-breaker is used in case the score is even.
Tie-Breaker Rule
Non-tournament games are allowed to proceed to extra innings, playing until a team scores and the home team has taken its last at-bats. In tournament play, however, ties are decided by placing the player who would bat ninth that inning as a runner on second base. This occurs every half-inning, giving the offense an immediate advantage in its attempt to score a run. The tiebreaker is outlined in rule five, section 11 of "The Official Playing Rules of the Amateur Softball Association" and Article 501-N of the ASA Code.
Tournament Design
ASA Code permits three types of tournament schedules: pool play followed by a seeded double-elimination tournament, unseeded double-elimination tournaments, and a three-game round-robin tournament. Pool play with a seeded tournament breaks teams up into a round-robin style pool where each team plays each other once. The top teams in the bracket advance to a seeded double-elimination tournament. In double-elimination tournaments, each team is afforded one loss before it exits the field. Seeded tournaments rank the teams based on wins and runs scored, pitting the top ranked against the lowest ranked, the second-ranked team against the second-lowest ranked team, and so on. Unseeded tournaments place teams in brackets randomly without regard for strength. The three-game round-robin style tournament pits four teams against each other to play one game each. The team with the best record at the end of play is the winner.
Suspensions
In non-tournament play, players who face suspension for unsportsmanlike conduct, acts of violence, fraud or other violation of ASA rules must receive a hearing within 15 days of the complaint's filing. By contrast, in Article 505-D of the ASA Code, each tournament must have a protest committee ready to decide penalties.
References
- Amateur Softball Association of America: The Official Playing Rules of the Amateur Softball Association
- Amateur Softball Association of America: 2011 Code
- Amateur Softball Association of America: ASA National Championships
- ASA GOLD National Championship
- Amateur Softball Association of America: Disney Hall of Fame Tournament
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