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U.S.A. Softball of Texas
Pixie Division Official State Rules

The Pixie State Tournaments will be divided into three separate age groups 6 & Under and 8 & Under “A” and 8 & Under “B.”

The Pixie State Tournaments will be governed by the same playing rules as the 10 & Under Division with exceptions to the following rules.

8 & Under “A”: Teams comprised of players from more than one league/town and are chosen for a team without going through some type of common league draft. Teams that are not part of a league. Teams that pick up players to play tournaments.Teams who play tournaments. Teams that have out of district players. These teams will be classified as Gold Teams.

8 & Under “B”:   Teams comprised of players from a single league who were chosen through some type of league draft procedure. Out of district players are ineligible.

 Section 1.  Eligibility

 A.  6 & Under Age Classification: A player who is 6 years of age or under on August 31st of the current year of championship play is eligible for 6U.  If a player turns 7 years of age at any time after August 31st of the current year of championship play, that player is eligible to participate in 6U.

B.  8 & Under Age Classification: A player who is 8 years of age or under on August 31st of the current year of championship play is eligible for 8U.  If a player turns 9 years of age at any time after August 31st of the current year of championship play, that player is eligible to participate in 8U.

C.  All players on a team must be registered within the boundaries of ONE Texas U.S.A. District or Metro Association.  Exception: 8 & Under “A”

Section 2.  Coaching Staff

A coaching staff will consist of a manager, assistant manager, and not more than four assistant coaches. The manager will assume full responsibility for the actions of his/her coaching staff.

The following coaching positions will be allowed: 

  1. Positioning coaches are allowed.
  2. (1) Offensive coach Pitcher/Mound
  3. (2) Offensive Coaches-(1) First Base (1) Third Base.
  4. (2) Defensive coaches outside of both dugouts toward playing field. (1) First Base (1) Third Base 

 

Section 3.  Pitching

 A.  The manager of the team at bat will appoint a member of his/her coaching staff to pitch to his/her batters.  A team will not be allowed to change a pitcher until the inning is over.

 B.  A coach pitcher may pitch anywhere within the 16-foot circle as long as his/her foot is on or in front of the halfway line. The coach pitcher must always keep at least one foot within the 16-foot pitching circle when the ball is released.

 PENALTY: dead ball, add 1 pitch to the count, if after the 4th pitch, the batter will be declared out.

 C.  A coach pitcher may pitch anywhere within the 16-foot circle as long as his/her foot is in front of the half way line.

 D.  The coach pitcher is allowed to coach or talk to the batter, but must not leave the circle before the pitch.  Once the batter becomes a batter/runner the coach may continue to talk to the batter/runner as long as he/she is moving to foul territory and does not interfere with the play.

PENALTY: Removal of the coach pitcher.

E.  The coach pitcher will try to avoid interfering with the play after the ball has been hit by moving to foul territory away from the play. If in the judgment of the umpire the coach pitcher intentionally interferes with the play.

  1. The ball is dead.
  2. The Coach Pitcher is given a warning.      
  3. The batting team is given an out.
  4. No runners may advance.
  5. The batter will return to the batters box and assume the count at the time of the infraction. 

 
  6.   Unintentional Interference
         A.  Dead Ball
         B.  No Out will be charged
         C.  Forced Run may score

Penalty: Should the coach pitcher have a second intentional interference called against him/her, they will be removed from the pitching position.

 F.  A play may be considered dead once the defensive pitcher has control of the ball within the 16-foot circle unless making a play. Should the ball be hit directly back to the defensive pitcher on the ground, and the pitcher chooses to hold the ball in the circle rather than make a play, all runners will be allowed to advance one base, or position at the time the ball goes dead, or in the judgment of the umpire, all play has come to a complete halt, then the ball will be declared dead.

G.  The defensive pitcher will give the ball to the coach/pitcher at the end of each play.

Section 4. The Batter

There will be a ball/strike count kept. A batter will have up to 5 pitches to hit a fair ball. Should a batter fail to hit a ball at the end of 5 pitches, the batter will be called out. Should the batter foul off the 5th pitch, she will be allowed a 6th pitch. If the 6th pitch is fouled off the batter will get a final 7th pitch, if the batter fails to hit a fair ball then the batter will be called out. Three (3) swinging pitches if missed will be an out if on the third swing the ball is missed.

All players present must bat, in the event a player has to leave, she will be skipped in the line up.   There will be no penalty and may return in the line up. If the same player leaves the game a second time, an out will be called. If a girl shows up late she is to be added at the bottom of the line up.

Section 5. Runners

 A.  Should more than one base runner run to the same base, the trailing runner will be sent back to the base she was running from (the last base legally occupied).

B.  Runners who are already over half way to a base may continue to the next base. If the runner is less than half way to a base when the ball becomes dead, then they must return to the last base occupied.

 C.  If a runner fails to maintain foot contact with a base while the pitcher has the ball, a dead ball will be called and the umpires will issue a warning to the offensive coach for the first offense. Second offense- the runner falling to maintain foot contact with the base will result in the runner being called out.  Only one warning will be issued per team per game.

 Section 6.     Defensive Players

There will be free defensive substitution.  All teams must start with 9 players but may finish with 8 due to injury. NOTE: The short-handed player rule will be in effect.        

Optional:  Teams may be allowed to have (10) Ten players on defense if they deemed to do so.

A.  All players are to have their positions listed on the lineup card. Any defensive changes are to be reported to both the Umpire and Scorekeeper.

B.  The Defensive team should be comprised of (4) Four infielders, a Pitcher and Catcher, and (4) Four Outfielders.

C.  The defensive player/pitcher must stand in the back half of the pitching circle. She may not move from the back of the circle until the ball has been hit.

D.  With the exception of the catcher, no defensive player may be closer than (30) Thirty feet from the batter until the ball has been hit.

E.  The (4) Four outfielders must remain behind the baseline until the ball has been hit.

F.  The catcher must remain within the lines of the catcher’s box until the pitch is released.

Violation of items D, E & F will allow the offensive coach to take the results of the play or advance the batter to first base. (Hit ball means fair or foul.)

A warning will be given to the defensive coach for the first violation, a second violation will result with the offending teams Coach/Pitcher being Disqualified from the pitching mound.  He may continue to coach, but may not return to the pitching position for the remainder of the game.

Section 7.  Rules of the Game

A.  Stealing is not allowed
B.  Bunting is not Allowed
C.  No Chopping down on the ball
D.  No Slap bunting/hitting
E.  Six runs per half inning
F.   Infield Fly Rule is not in effect
G.  Run Rule Teams can be mathematically eliminated
H.  All games will be a 55 minute time limit

Section 8.   Tournament Format/ International Tie Breaker

Pixie State Tournaments will be 4 game guarantee, Pool Play/Double Elimination format.
No new inning will start after 55 minutes or 7 innings with the exception of tie games. Tie games will be played until there is a winner.
The International Tie Breaker will be used.

Section 9.    The Playing Field

A.  Pitching Distance will be 35 feet
B.  A sixteen (16) foot circle will be placed around the pitching mound
C.  Distance to the bases will be 60 feet
D.  Half way marks will be between 1st and 2nd Bases, 2nd and 3rd bases, and 3rd base to Home plate.
E.  A line bisecting the pitching circle will be drawn starting on the first base side of the circle and ending on the third base side of the circle.

Section 10.     Equipment

All bats must be U.S.A. Softball approved.  The bat safety grip and knob must meet U.S.A. Specifications.  (BIG BARRELED BASEBALL BATS) are not allowed.

The 11” AD STARR 5 ball shall be used in the 6U Division and the Core .47 11” ball in the 8U Division.

All players batting must wear a batting helmet; Chin Straps are optional. All players must wear a face guard attached to the batting helmet that meets U.S.A. safety requirements.

Catchers must wear full catchers’ gear. All catcher’s masks must have a throat protector attached, batting helmets are allowed as long as a throat protector is attached. The knee and shin must be covered, soccer type knee pads and shin guards are allowed. (defensive face guards are optional)

See diagram on last page for proper field layout.

Updated 8/26/2023