08/13/2026
With the tournament coming up, the exec has asked the umpires to be diligent about calling the following rules both for safety and fairness. We don’t want anyone to be surprised by these rules should they come up at the tournament.
1. FIRST BASE: using the safety bag correctly means that the runner stays to the right side of the baseline and runs towards the orange side of the bag when the hit is in the infield and a throw is likely to come to first. The first baseman stands on the white bag waiting for the throw. If a runner steps on the white bag while the first baseman is there, she is out. Conversely, if the first baseman steps on the orange bag, the runner is safe regardless of whether the throw is caught. This is to avoid collisions at first base. However, if the hit makes it through the infield, the runner may touch the white bag and turn towards second base. In this case, the first baseman must stay out of the way and not interfere with the runner’s turn towards second.
2. HOME PLATE: batters and runners can never touch home plate. If the batter steps on home on her way to first, she is out. If a runner coming from third touches home, she is out. Runners coming from third must stay wide of home plate and cross the scoring line. The catcher must stand on home plate while waiting for a throw home. This is to avoid collisions at home.
3. NO THROWING BATS: the batter must drop the bat before running to first. If a batter throws her bat, she will be called out. This is for the safety of the catcher and the umpire, who can be seriously injured by thrown bats.
Please note that these are all standard NSA slo-pitch rules. Sometimes our umpires have been generous with new players who are still learning the sport, but now that we are more than halfway through the season, everyone is expected to know and follow these rules so that we all stay safe.
We would also like to remind all our members that they are expected to wear their team shirts unless there is a heat warning (in that case, tank tops are acceptable for comfort). Team shirts will also be required at the tournament. If anyone is still missing a team shirt, please talk to your team’s exec ASAP so we can help you out.
Finally, please remember that MLSP is a recreational league, and our goal is to provide a safe, fair and fun environment for women to get out and be active together. As we head into the end of the season, let’s all do our best to keep those values in mind and work collaboratively to keep MLSP a fun community :)
