Cass County Little League Baseball Rules
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Ponies cannot be 15 before January 1st of the current year
Pee Wees cannot be 13 before January 1st of the current year
Wee Wees cannot be 11 before January 1st of the current year
Squirts cannot be 9 before January 1st of the current year


• NO SELECT TEAMS will be accepted into Cass County Little League. This rule is to be enforced as follows:
The goal of the League is to provide an opportunity for youth boys of Member Towns/School Districts to play in the league.
As a general rule, youth on a team in the league should meet the following requirements:

Member of the school district represented by the team – OPTION ENROLLED players play with the school district they are ENROLLED in.
Private School players play on the team of the public school district they live in.
If a player lives with a parent/grandparent/legal guardian during the summer but does not go to school in the district, they are allowed to play on the team in the school district in which the parent/grandparent/legal guardian resides – they CANNOT play for another recreational team.
INTERNAL to the league - When there are not enough players to form a team and two towns in the League decide to merge an age group, ALL PLAYERS that age from the two towns must be offered the opportunity to play, it cannot be a selection of only a few desired players.
Where the team plays and who coaches the team is between the two merging League towns.

OUTSIDE of the league – When there are players from outside of the League that wish to play on a Cass County League team, additional rules will apply. A team can accept players from a town outside of the League ONLY IN INSTANCES in which the players do not have an option for a recreational league in their town. The opportunity must be presented to all players that age from the town outside the league, it cannot be a selection of only a few desired players. The Head Coach of the team must be from a town INSIDE of the League. Teams in the League that pursue this option WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO PLAY IN THE LEAGUE TOURNAMENT.

Any questions seeking clarity should be directed to the Cass County Board. All changes or exceptions must be approved by the Board, and all Board decisions are final. Violations of these rules will be addressed by the board. If in doubt consult the board prior to commitments of players to a team.

IF A TEAM IS FOUND TO INTENTIONALLY VIOLATE these rules, subsequent action by the Board up to and including REMOVAL from the League can occur. A team removed from the League will be required to pay a $500 re-entry fee for the WHOLE TOWN to be accepted back in to the League prior to the next year. This is intended to have the TOWN HEADS help with adherence.

• The league has adapted bat regulations for the 2021 season and beyond for the 10U, 12U, and 14U ages. We are following the USA baseball bat rules if you want to look for new bats now that will be compliant in future seasons.

Adherence to the USA bat rule for these age groups is mandatory. For the 2021 season, if it is found that a player is using a bat that is not labelled with USA BAT on it, the coach will immediately remove the bat from the game and resume play. If the same bat is used in the game again, the offending player will immediately be called out, do not wait for the at bat to finish, if the at bat finishes and it is noticed upon completion of the play, the play is negated, runners return to previous bases, and the batter is out. The goal of this rule is to get coaches and players to learn and adhere to the new requirement. Please make every effort as coaches and town heads to follow the rule.

• Squirts will play at 9am Saturday mornings followed by Wee Wees.

• Squirts will play at 6pm Monday evenings followed by Wee Wees.

• Wee Wees will begin their game at 10am Saturdays and at 7pm Mondays if there is no Squirt game

scheduled. • Pee Wees will play at 6 pm on Tuesday and Thursday evenings followed by Ponies. Ponies will begin their game at 7pm if there is no Pee Wee game scheduled.

• All teams will begin their game 15 minutes after the conclusion of the previous game.

• Teams may change starting times and dates by mutual agreement of both coaches involved.

• The WINNING team must enter the result of their game on the web site within 48 hours, otherwise they will forfeit the game.

• Make Up Games: The home team shall notify the opposing team if it is not possible to play due to weather. Individual coaches are responsible for rescheduling make-up games. The home team must give the visiting team 3 reasonable options for making the game up, if more options are available and the visiting team is available to play that is the best for all. If this is done and the visiting team is not able to play the game the home team will take the win. If there’s no attempt made by the home team the visiting team will take the win. All teams should have a win, loss or tie recorded for every game on their schedule. Teams also need to inform the board if this happens.

• NO infield warm up practice for any team level.

• Teams are allowed to take grounders on the side of the field.

• All teams will use the double bag system at 1st base.
The double bag at first base is for player safety. To avoid confusion, either the defensive player or the offensive player CAN USE EITHER BAG for purposes of obtaining the base or making a put out. The goals is player safety – period. If a defender takes a throw to the outside, it is expected that the runner can use the inside and if the defender takes a throw to the inside the runner can use the outside. The goal is player safety, please teach defenders the proper use of the bag and runners the same.

• Players may not switch from one town team to another after the season begins unless permission is received from the League Commissioners.

• A player must have played in the league during at least one-half of the regular game season to be eligible to play during the tournaments unless permission is received from the League Commissioners. Game played is when a player has batted at least once during that game.

• If a team is short of players, a player from a lower level may play up during the tournament if half the games haven’t been reached. However, the player can’t be a pitcher.

• Wee Wees and Pee Wees will play six innings. An inning will not last longer than five runs or three outs. If a Wee Wee or Pee Wee team is ahead by MORE THAN ten runs after four innings, they will be declared the winner of the game.

• Ponies will play seven innings. An inning will not last longer than five runs or three outs. If a Pony team is ahead by MORE THAN ten runs after five innings, they will be declared the winner of the game.

NOTE: Once game is official (innings or runs), the game MUST BE ENDED if there is a game following. Squirts teams are not to play additional innings if the run rule or inning requirement has been met and a game follows. This also applies to WeeWee, PeeWee, and Pony teams but has been most observed at the Squirt level.

• During Season, Squirts have a time limit of 1 hour & 15 minutes. Wee Wees and Pee Wee’s have a time limit of 1 hour & 50 minutes. Pony’s will have a time limit of 2 hours. For all levels: NO INNNING WILL START after the time limit, unless a game is tied. Time limits are still in place even if there is no game after, unless coaches agree differently.

•There will be no time limit for tournament games, except for first round games. In the event there are more than 16 teams in a Wee Wee, Pee Wee, or Pony league, the first round will be SINGLE elimination and the winners of those games will advance on to a double elimination tournament bracket. There will be no time limit for the SINGLE elimination first round game.

• The infield fly rule will be in effect for Ponies, PeeWees, & WeeWees.

• No hidden ball play allowed except for Ponies.

• Pitching limits apply to each individual pitcher, regardless of what team he/she pitches for. One inning pitched will be defined as the following: one or more pitches in an inning equals one inning pitched. Pitching limits for a 48 hour continuous period are: Ponies 9 innings Pee Wees 8 innings Wee Wees 8 innings

• Once a pitcher is removed from the mound, he/she will be allowed to play any position except pitcher for the remainder of that game.

• A Wee Wee, Pee Wee, or Pony pitcher must be removed from the mound upon hitting three batters in one game.

• A coach can make only one trip to the pitcher’s mound per pitcher per inning. The pitcher must be pulled from the mound at the second trip.

• Five warm-up pitches will be permitted between innings unless cold weather requires additional pitches. Umpires will use their discretion.

• Umpires will give one balk warning to pitchers of Pee Wee & Pony teams. There is no balk at the Wee Wee level.

• Pitching distances are: Ponies 54 ft, Pee Wees 48 ft, Wee Wees 43 ft

• Base distances are: Ponies 80 ft, Pee Wees 70 ft, Wee Wees 60 ft

• Free substitution will be used for Wee Wee, Pee Wee, and Pony teams, however, when a player re-enters the game they must bat in their original batting order. If it is impossible for them to remain in his original batting order, his turn at bat will be called an out. No player who is in the game may be a substitute for another player in the game. A pinch runner may run for one player only.

• Wee Wee teams have a choice of either batting nine (9) players or the entire lineup. If you bat the entire lineup, and a player is injured and cannot bat in his lineup spot, it will not be an out, unless the number of players drops below (9) than an out will be enforced. Pee Wee & Pony teams must bat nine (9) players and not the entire lineup.

• Rain out games during the season & tournament will be considered a complete game after: Wee Wees & Pee Wees 4 innings. Ponies 5 inning.

• The home team will furnish two umpires. Competent umpires should be utilized and must be 18 years of age or older behind the plate with the exception of Squirts.

• During tournament play, the MORE THAN TEN RUNS rule will be in effect after four innings for Wee Wee’s and Pee Wee’s and after five innings for Ponies.

• A team roster providing the ages and date of birth of each player must be sent to the tournament director prior to the first tournament game. Coaches are required to possess a copy of players’ birth certificates for each child participating on their team at the tournament. It is recommended to carry birth certificates to games for age verification.

• The batter, catcher, player on deck and base coaches (if they are players) must wear a helmet. Catchers warming up a pitcher must also wear a helmet. • Runners must slide on close plays at home plate. Umpires will use their discretion.

• Face Guards are mandatory. For 8U, 10U, 12U a FACE MASK is mandatory. For the 14U age group a FACE MASK or properly fitted C-FLAP is permitted.
NOTE: It is the JOB OF THE COACH to enforce this rule. For teams that do not observe this rule, please report to the Cass County Board. Noncompliance of this rule reported to the Board will result in a FORFEIT of the game and a score of 1-0 will be entered if the team that was noncompliant had won. • Steel spikes are NOT allowed by any player in the league.

• All team players must have a number on their uniform shirt. Duplicate numbers are allowed as long as the opposing coach is informed.

• There is no profanity, chewing or smoking tobacco allowed on the field by any coaches or players. An offender will be kicked out of the game on the first offense and out for the season on the second offense.

• A coach who has been ejected during a tournament is out of the tournament and not permitted to return to the site.

• Coaches must notify the opposing coaches and/or the plate umpire of any scorebook changes during regular games. The Official score bookkeeper and/or the plate umpire must be notified during tournament games.

• No tournament fees or gate charges are permitted.

• Tournaments will follow tournament brackets provided by the league.

• Teams will supply 1 game ball to each tournament game they play in.

• Tie breakers for tournament seeding: Record, Head to Head, Runs, Outs, then Coin Flip.

• Tournament Games: The League pays host teams $50 per game for Squirts and $60 per game for the other three levels. This is to help with the umpiring costs.

• All Star Game: The League pays $60 per umpire per game.

• Official Baseball Rules (not Official Little League Rules) will be followed with the exceptions of these stated.

• Teams must play in Cass County League Tournament or pay a fine of $100.00 to the league.

• Portable pitching mounds are not allowed in league games. Permanent (dirt) mounds are acceptable if the field is so equipped.



***Wee Wees ONLY:***

• The batter is OUT on third strike if the catcher misses the ball.

• A player on third base can only score on a batted ball continuation, or on a walk by the pitcher. **Home is Closed**

• The base runner cannot advance if the catcher overthrows the pitcher while returning the ball, and the ball is dead.

• There are no pick-off moves from the pitcher in Wee Wees ... only the catcher can make that throw.

• The base runner may not lead off until the pitcher releases the ball. The runner will be called ‘Out’ without warning if he/she leads off.



***Cass County Little League Baseball “Squirt Only” Rules ***

• The coach can pitch from any distance over hand or under hand.

• If a batted ball hits the coach who is pitching, it is a dead ball & does not count as an out or a pitch in the count.

• Games will last five innings. An inning will not last longer than five runs or three outs per inning. If a squirt team is ahead by MORE THAN five runs after four innings, they will be declared the winner. If the score is tied after 5 innings or at the end of the time limit, the winner will be determined by counting the total number of outs. No extra innings during the regular

• In Tournament play only – if game is tied after five innings, one extra inning consisting of five runs or three outs will be played. If game remains tied, then count outs to determine winner.

• Tournament will be single elimination.

• Each batter is allowed five pitches. The batter will receive another pitch if the last pitch is foul.

• Ten players are permitted on the field. Squirt teams will bat the entire line up and in the same order.

• It is not considered an Out in the batting rotation if a player is hurt. Skip the injured player and continue with the next batter in the order, unless the number of players drops below (10) than an out will be enforced.

• Each player must play at least two innings. During the 1st 4 innings, a player can only play a maximum of two innings in the infield. The fifth inning is open. The catcher position is considered an outfield position.

• The coach will give the opposing coach a “line-up card” before the start of each game that will show who is playing at 1st base and Pitcher for each inning. An example of the line-up card is attached.

• Runners may not lead off base. The runner will be warned by the umpire.

• Outfielders cannot make outs by tagging runners or covering a base for a force out. This does not apply to the catcher position.

• Only one base on an overthrow – runners may advance at their own risk.

• There will be no pitchers circle and no half-way marks in the base path.

• The ball is dead once the pitching coach has the ball.

• Pitcher must begin play within 3 feet left or right of the pitching rubber.

• Teams must use any of the following balls: Worth Rif #5, Diamond level 5, or Wilson level 5 for all games.