Outdoor Wiffleball Rules

Intramural Sports General Information

The Intramural Sports Office is located in the atrium of the Student Recreation Center.
Office Hours: Monday - Friday 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM

Phone Numbers:
205-348-8055
205-348-3906
Rain Hotline: 205-348-2708

Email address:imsports@bama.ua.edu

Rule 1: General Eligibility

Section 1: Participants
Participation is limited to currently-enrolled, fee-paying U of A students, faculty members, and full-time staff.

Section 2: Signing In
In order to participate in an Intramural contest each player must present their validated Action Card. All players must sign-in at the sign-in table or with a supervisor at the game site prior to each game to be eligible to participate.

Rule 2: Team Composition

Section 1: Players
Players can compete on one team, regardless of league classification. Six (6) players will play in the field. Teams must have 4 players to start a game. A team's batting line-up must include all six fielders. In addition, teams have the option to bat an additional 6 players (to total 12 in the batting line-up). The decision on the number of players in a team's batting line-up must be made prior to the game. The batting order must be listed on the scoresheet prior to game time. Once a game has begun, late arriving players may not be added to the batting order and will become substitutes. In the event that a team begins a game with 4 or 5 players, late arriving players may be added to the line-up in order to field 6 players. In this case, these late arrivals will be permitted to bat. A team's roster may include an unlimited number of players.

Rule 3: Equipment

Section 1: Player’s Equipment
All players must wear shoes. Tennis shoes and soft-soled shoes are legal. Sandals, flip-flops, and boots are not permitted. No metal, hard plastic, polyurethane spikes or cleats or shoes with detachable cleats are allowed. Fielders may NOT use baseball/softball gloves or mitts or any other catching equipment. Hats may be worn but may NOT be used to catch the ball.

Section 2: Game Equipment
Bats, balls, and bases will be provided by the Intramural Sports staff at the game site. Teams must use the equipment provided by Intramural Sports. No outside bats, balls, or bases are permitted.

Section 3: Jewelry
Jewelry is NOT allowed to be worn by any participant during an intramural event. This jewelry consists of any visible rings (including wedding bands), watches, necklaces, earrings, studs, bracelets, and any other such similar jewelry. Only medical alert bracelets are permitted. A player is subject to ejection for failure to remove any jewelry after first warning.

Rule 4: Ground Rules

Section 1: Bases
The distance between each base will be approximately 45 feet. The pitching rubber is approximately 30 feet from home plate.

Section 2: Field Rules
The home run boundary will be set at approximately 90 feet from home plate.

Rule 5: Game Time and Mercy Rules

Section 1: Game Time and Forfeit Rule
Game time is forfeit time. A team needs at least 4 legal players to begin the game.

Section 2: Innings and Time Limit
Each game has a 50-minute or 7-inning limit. Any inning started before the end of the 50-minute time period will be completed.

Section 3: Tie Games
Extra Innings will be played until a winner is determined if the score is tied after 7 innings or 50 minutes whichever comes first.

Section 4: 7 Run Limit
There is a seven (7) run limit per team per inning. In no instance may a team score more than 7 runs in an inning; i.e., if the offense has scored 6 runs and the batter hits a home run with the bases loaded, only 1 of the 4 runs will count (to total 7 for the inning).

Section 5: Mercy Rule
The game will be ended if one of the following occurs during the game:

If one team is ahead by 15 runs after 4 complete innings (3 1/2, if the home team is ahead), the game will be called.
If one team is ahead by 8 runs after 5 complete innings (4 1/2, if the home team is ahead), the game will be called.

Rule 6: Pitching Rules

Section 1: Pitchers
Teams will pitch to their own hitters. The pitcher for the offensive team may be one of the batters in the line-up or the offensive team may choose to have an "all-time" pitcher. The all-time pitcher must be signed-in on the score sheet as a substitute.

Section 2: Defensive Positioning
A member of the defensive team may position themselves no closer than 3 feet from the pitcher to act as a fielder.

Section 3: Responsibility of Pitcher
Pitchers (of the batting team) will not be responsible for playing defense. When the pitcher is struck by a batted ball before it passes a member of the defensive team, the batter is out and runners must return to the base occupied at the time of the at bat. In all other situations, the pitcher must move clearly out of the way of a defender making a play or the potential path of a throw. If, in the umpire's opinion, the pitcher interferes with any part of a defense's play, the umpire may call out a runner or the batter as appropriate. The ruling will follow guidelines similar to "interference" and "obstruction" in the ASA softball manual.

Section 4: Delivery of Pitch
In the act of delivering the ball to the batter, the pivot foot must remain in contact with the pitcher's rubber until the ball leaves the pitcher's hand. A legal delivery shall be a ball that is delivered underhand or overhand at any speed. The ball may not contact the ground prior to being hit.

Section 5: Number of Pitches
Each batter will receive a maximum of 3 pitches. If a batter allows three pitches to pass and has not hit the ball, he/she will be out.

Section 6: Time between Pitches
The pitcher has 10 seconds between pitches. If he/she exceeds this time, the batter will lose the right to a pitch (from 3 down to 2, down to 1, then out).

Section 7: Warm-up Pitches
The pitcher may receive a maximum of 3 warm-up pitches prior to each inning.

Rule 7: Batting

Section 1: Batter
The batter must keep two hands on the bat prior to and when contacting the ball. One-handed swings that hit the ball into fair or foul territory will result in the batter being called out.

Section 2: Batted Balls
Batted balls must clear the strike box -- a diamond approximately 6 feet per side in front of home plate -- to be considered a fair ball. Balls that bounce in this area and do not leave the box (completely cross the line) in fair territory OR are fielded by the defense within this area will be considered strikes. If on the third pitch, the batter will be out.

Section 3: Foul Balls
Any foul ball on the third pitch is an out. Fouls on the first and second pitch are only strikes.

Section 4: Walks
There will be no walks in WiffleBall.

Section 5: Bunting
There is no bunting. The batter must take a full swing at the ball. A batter who bunts the ball is out and the ball is immediately dead.

Section 6: Ghost Runners
In the event that a team is batting with only four players and a player is on base when it is his/her turn to bat, the player shall vacate the base to come to bat. No out will be recorded. No ghost runner will be permitted. The runner simply loses his/her chance to score a run.

Section 7: Ground Rule Doubles
Balls that bounce over or roll under the outfield fence in fair territory shall result in a ground-rule double for the batter.

Rule 8: Running

Section 1: Base Runners
Runners cannot lead off or steal bases. Base runners may leave the base when the pitch is contacted by the batter. Runners who leave base prior to the ball being contacted by the batter are out. Sliding is not allowed. Runners who slide are automatically out. If the runner makes contact with a base and the base slides away from its original position on the court, the runner is safe (if it occurred before the tag or putout) and is not liable to be put out while base is dislodged. If the runner attempts to advance to another base, he/she is liable to be put out and must return to the marked area on the court where the base should be, not the actual dislodged base.

Section 2: Base Path
The base path for a runner is the direct line between the player and the base to which he is advancing at the time a play is being made on that specific base runner and the three feet to either side of that direct path. Note: this path may be different from the straight line connecting two bases. For example, a player who has run past 1st base a distance of about 10 feet decides to run for second. His/her base path for any tag plays is the direct line from where he/she made his turn towards 2nd base (10 feet down the line from 1st) and 2nd base. This is different from the direct line from 1st to 2nd base. For plays between home plate and 1st base, the runner shall run in the 3-foot lane of the foul side of the foul line. A player who runs outside his/her bath path (including the 3-foot lanes on either side) in an attempt to avoid a tag shall be declared out.

Section 3: Collisions
Base runners are responsible for avoiding all collisions with fielders anytime a fielder is making a play on the ball (fielding, throwing, and catching). If the base runner does not avoid the collision, play will be ruled dead, the base runner is called out, the batter is awarded first (unless involved in the collision), and all runners return to their original base unless forced to the next base.

Section 4: Defensive Obstruction
A defensive player cannot stand in the base path or obstruct the path of a base runner unless he/she is making a play on the ball. In the event the defense obstructs a runner, the umpire shall award the runner and each other runner affected by the obstruction the bases they would have, in the umpire's opinion, reached had there been no obstruction. It is also obstruction when a fielder without the ball fakes a tag. In this case, bases are awarded as a normal obstruction AND the fielder will be ejected from the game.

Section 5: Offensive Interference
Any runner in fair territory and not in contact with a base that is struck by a fair batted ball is out except when (a) the ball has passed an infielder and in the judgment of the umpire, no other fielder had a chance to make an out, (b) when a runner is hit with a fair batted ball over foul territory and no other fielder had a chance to make an out, or (c) when a runner is touched with a fair batted ball after it is touched by any fielder, including the pitcher. In the event of one of these 3 exceptions, all runners must return to their previously occupied base and the batter-runner is awarded first base. If the award of first to the batter-runner causes another runner to be forced, that runner will advance to the next base.

Section 6: Double Play
In case of a possible double play, the base runner must get out of the way of the thrown ball. Base runners who fail to get out of the way may be charged with interference resulting in both the base runner and the batter-runner being called out on the play.

Section 7: Flagrant Contact by Runner
When a defensive player has the ball and is waiting for the runner and the runner deliberately, with great force, crashes into the defensive player, the runner is declared out and will be ejected from the game. The ball will be declared dead and all runners must return to the last base they legally occupied. If the act is to be judged flagrant by the umpire, the runner closest to home also will be declared out.

Section 8: Overthrow Rule
There is no overthrow rule. Runners may advance at their own risk until play is declared dead by the umpire.

Section 9: Courtesy Runner
A courtesy runner may be used in the event of injury only AND upon agreement with the opposing team's captain. The courtesy runner must be the player who recorded the last out. In Co-Rec games, the courtesy runner must a player of the same gender.
Rule 9: Fielding

Section 1: Defensive Positioning
Defensive positioning is restricted by the following:

Each team must provide a catcher. The catcher must field from behind the batter and may not cross home plate until the ball is hit.
If a team provides a "fielding pitcher", the "fielding pitcher" may align themselves on either side of the offense's pitcher no closer than 3 feet from the pitching rubber. The "fielding pitcher" may not take a position in front of pitcher's rubber (closer to the plate) until a ball is hit.
No infielder, other than the "fielding pitcher", may position themselves inside the diamond (inside the 1st/2nd/3rd base diagonals) until the ball is hit.

Section 2: Diving and Sliding
Diving is not recommended when fielding a ball due to the chance of injury caused by the hard playing surface. Fielders may NOT slide or dive at a runner in an effort to tag him/her. In this case, the runner is awarded two bases from the point of the violation.

Section 3: Getting Runners Out
The batter is out in situations similar to softball (force-out, fly out, etc). Runners may NOT be hit by a thrown ball -- "pegged" -- to be put out.

Section 4: Infield Fly
There is no infield fly rule.

Section 5: Infield Practice
Infield practice is prohibited prior to any inning.

Section 6: Home Run Boundary and Fences
Near the outfield fence / home run boundary and out-of-play lines, in order for an out to be recorded, the fielder must catch a fly ball and remain in play following the catch. Balls carried over the home run boundary by a fielder will be ruled home runs. Foul balls carried over an out-of-play sideline will be ruled foul balls. Fair balls carried over an out-of-play sideline will result in the batter and all runners being awarded 2 bases.

Rule 10: Appeal Play

Section 1: Definition of Appeal Play
An appeal play is one in which an umpire cannot make a decision until requested by a member of the defensive team. Appeals must be made prior to the next legal or illegal pitch or before the defensive team has left the field.

Section 2: Proper Appeal
Once the ball has been returned to the infield and time has been called, any infielder (including the pitcher or catcher), with or without possession of the ball, may make a
verbal appeal on a runner missing a base, a runner leaving a base too soon, or the batter batting out of order. The plate umpire should acknowledge the appeal, and the administering umpire should then make a decision on the play. Base runners cannot leave their base during this period, as the ball remains dead until the next pitch.

Rule 11: Other Rules

Section 1: Coin Toss
There will be a coin-toss prior to each game to determine the home team.

Section 2: Blood Rule
A player who is bleeding or has blood on his/her uniform cannot participate until the bleeding is stopped or the uniform is changed.

If the player accomplishes this task within a reasonable time (to be determined by the supervisor), the player may remain in the game.
If the situation is not handled in a reasonable amount of time, the player must leave the game and be replaced. If no substitutes are available, play will continue without the player. The player, then, may re-enter the game when he/she is deemed legal for participation.

Rule 12: Inclement Weather
In the event of inclement weather, teams should call the IM Rain Line at 348-2708 for information regarding the status of their game. Games or matches postponed due to inclement weather during the regular season will generally be rescheduled at the next available time and date. If games are cancelled for any period of a night’s regularly scheduled activities the games will be cancelled for the entire evening. For example if the 5:00pm flag football games are cancelled, all the games for that night will be cancelled.

NOTE: Teams playing in multiple sports tournaments simultaneously and participants playing on two teams in the same sport (Co-Rec and men’s/women’s) should alert the Intramural Sports Office when schedule conflicts arise.

Rule 13: Sportsmanship
Sportsmanship is an important part of intramural sports. Any player who uses foul language, violently protests a call, or curses an official or supervisor, will be removed from the game and will automatically be suspended from his/her team's next game. In addition, he/she will have to meet with the Coordinator of Intramural Sports during office hours (Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) before he/she is eligible to participate again. Any player who touches an official or supervisor will be placed on suspension from all Intramural activities for a minimum period of one calendar year from the time of the incident.