5 up rule - 10U A TB tourney

[Bleacher Bum]

10U A TB tourney. USSSA. No other affiliations or rule sets listed (other than 'tourney rules').
Games have 75 minute time limit (no new innings after 75), but no drop dead time. Rules state that "5 up rule will be used".
Situation: Semi-final game. 4 minutes on clock. 5th inning about to start. Visitors ahead by 4 (8-4). No outs. Visitors score 3, then get a 3 run HR (6 total for the inning, still no outs). Ump stops the inning, says they can only score 5 (13-4), and home team gets last at bats. Ump is asked how many runs home team can score. He says "until they take the lead: 10 runs". So, how is this fair? It didn't end up as being an issue, as the home team scored only 1 run. But....

Between games we ran into the head ump and tourney directors. Asked them, and they confirmed that the above was correct. We asked how that could be fair, and the only response they could come up with was "oh - it's rare that the home team could make such a comeback."

Is this common? Son plays LL baseball and once 'final inning' is declared, all run limits are off. Shouldn't the same apply here, assuming coaches will use common sense and not score 20 runs. Or state special case such that if home team does take the lead, visitors get to continue their at-bat (since it ended with no outs)?

 

[redhotcoach]

Run limits in USSSA are typically only in "C".

 

[BretMan]

Any run rule that, in the same inning, limits how many runs one team can score, while letting the other team score an unlimited number, can't be right.

Somebody in charge needs to think that through and figure out a fair way to apply this rule.

 

[canyonjoe]

I think if you have the 5 up rule you should have been able to score up to 5 over the other team if you are trailing starting the inning otherwise 5 is the limit.

Ex if you were down 7-3, you could score 9 to go up 12-7. If you were up 4-2 you can go to 9-2. Some also allow continuation to finish the play so if in the first case you went up 11-7 and had the bases loaded and hit a home run you could go up 15-7. I really don't know why the do it in Travel ball.

 

[klamath632]

Why is an "A" tournament using Rec League rules?

 

[Bleacher Bum]

Good question concerning 'rec league' rules. This rule (5 up) only applied to the 10U age group. 12U and 14U had no run limits (other than mercy rules that end the game). But the talent level did vary greatly.

 

[Umpireernie]

Local rule modifications can be crazy. We have a local rule in ASA slow pitch softball where a team is allowed to play short handed if they have at least 8 players. If they don't have 8 to start they can borrow players from the team they are playing or any other team that is registered in same class. If the team that borrowed the player from the opposing team has more members of its team arrive after the game has started the borrowed player goes back to their original team and is eligible to come into the game for that team.

So it's possible for player to play for both teams in the same game!