2024 Pete Loyen tournament rules - PDF version here
Team conduct
It’s simple: be kind, be considerate, don’t be an ass.
We are all here for the kids to enjoy this great game.
The umpire’s decision is final. Abuse of officials will not be tolerated and will result in ejection from the park. This applies to parents, team officials, coaches, players and spectators. The Tournament Director will handle protests and tournament decisions. Their decisions are final.
Game play rules
Unless outlined below, the regular Little League rule book will apply.
No infield practice prior to games.
The Infield Fly Rule is in effect.
Dropped 3rd strike is in effect at the major division.
A continuous batting rule will be used, therefore all players present at the game are to be listed in the batting order and must bat in turn. Late arriving players must be added to the bottom of the order.
A team may play with a minimum of 8 players. There is no automatic out if a 9th player is not present. Less than 8 players results in game forfeiture. If, during the game, an injury, illness, or ejection causes the number of available players to fall below 8, this will result in forfeiture regardless of the point in the game or the score at the time.
A pitcher may pitch a maximum 3 innings in any game; 4 innings per day; 6 innings per tournament. One pitch in an inning counts as an inning pitched.
Unlimited defensive re-entry and substitution are permitted except for the pitcher.
To simplify roster management and avoid team conflicts, there are no restrictions on catcher play. A player may pitch having caught any number of innings. However, coaches are encouraged to use their discretion in using pitchers and catchers taking the player’s health & safety into consideration to avoid injury to the player’s arm, wearing the player out, etc...
If, after 4 innings (three and one-half innings if the home team is ahead), one team has a lead of ten (10) runs or more, the manager of the team with the least runs shall concede the victory to the opponent.
Games will be max 6 innings and they can end in a tie.
Playoff games will be played until a winner is determined. Therefore there can be extra innings in playoff games (they will be played as any other inning, so no runners will start on base at the start of the inning).
There will be a 5-run limit per inning for every inning including the 6th inning.
Little League bat rules apply, please read Rule 1.10 Minor/Major Divisions in the LL Rulebook to ensure that your team’s bats conform to these restrictions.
There is no on-deck circle and there is no swinging of bats outside of a fenced-in field by players.
With two outs, a pinch runner is encouraged to replace the catcher for the upcoming inning if that player reaches base. The pinch runner should be the last recorded out.
Only 1 mound visit (by a coach) per pitcher is allowed.
Teams must have an adult on the bench at all times.
Team scorekeepers should confer after each completed half inning.
Dugouts & home team
The home team during regular play is determined by a coin flip.
Dugout will be determined by the team arriving first (in regular play).
Coaches do not need to wait for an umpire to flip for home/away.
If a team is playing back-to-back games, they remain in the same dugout.
In playoffs, the home team is the highest-seeded team. For championship games, the home team is decided by coin flip.
For playoff games, the home team is 3rd base dugout unless a team is playing back-to-back games.
Clean up the dugout before vacating.
Vacate the dugout as soon as the game is over, and teams have shaken hands. Do your post-game talk outside the diamond.
The teams about to play next, allow sufficient time and space for the entire team to exit the dugouts.
Game length
No inning is to begin after 1 hour and 45 minutes from the start of the game. Playoff games are to play to completion. If a game start is delayed, coaches should make notation of start time with the home plate umpire and opposing coach.
If an inning is incomplete when darkness, rain, etc. ends the game, then the score reverts to the last complete inning UNLESS the home team is at bat and has tied or gone ahead during this partial inning, in which case the score at the time the game is called stands. These conditions assume that the game had a minimum of 4 innings
In case of bad weather, Ottawa West will do its best to reschedule and accommodate as many games as possible within the tournament weekend. This might include limiting the number of innings.
Standings & Tiebreaking rules
In the majors and minors, teams score 2 points for a win, 0 for a loss, and 1 for a tie.
If two or more teams are tied in the standings at the end of regular play the standard Little League tiebreaker process is used. The following steps are applied in order to break the tie:
1) The first tiebreaker is the result of the head-to-head match-up(s) during regular play. In the case of a tie between three or more teams, the head-to-head match-up of each of those teams is examined. A team can only advance using this tiebreaker if they have defeated all other teams involved in the tie.
2) If the results of the head-to-head match-up(s) of the teams that are involved in the tie cannot break the tie (because no team defeated each of the other teams in the tie each time they played, or because no team has defeated all of the other teams involved in the tie in every one of the pool play games played between those teams, or because the teams involved in the tie did not play one another an equal number of times during pool play), then the tie is broken using the runs-allowed ratio.
3) The next tiebreaker is the runs-allowed ratio. This is calculated by the total number of runs given up in all regular play games played by that team, divided by the number of half-innings played on defense in regular play games by that team. This provides the number of runs given up per half-inning by that team: the runs-allowed ratio. The team with the lowest runs-allowed ratio will advance from the tiebreaker.
4) The runs-allowed ratio is used to advance one team only. The breaking of further ties once one team has advanced reverts to the beginning of this process (starting by examining the head-to-head records of the teams that remain in the tiebreaker).
Example 1: Three teams are tied with identical records for first place at the end of regular play, and one team is to advance. Teams A, B, and C played against each other once in regular play. Team A won all of its games against Team B and Team C during pool play. Result – Team A advances, while Team B and Team C are eliminated.
Example 2: Three teams are tied with identical records for first place at the end of regular play, and two teams are to advance. Teams A, B, and C played against each other once in regular play. Team A won all of its games against Team B and Team C during pool play. Result – Team A advances, which then creates a two-way tie between Team B and Team C. That tie is then broken by reverting to the head-to-head matchup between teams B and C
Example 3: Teams A, B, and C are tied after regular play and two teams are to advance. Teams A, B, and C played each other once in regular play and each won against one team and lost to the other of the teams in the tie. Therefore, a head-to-head matchup can not be used to break the tie. The process moves on to the runs-allowed ratio. Team A gave up 28 runs in 24 defensive innings, Team B gave up 35 runs in 22 defensive innings and Team C gave up 20 runs in 23 defensive innings. The runs-allowed ratio for each team is Team A = 1.17, Team B=1.59, Team C=0.87. Result – Team C advances based on having the lowest Runs Allowed Ratio. The further tie between Team A and Team B is now determined by head-to-head match-up between A and B.
5) If the Runs Allowed Ratio does not determine the highest-ranked team among tied teams, then the following are to be applied (in order):
i) Runs scored divided by run differential (runs for minus runs against)
ii) Least number of runs allowed. (in all games)
iii) Greater number of runs scored. (in all games)
iv) Run differential (in all games)
v) Coin toss / random draw