- Official rules will be from PONY Baseball and the Sporting News Edition with the following exceptions and/or clarifications.
- No player shall play for a team out of his/her league area in the Shetland, Pinto, Mustang, Bronco or Pony programs. In the Colt Leagues all players shall play within their team boundary.
In rural areas where the map does not have natural boundaries between the areas, participants will report to the neighborhood program that utilizes the official playing fields closest to their domicile. Illegal players may be suspended from the program for a period of one year.
- No player shall play in more than one (1) age group during the same season.
- In Mustang, Bronco, Pony and Colt: Every player present at the game must play a minimum of two (2) complete, consecutive innings. The non-starters must enter the game before the 3rd inning begins. An inning begins with the first legal or illegal pitch to the first offensive batter and ends when each team has alternated once on offense and once on defense. The penalty is Automatic Forfeit , once the game is completed. If time restrictions cause a game to be terminated prior to the end of four (4) complete innings this regulation will be waived and the game will count as having fulfilled all playing requirements. Starters and substitutes must re-enter in the same batting order that they began in. No starter and his/her substitute may be in the game at the same time.
Exception: If due to injury, illness or ejection and by using the appropriate PONY Baseball Rules it will be allowed to have a starter and his/her substitute in the game at the same time. Coaches must notify the umpires and the opposing Coach before the game if a player will not participate due to injury or discipline. A league has the option of using the following alternative minimum-playing rule:
CSA RULE: The entire team roster bats for the entire game. Substitutions will be made every inning. No player may sit on the bench for more than one consecutive inning. Substitutes are not required to always replace the same starter. LRPD encourages the Coach to have different players sitting down each inning.
- A team will have 15 minutes from the scheduled starting time to have at least seven (7) players to begin a game. If at anytime a team has fewer than seven (7) players the game shall be forfeited.
- Players CANNOT wear metal spikes, with the exception of PONY Sanctioned All-Star Tournaments and Colt or Palomino Leagues.
- Length of games are as follows: Shetland, Pinto and Mustang will be 6 innings. Bronco, Pony, Colt and Palomino will be 7 innings. The time restrictions are as follows: Pinto, 1 hour and 15 minutes. Mustang, Bronco and Pony, 1 hour and 45 minutes. Colt, 2 hours.
Exception: As long as classes are in session for the Public School system the time limit for Mustang and Bronco will be 1 hour and 30 minutes.
CSA RULE: if at the time of the last out of an inning the time restrictions have not been reached, then a new inning shall begin. THERE IS NO “FIVE MINUTE RULE” in CSA Baseball.
- If, at the end of regulation play there is a tie, the game may continue for a maximum of three (3) innings to break the tie.
CSA RULE: If a tie still exists, the game will be suspended and will be rescheduled by the Vice-President for Baseball.
- The strike zone for Mustang, Bronco and Pony Leagues shall be that space over the home plate, which is between the top of the batter’s highest shoulder and his/her knees when he/she assumes a natural stance.
- Mustang League ONLY: When a 3rd strike is called on the batter or the batter swings and misses a 3rd strike and the catcher misses the ball, the batter will be considered out. This applies to regular season games only. The following option will be used on stealing: Rule 9, N-3, page 18 of the PONY Baseball Rule Book. There cannot be a balk.
- Each Association is allowed to enter one (1) All-Star team per Regular Season League in each All-Star Tournament offered through the Department. If an association has more than ten (10) Regular Season Teams in an age group they may enter a second All-Star Team for that League. All post-season players must meet all PONY and LRPD rules to be eligible, including making the minimum age of nine (9) under the Age Calendar of the current season, and can play on only one (1) LRPD sanctioned Post-Season Team in the same season.
- No Coach, Player, Substitute, Attendant or other Bench Personnel shall initiate any malicious contact. The offender shall be ejected from the game by the Umpire. If the offender is a player on offense he/she will be declared out unless he/she has already scored.
- The use of alcoholic beverages, by anyone, will not be allowed either during a practice session or at a game from teams using School Board property. No alcoholic beverages may be taken on to a playing field by anyone. Managers must refrain from smoking or chewing/dipping in the dugout while the game is in progress. Fans are asked not to bring any alcoholic beverages to any game sponsored by the Lafayette Recreation and Parks Department or an affiliated neighborhood organization.
CSA RULE: No alcoholic beverages are allowed at Beaullieu Park during any practice or any game.
- PROTESTS: Each league or neighborhood will rule on all protests involving playing rules. If the decision rendered by the local committee is unsatisfactory to the manager, an appeal may be made to the Lafayette Recreation and Parks Department. If the rules committee of the Lafayette Recreation and Parks Department chooses to hear the appeal, its decision will be final and binding. A $15.00 filing fee will be required from the appealing manager. If the protest is valid , the $15.00 will be refunded.
PROTESTS must pertain to rule interpretations only. In order to be valid, a protest must be made to the umpire when it occurs (in accordance with the Official PONY Baseball Guidelines) and submitted in writing to the appropriate league official within 48 hours of completion of the game. Judgment is not considered to be protestable.
EXCEPTIONS: Non-compliance with pitching rules, age or residency requirements will result in automatic forfeiture of the game(s) whenever the violation is reported. There is no time restriction for reporting of said incident.
- No team in the program will be allowed to participate in tournament play during the regular league season without prior approval from the Lafayette Recreation and Parks Department. Only intra-league team tournaments will be allowed for Shetland and Pinto League play. There will be NO pre-season or post-season sanctioned tournaments for the 5/6 or 7/8 year old age groups.
- When a league belongs to a national or a state organization and there is a conflict between the organization’s rules and those of the Youth Baseball Program, Rules 2 through 23 will supersede PONY Baseball rules and Sporting News rules. This applies only during the regular season for Mustang, Bronco, Pony, Colt and Palomino, except where it specifically concerns post-season play.
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All innings pitched by any player in the LRPD program, whether it is for a game or team in the LRPD program or not, will count with regards to the PONY Baseball pitching rules.
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Each Youth Association must require a TOTAL COMMITMENT from each post-season (all-star) player. A player cannot participate on another; non-sanctioned, organized Baseball team while playing on a LRPD sanctioned post-season or all-star Baseball tournament
s team. Post-Season/All-Star play begins the first day of mandated practice, but no later than the beginning of Pool Play, and ends when the team is finished playing during Bracket Play. If a player participates on another, non-sanctioned, organized Baseball team during this time, the player’s LRPD sanctioned TEAM may become ineligible to continue to participate in the LRPD tournaments. The player will also become immediately ineligible to participate in the current LRPD tournament season for Baseball an d the following year of LRPD Baseball post-season play. (Currently under review and subject to change for this season)
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Head Coaches and Assistant Coaches from LRPD sanctioned programs are limited in their participation with teams that are not part of an L
RPD sanctioned program. Multiple Coaches from the same age group and Youth Association may not be involved with a non-sanctioned
team. This involvement includes the choosing, helping to determine the make-up or coaching of a team. Any team not registered through any Youth Association and LRPD is not considered a sanctioned team. These restrictions are from April through June, which is the duration of our programs and is also restricted to involving players participating in the same age grouping in multiple programs. Any person violating this rule will be subject to the penalty deemed appropriate by the Recreation Department Staff. This penalty may include suspension from participation in the LRPD sanctioned post-season tournament.
