INDOOR KICKBALL RULES

THE GAME

•  All games will be played through 5 innings or 45 minutes- whichever comes first. Should time expire, an inning that has started will be completed.
•  An inning officially starts when the third out of the previous inning is recorded. If the game is tied after regulation, only (1) extra inning will be played.
• Both captains are responsible for ending the game on time.
• A new inning will not begin within 5 minutes of the official end time.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS

•      Eight players constitute a kickball team. A team may play with seven players without forfeiting. A team must start play with seven players present.
•       No more than eight players on the field at any time.
•      Players arriving late may be added to the bottom of the batting order at any time. 

•       If a team drops below eight players for any reason, it may continue playing at the captains discretion.
•  A team is allowed to bat up to 10 players (8 fielders and 2 extra hitters)

MERCY RULE

•       A mercy rule will be enforced after one team is ahead by 15 runs after 3 innings or 10 runs after 4 innings. NOTE: Unless already winning by this spread, the home team always gets to complete their half of the inning, even if the visitors get ahead by more than 10 or 15 runs.

POSITION RULES

•         There are no restrictions as to where to position your players, except each team must have a pitcher and a catcher.

PLAYING THE GAME

•       Each game starts with one kicker awaiting the pitch in the batters box.
• The rest of the kicking team shall stand a minimum of 3 ft. behind the foul line in their respective dugout.
•         All players of the team in the field must be positioned behind the pitcher.
•     The pitching team will consist of eight players on the field including their own catcher.
•  The kicking team starts with zero strikes after three strikes he/she is out.
• The ball is deemed out of play if it crosses the out of play line. In such an event, the call is a foul ball and a strike is awarded.
• At bat, you only get 3 fouls before you are struck out. Bad pitches will not be counted as a foul.

•      If the kicker kicks a fair ball, the pitching team can get the kicker out in three ways:

o   Touching the kicker with the ball

o   The pitching team will to throw the ball at a kicker for an out (If it hits the kicker in the head, the kicker is ruled safe because there are NO HEADSHOTS!)

o   Touching the base with the ball or in possession of the ball for a force out

o   Catching the kicked ball before it hits the ground

•          The kicker is out if the ball is caught after deflecting off a player on the pitching team before, the ball hits the ground.

o   However, if the kicking team has base runners and one of them is hit with the ball during a kick, that base runner is out and the pitching team still has an opportunity to get the kicker out.

•         A pitch is deemed illegal if the ball bounces more than 6 inches off the ground
•         If the ball bounces off any surface, other than the floor, it may be caught for an out. Balls kicked off the walls may be caught for an out.
•        If the ball is hit, and it bounces on the ground first before hitting the back wall, the ball will be considered live and can be fielded as a grounder
• A ball that is kicked directly into the ceiling is an automatic out. Balls that hit the ceiling on secondary contact are considered live balls and can be fielded.

BASE RUNNING RULES

Under no circumstances are runners permitted to steal.

 A base runner shall be declared out if he/she leaves their base while the pitcher has the ball in legal pitching position or before a legal pitch is kicked.

 When running towards first base after kicking a ball, runners must turn right to avoid being tagged out. If the runner turns left to run toward second base, they have the opportunity to be tagged out

   NO SLIDING WILL BE ALLOWED. If an attempt is made to slide the runner is automatically considered out.

OVERTHROW RULE

When the ball is overthrown into foul territory, every base runner may advance at their own risk. The ball remains in play and such runners are liable to be put out while advancing. There is no limit on the number of bases a runner may take.

EQUIPMENT AND TEAM AREAS

• Kick balls will be provided. Both teams must play with the provided balls.
• Captains of all games are responsible for filling out the scoresheet provided by the MPC staff
• Captains of the last game of the night are responsible for returning the filled out scoresheets back to the MPC staff
• All players must wear athletic, close toe, non-marking footwear applicable to the policies of the facility.

SCOREKEEPING

 When keeping track of scores, it is the responsibility of the kicking team to flip the scoreboard numbers and keep track of the inning.