Baseball

WACC Board Approval (10/2/24)

2600. The National Federation Baseball Rules, as modified by the CIF, the NCS and the WACC shall be the official rules of the WACC

2601. The suggested starting time for day games is 4:00 pm. Pregame practice shall reflect this starting time: the home team shall take the field at 3:30 pm; the visitors at 3:45 pm unless both coaches agree otherwise prior to game day. In all cases both teams shall have equal access to pregame time.

2601.1 There shall be no pregame hitting except for whiffle ball or soft toss by either team 60 minutes before the schedule starting time of a league contest.

2601.2 A league game shall end when the visiting team is behind 10 or more runs after 4½ innings, or after the fifth inning, if either team is 10 runs behind and both teams have had an equal number of times at bat.

2602. Any postponed game shall be (re)played on the next date available to both schools, using the WACC document defining “next available date.” Athletic directors shall reschedule the game.

2603. Each varsity coach shall be allowed one formal protest during each league game. A protest may only involve alleged misinterpretations of NFHS rules by the umpires. It must occur immediately after the action/call by the umpires that caused the protest. The protesting coach shall have a reasonable amount of time to verbally indicate the alleged misinterpretation of the NFHS rule; the opposing coach shall also have time to make his/her case to the umpires. The umpires shall then make a decision, in consultation with the NFHS rule book if necessary, which shall be final and the game continues. If the rule book is used by umpires, the protest shall be considered a formal protest. If the protest is upheld, the protesting shall be allowed another formal protest during that game. Further argument by either coach after the decision is reached by the umpires shall cause that coach to be restricted to his/her dugout.

2604.Regarding the WACC Baseball Schedule

2604.1Seven innings shall constitute an official WACC game.

2604.2Tie games are considered as suspended games. If a tie game occurs during the first game of the two-game series against a league opponent, it is to be continued until the tie is resolved, that continuance taking place as a preliminary to the start of, and at the site of, the second round game. If a tie occurs in the second round, it shall be “played off” only if it affects ranking teams for league playoffs.

2604.3The above rules apply for night games as well as day games. If a game is tied at curfew time, the procedures outlined in 2604.2 above shall be followed.

2604.4If the second game in a series between two schools is to be preceded by the completion of a tie game, the host school shall ensure that adequate time is allowed to complete both contests before curfew.

2605. Participation in night baseball games is to be decided by the mutual agreement of the principals of the involved schools or their designees. Admission may be charged for games; a reduced ticket price may be charged.

2606. Regarding ejections from games:

2606.1If a coach is ejected from a contest, and no other school representative approved by the involved site administration is present to assume coaching/supervisory responsibilities, the game is forfeited to the opponent.

2606.2The officiating association shall immediately notify the WACC Commissioner and the athletic directors of both schools of any player or coach ejected from a game.

2607. Players may move from one level to another level throughout the season. Players shall participate on only one team on any given day. When a player dresses for, or travels to, a game, he may play only on that team on that day. A postponed game shall be considered as played on the same day; i.e. if the varsity plays as scheduled but a JV game is postponed, the student-athlete would be ineligible to participate in both contests.

2608.When a coach wants an “intentional walk,” the umpire is notified; no pitches are thrown.

2609. Pitchers are limited to ten innings against league opponents, no matter when the games are played.

2610. When an umpire observes conditions that might constitute a hazard on a WACC field, the umpire’s association shall notify the administration of the involved school.

2611. Coaches shall prepare written ground rules and distribute copies to all league schools.

2612. The WACC league champions shall be the teams with the best league records. If there is a tie for first place, all schools involved in that tie shall be league co-champions The three WACC automatic representatives to NCS postseason play shall be the winner of the Foothill League end- of-season tournament, the winner of the Shoreline League end-of-season tournament, and the Foothill League regular season champion. If the Foothill League end-of-season tournament winner and the Foothill League regular season champion are the same school, then the 3^rd NCS automatic entry shall be the Foothill League end-of-season tournament runner-up.

Teams shall be seeded for the WACC postseason tournament based on league standings. If there is a tie in the league standings, tournament seeding shall be broken using the following prioritized steps:

2612.1The records of the tied teams against each other in head-to-head competition.

2612.2 The records of the teams within the tie against the team in 1^st place in the league standings (if this is a tie for other than 1^st place).

2612.3 The records of the teams within the tie against the team in 2^nd place in the league standings (if this is a tie for other than 1^st place)

2612.4 The records of the teams within the tie against the team in 3^rd place in the league standings (if this is a tie for other than 1^st place)

2612.5 The records of the teams within the tie against the team immediately below them in the league standings

2612.6 The records of the teams within the tie against the next lowest team in the league standings. This process shall continue using all teams in the league standings.

2612.7  If at any time in the above steps a team is eliminated from the tie, but a tie still exists (started with a three-way tie for example), the progression starts once again with 2612.1 and continues until the tie is broken.

         2612.8  A draw from a hat by the league’s athletic directors.

2612.9Every effort shall be made to complete the league round robin season. If the WACC is unable to complete the league season by the evening before the start of the WACC tournament, the WACC tournament shall be seeded using league wins as the deciding factor.

2612.10 If the WACC is unable to complete the league tournament(s), the NCS representatives shall be the team(s) with the greatest number of league wins. Ties shall be broken using the prioritized steps in 2612.

2613 All-League Procedures:

2613.1The all-league nomination process shall be outlined in advance by the league commissioner.

2613.2 Each school has a minimum of two nominations. Additional nominations are based on the number of league wins based on the following scale:

Number of LEAGUE Wins Number of Additional Nominations

The league commissioner shall adjust the number of nominees should there be more or fewer than six teams in a league.

2613.3 Players shall not be nominated by position. Coaches shall prioritize their nominations.

2613.4 Coaches shall first select a “Player-of-the-Year.” Coaches shall then select a “Pitcher-of-the-Year.” These student-athletes shall automatically be placed on the all-league first team

2613.5 Each coach shall select an all-league first team (2 points) and an all-league second team (1 point). Sportsmanship shall be considered in both nominations and voting. Coaches may not vote for their own players. If a tie occurs, and the tie can be resolved by determining which player received the most first-team votes, it shall be done. Otherwise, ties shall be voted off; the coaches of the players in the tie shall not participate in the vote-off. It is recommended that assistant coaches, selected in advance from at least two schools, tally the votes.

2613.6 An all-league 1^st team consisting of 12 players and the two “POTY” honorees shall be selected. An all-league 2^nd team consisting of 12 players shall be selected. Each school is then allowed to select two players as “Honorable Mention,” to be listed by the coach after the all-league balloting.