KICKBALL RULES
Two Main Rules:
Everyone plays and fun comes first!
At izzo, everyone is welcome whether you’re a beginner or an all-star. If you’re part of the team, you’ll always get some playing time. Above all else, we’re here to have a good time - so play hard, but be cool…and make some friends while you’re at it!
Game Format
Each team has 10 fielders. The minimum to play is 8 fielders. Teams must play 3 women at all times. Or 2 women if playing with the 8 player minimum.
Games are 7 innings or 55 min long, whichever comes first. No new innings will be started after 50 mins of play. Playoff / tournament games may be shorter.
Teams can use 2 base coaches: 1 at 1st base, 1 at 3rd base.
When pitching, “bouncies” are allowed but the ball must bounce at least twice before reaching home plate.
The strikezone is 1 ft on all sides of the home plate and above.
You can throw a base runner out with the ball (pegging), but no headshots. If hit in the head the runner is safe on the base they were going to. Exception: if a runner elects to slide head first into a base, the headshot rule no longer applies if there is no malicious intent by fielder
A base runner gets one base on an overthrow.
When the pitcher has the ball on the mound, the play is dead. If the runner is halfway they can go to the next base. If they are NOT halfway, they go back to the base they were on.
There are no leadoffs or stealing bases. If you are caught leaving the base too early it’s an automatic out.
3 foul balls is an out. Foul balls do not count as strikes.
Fielders must set up behind the 1st/3rd diagonal. No encroachment before the ball is kicked.
Kicking
All kicks must occur:
at or behind home plate. The kicker may step on home plate to kick, but no part of their planted foot may be in front of or across the front edge of home plate.
AND
within the kicking box. The kicker must have at least a portion of their planted foot within the kicking box during the kick. The kicker may line up outside of the kicking box prior to kicking.
If you kick the ball in front of home plate or outside of the kicking box it will be considered a foul ball.
The kicking team may have no more than 2 bunts per inning. Bunts are tallied and determined by the umpire and must be announced to both teams. If a team bunts 3 times in an inning the kicker is automatically out and runners go back to their bases.
Kicking Order
For teams of 10 or more, 1 woman should be in the kicking order at least once every 3 players, i.e. 1-3, 4-6, 7-10. Front loading can happen if in the 1-3 and 4-6 slots.
For teams of 8, 1 woman should be in the line up at least once every 4 players, i.e. 1-4, 5-8. Front loading can happen if in the 1-4 slots.
Team Roster & Substitutions
General Rules
Teams must have a minimum of 8 people (at least 2 women) to play
Rosters can have between 12-18 people. The people playing in your lineup during game day should be on your roster.
Team Sign Ups
You may have up to 18 people on your roster (minimum 12).
Including your full roster upfront is recommended, even if some players will not attend all games.
You may add players throughout the season if you have open spaces on your roster up until Week 5. New players cannot be added past Week 5.
To make roster updates you must notify izzo at least 1 day in advance of game day. Do not bring new players to the field without officially registering them.
Substitutions
TEAM. If you registered as a team, you are encouraged to build any substitutes or extra players into your roster of 18 as early as possible. You are allowed to fill your empty roster spaces through Week 5. Additional roster spots may be purchased before the start of the season should you need space for more than 18 players. If you have any special circumstances that will prevent you from meeting your minimum player count, please contact izzo 1-2 days in advance of a game day to be evaluated.
INDIVIDUAL. If you registered as an individual you will be placed on a team with other free agents, organized by izzo. Team size is dependent on the number of individual sign ups and may vary between 12-18 players. For teams with less than 18 players, if you expect to have less than the minimum to play, you must notify izzo 1-2 days in advance of a game day and request to have a sub(s). Subs must be cleared through izzo and ideally borrowed from another team in the league. No ringers allowed. You may only utilize subs to meet the minimum player count of 8 people (2 women). When utilizing subs, a minimum of 6 people playing must be from your team roster. No substitutes are allowed for playoffs.
Playoffs & Seeding: 7-Week Season
When regular season games are complete, the top 4 seeded teams will compete in playoffs.
The #1 seed will play the #4 seed in a semifinal game. The #1 seed will be the home team.
The #2 seed team will the #3 seed in a semifinal game. The #2 seed will be the home team.
The winners of the semifinal games will play against each other in a championship game. The higher seed will be the home team.
Team Seeding
Teams will be ranked by their regular season record (Win / Tie / Loss).
Wins are worth 3 points
Ties are worth 1 points
Loses are worth 0 points
Forfeits are worth -2 points
No Shows are worth -3 points
Tie Breakers
With only 6 short weeks in the regular season, our tie breaker rules aim to take the teams’ overall league performance into consideration.
At the end of regular season, if two or more teams in the league have the same win percentage the following steps will be taken to determine a winner:
1.) Runs. The team with the best overall Run Differential wins (a calculation of Runs Scored minus Runs Allowed).
2.) Head-to-Head Record. If teams have the same Run Differential but played eachother during the season, the result of this game(s) will determine the winner.
3.) Total Wins. If teams tied in their head-to-head match ups, the team with more overall regular season Total Wins is the winner.