Rules worth knowing
The ones that decide an at-bat or start an argument — not the whole rulebook. From the league rules revised 19 Aug 2026. One Nation rules cover anything not listed here.
At the plate
- You start 1-1
- Every batter begins with one ball and one strike. With two strikes there is no free foul — hit it fair or you are out.
- A man walking with a woman on deck takes two bases
- Automatically. With two outs the woman may then take a walk if she wants it; with fewer than two outs she hits. Every other walk is one base, as normal.
- A woman cannot be thrown out at first from the outfield
- If the throw comes from the outfield, she has first base.
- Five home runs a game
- The sixth and every one after is an out. Inside-the-park home runs do not count toward the limit.
- The mat is a strike
- A pitch in a legal arc that lands on any part of the mat is a strike, umpire’s judgement on the arc.
- Off the pitching screen is a foul ball
- And a second hit off the screen in the same at-bat is an out. The pitcher is still a live fielder once the pitch is away.
In the field
- Eleven fielders, four of them women
- Eleven can take the field in co-ed. At least four must be female.
- Short a woman is an out, not a forfeit
- If you field fewer than four women, you take an automatic out for each missing spot every time it comes round in the order. The game is still played.
- Eight players to start and to finish
- Below eight, the game is a forfeit. Forfeit time is ten minutes after the scheduled start.
- Outfielders hold the line until contact
- No crossing the painted outfield line before the batter hits the ball. Breaking it is an automatic base hit.
- Two extra hitters allowed
- Up to twelve in the batting order with two EH. The EH do not field, and the eleven fielders plus the two EH may enter and re-enter freely.
On the bases
- Courtesy runners: one man and one woman per inning
- A man in the lineup runs for a man, a woman for a woman. Both a male and a female runner may be used in the same inning. If the courtesy runner is still on base when their own turn to bat arrives, that spot is an out.
- Use the safety bag at home
- There is a separate bag away from the plate. Miss it and you are out whether there was a play or not. A play at the plate works like first base — a foot on the plate with the ball, no tag needed.
- Orange base at first, and sliding is fine
- Bases are 70 feet, the mound is 50.
The night
- Seven innings or sixty minutes
- Four innings makes a legal game. If the clock runs out with the score tied, one extra inning is played; still tied after that and it stays a tie. The second game starts straight after the first.
- Mercy rule
- 20 runs after 3 innings, 15 after 4, 10 after 5.
- Umpires are paid on the field
- $35 per team per night, cash, at the start of the game. Conan handles ours.
- Play half the season to be playoff eligible
- A player must appear in 50% of the regular-season games to play in the tournament.
- No metal cleats
- Bats must carry a USSSA, ASA or One Nation stamp. An illegal bat ejects the player and forfeits the game.
Four women in the field is the league’s rule. There is no minimum for men — if we talk about needing seven, that is our own plan for covering the field, not something the umpire enforces.