We are planning on 4-6 Little Lady Komet teams, depending on registrations.  Teams will be divided equally with 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders and skill level on each team.  Teams will play each other and other league registered teams from area communities.  This will be a participation league.

Team sizes will be 13-15 players. The target team size is 14 players. Each team will have 3-4 pitchers and 2 catchers.  Your grade, skill level, and if you are a pitcher or a catcher are indicated on the registration form.

Teams will be coached by K-M high school varsity softball players or qualified other.

Once the teams are set, the league coordinator and team coaches will have initial team meetings with parents and players to hand out schedules, shirts, and visors. Another goal of the initial meeting will be to schedule team and semi-private practice dates/times and coordinate rides so that all players will be able to attend practices.  The initial team meetings will be held mid-May.

Any questions can be answered by the Little Lady Komet league coordinator Jake Tietje by e-mail at j.tietje@komets.k12.mn.us or by phone at 507-272-9526.

VOLUNTEERS:

We will be looking for an interested team parent who could take pictures for the team and submit team articles and pictures to the Dodge County Independent (DCI) newspaper.

We will be looking for another interested team parent who would plan the year end team party.

GAME DETAILS:

Little Lady Fastpitch League Rules

Double header games will be every Wednesday evening starting at 6pm from June 4th – July 30th. There will be no games the week of July 4th. This is approximately 16 games for the summer season, depending on the number of teams.  All home games will be played at Kasson North Park or K-M Elementary school fields.  Away games will be played at fields in area communities.

10 players are allowed in the field (ie. there will be four outfielders).

Each game will be 7 innings or time limit. No new inning will be started after 7:05pm for the first game. No new inning will be started after dusk or 8:20pm for the second game. The target start time for the second game is 7:15pm and the target end time is 8:30pm.

The first 2 innings of each game will be live pitching by fielding team player(s). The fielding team coach will stand behind the pitcher to call balls and strikes and umpire the bases. The batting team coach will coach 3rd base and provide signals to batters.

There will be no walks granted during live pitching. After 4 balls are thrown, that would normally provide a walk, instead the batting team coach will soft toss pitches by kneeling off the plate until the batter puts the ball in play.

All innings after the first 2 will be pitched by a pitching machine. The fielding team coach will feed the pitching machine and umpire the bases. There will be a maximum of 6 pitches to each batter from the pitching machine. If the batter has not put the ball in play after the 6th pitch, the batter is out.

There is no stealing or past ball advancement by base runners.

Bunting is allowed and encouraged.

There is a maximum of 5 runs per inning for each team. When the 5th run is scored, the fielding team comes up to bat.

Each team will use the Hoffman Rule. When using the Hoffman Rule all members of the team must bat, even the players on the bench. If using the Hoffman Rule and a player is unable to continue because of injury, they are removed from the game and can not return to that game. The injured player is eliminated from the lineup and the team is not required to take an out. No courtesy runners are permitted, even to speed up the game. There are no restrictions on defensive substitutions.

Fields and Equipment:

Base distance is 60 feet.  This is the ASA/USA standard distance for girls of this age.

35 feet pitching distance is recommended this year.  Since it is late for all coaches to adjust fields, 40 feet is ok.  The league standard next year will be 35 feet pitching distance to plan for.

11" diameter softball, core .47, optic yellow, 375 maximum compression is recommended.  This is the ASA/USA standard for girls of this age.  Since it is late for all teams to purchase and use 11" diameter softballs, 12" diameter softballs are ok.  The league standard next year will be 11" diameter softballs to plan for.

The home field team will supply an adequate pitching machine.  Both coaches will assist in setup to start the third inning.  The standard pitching speed is 30 mph so that we can have consistency across the league.

When using the pitching machine it is good to have two 5 gallon buckets to transfer the softballs quickly and easily from home plate back to the pitching machine.  The catcher does not throw a missed or foul ball back.  Balls are left at the backfield fence and collected into the bucket.  Buckets are then exchanged at the pitching machine when they run out.

PRACTICE DETAILS:

REGISTRATION:

Please fill out the Little Lady Komets Registration form.

The registration deadline for 3rd-5th grade Little Lady Komets is April 23rd, 2008. Fees will not be refunded after April 23rd, 2008. Any player wishing to register after April 23rd, or facing a financial hardship please contact support@kmsoftball.org.  NOTE: We cannot guarantee any Little Lady Komet registrations after April 23rd, 2008.

Little Lady Fastpitch League Schedule