2027 Tournament Rules

Every tournament guarantees 3 games unless noted. Saturday pool play sets Sunday seeding. The Sunday bracket format is announced when registration closes, based on teams entered and fields available.

Seeding tiebreakers, in order

1. Win–loss–tie record
2. Head-to-head (two-team ties only)
3. Fewest runs allowed
4. Most runs scored
5. Fewest runs allowed in a single game
6. Largest run differential in a single game
7. Coin flip

Before the game

• Be at the field and ready to play 20 minutes before the scheduled start.
• Each team supplies 2 game-ready baseballs per game. DPB provides 4.
• No infield warm-ups before your game. Use the outfield or the area the tournament director assigns.
• Home team: assigned in advance for pool games. In bracket games the higher seed is home; equal seeds flip a coin.
• Tournament directors and umpires may start or end games early for weather or darkness.

• The home plate umpire or tournament staff keep official time.
• No new inning starts once the time limit has passed. An inning already under way is the last.
• If the home team leads after the top half of that inning, the game ends. If it trails, it bats, and the game ends as soon as it takes the lead.
• Pool play games may end in a tie.

Mercy rule (every game, including the championship)

Fall 8U: 10 runs after 3 innings.

Extra innings

• Elimination games must have a winner. Use the international tiebreaker: each half-inning starts with one out and the last batter of the previous inning on second base.
• Championship games play full extra innings with no international tiebreaker.

A player's age group is set by age on May 1, 2027. Age groups move up on September 1: from that date, players compete at the age they will be on May 1 of the following year. Managers must carry proof of age for every player and present it if challenged.

• Roster: 15 players maximum.
• Dugout: 4 coaches or adults maximum.
• Uniforms: numbered uniforms, or shirts close to the team's color.
• One age group per weekend: a player may be rostered in only one age group per tournament.
• Roster changes: no players may be added once a team has started play, except an injury replacement approved by the tournament director. The injured player may not return for the rest of the tournament.

Teams must bat at least 9 players and may bat more. Once the game starts, the number of batters is fixed.

• Injury in a full batting order: if a team bats its whole roster and a player is injured and leaves, the lineup shortens with no penalty. That player may not return to the game.
• Dropping to 8: a team that loses a player for any other reason may finish with 8. The empty spot is an out each time it comes up.
• Defensive substitutions: free when a team bats 10 or more.
• Re-entry: when a team bats 9, a starter may re-enter once, in the original batting-order spot.
• Courtesy runners: allowed for the pitcher and catcher at any time. Use a player not in the lineup if one is available; otherwise use the last batted out.
• Tag plays: runners must slide or avoid contact. For intentional contact, the umpire may call the runner out and may eject the player.
• Force plays: runners must slide on the ground, before the base and in a direct line between bases (NCAA rule). Momentum may carry them through the base along the baseline.
• Infield fly rule: in effect for all age groups.

7U coach pitch uses the same field as 8U: 46 ft mound, 60 ft bases.

Balks (11U and up)

A balk is a delayed dead ball. If the batter and every runner advance at least one base, the play stands and the balk is ignored. Otherwise, time is called, each runner advances one base and the batter returns with the same count, unless the batter reached first by rule.

Bats

• 8U–13U: USSSA or USA Baseball stamp must be visible. No drop-weight limit.
• 14U–16U: BBCOR or wood only.
• Illegal bat found when the batter enters the box: the batter is out, even before a pitch.
• Illegal bat found after the ball is put in play: the defense chooses the result of the play, or the batter out with runners returned.
• A bat appeal must be made before the next pitch to the next batter, or the at-bat stands.

Pitching

• No pitch-count or innings limits, except Fall 8U (Section 9).
• 5 mound visits per team per regulation game, plus 1 per extra inning. A pitching change does not count as a visit.
• A second visit to the same pitcher in the same inning removes that pitcher. 7U and Fall 8U: the pitcher is removed on the third visit in an inning; the 5-visit game limit still applies.
• No second visit to the same pitcher during the same at-bat.
• The starting pitcher may return to pitch once, as long as they stayed in the batting lineup.

Abusive, profane or vulgar language or behavior toward umpires, tournament officials, or opposing coaches and players means immediate removal from the facility for 24 hours, with possible further penalties. Tournament staff review every conduct report involving players, coaches and spectators. Teams must follow all rules of the host facility.

Protests

• Rule interpretations only. Judgment calls cannot be protested.
• The manager must notify the umpire before the next pitch or play and pay a $100 cash fee at that time.
• Tournament staff decide the protest before play resumes, and their decision is final.
• Upheld: the fee is returned. Denied: DPB keeps the fee.

Age and roster challenges

• A challenge is a protest and carries the same $100 cash fee.
• Play pauses for up to 10 minutes while the challenged manager produces proof of age.
• If there is no proof, or the player is over age, the fee is returned and the offending team is removed from the tournament.
• If the player is eligible, DPB keeps the fee.

A $75 non-refundable deposit holds a team's spot. The balance is due 30 calendar days before the tournament. A $30 late fee may apply after the balance due date. Special requests are due 3 weeks before the tournament and are not guaranteed.

Forfeits

A team that forfeits a pool play game is ineligible for the championship round and may be suspended from future DPB tournaments. The forfeited game is recorded as a win for the opponent, scored one run per regulation inning to zero (for example, 6–0 in a 6-inning game).

Suspended games (weather or darkness)

Outside pool play, a game is official after 3 complete innings in a 6-inning game, or 4 in a 7-inning game. 7U and Fall 8U games are official after 3 complete innings. Suspended games resume where they stopped at the earliest available time. If there is no time to resume:

• Pool play: the game counts once one inning is complete. The score after the last complete inning stands, including a tie.
• Elimination: the team ahead after the last complete inning advances. If fewer than one inning is complete, or the score is tied, the higher seed advances.
• Championship: the score after the last complete inning is final.

Inclement weather refunds

Credits are valid through the end of the following calendar year.

Team withdrawal

Cancellation by DPB

If DPB cancels a tournament for any reason other than weather, including a government order, teams receive a full refund of all registration fees.

Fall 8U games are 4 innings of player pitch. No new inning starts after 1 hour 45 minutes, the same as other age groups, unless the tournament director decides otherwise. Where these rules differ from the 8U rules above, these rules apply.

• Run limit: 5 runs per inning in every inning, the same as all 8U play.
• Mercy rule: 10 runs after 3 innings.
• Pitch limits: 60 pitches per day and 90 per weekend.
• Scoring: every game must be scored on the tournament's GameChanger page. The tournament director confirms pitch counts with both managers after each game. A pitcher may be ruled ineligible on protest if counts are missing or inaccurate.
• Runner on third: may not score on a passed ball, wild pitch or steal; may score on a batted ball or a play on another runner.
• Return throws: runners may not advance on the catcher's throw back to the pitcher.
• Stopping play: play stops only when the umpire calls time. There is no “circle” rule.