We are planning on 4-6 Little Lady Komet teams, depending on registrations.  Teams will be divided equally with 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders and skill level on each team.  Teams will play each other and other league registered teams from area communities.  This will be a participation league.

Team sizes will be 13-15 players. The target team size is 14 players. Each team will have 3-4 pitchers and 2 catchers.  Your grade, skill level, and if you are a pitcher or a catcher are indicated on the registration form.

Teams will be coached by K-M high school varsity softball players or qualified other.

Once the teams are set, the league coordinator and team coaches will have initial team meetings with parents and players to hand out schedules, shirts, and visors. Another goal of the initial meeting will be to schedule team and semi-private practice dates/times and coordinate rides so that all players will be able to attend practices.  The initial team meetings will be held mid-May.

Any questions can be answered by the Little Lady Komet league coordinator Jake Tietje by e-mail at j.tietje@komets.k12.mn.us or by phone at 507-272-9526.

VOLUNTEERS:

We will be looking for an interested team parent who could take pictures for the team and submit team articles and pictures to the Dodge County Independent (DCI) newspaper.

We will be looking for another interested team parent who would plan the year end team party.

GAME DETAILS:

Double header games will be every Wednesday evening starting at 6pm from June 4th – July 30th. There will be no games the week of July 4th. This is approximately 16 games for the summer season, depending on the number of teams.  All home games will be played at Kasson North Park.  Away games will be played at fields in area communities.

Each game will be 7 innings or time limit. No new inning will be started after 7:05pm for the first game. No new inning will be started after dusk or 8:20pm for the second game. The target start time for the second game is 7:15pm and the target end time is 8:30pm.

The first 2 innings of each game will be live pitching by fielding team player(s). The fielding team coach will stand behind the pitcher to call balls and strikes and umpire the bases. The batting team coach will coach 3rd base and provide signals to batters.

There will be no walks granted during live pitching. After 4 balls are thrown, that would normally provide a walk, instead the batting team coach will soft toss pitches by kneeling off the plate until the batter puts the ball in play.

All innings after the first 2 will be pitched by a pitching machine. The fielding team coach will feed the pitching machine and umpire the bases. There will be a maximum of 6 pitches to each batter from the pitching machine. If the batter has not put the ball in play after the 6th pitch, the batter is out.

There is no stealing or past ball advancement by base runners.

Bunting is allowed and encouraged.

There is a maximum of 5 runs per inning for each team. When the 5th run is scored, the fielding team comes up to bat.

Each team will use the Hoffman Rule. When using the Hoffman Rule all members of the team must bat, even the players on the bench. If using the Hoffman Rule and a player is unable to continue because of injury, they are removed from the game and can not return to that game. The injured player is eliminated from the lineup and the team is not required to take an out. No courtesy runners are permitted, even to speed up the game. There are no restrictions on defensive substitutions.

PRACTICE DETAILS:

REGISTRATION:

Please fill out the Little Lady Komets Registration form.

The registration deadline for 3rd-5th grade Little Lady Komets is April 23rd, 2008. Fees will not be refunded after April 23rd, 2008. Any player wishing to register after April 23rd, or facing a financial hardship please contact support@kmsoftball.org.  NOTE: We cannot guarantee any Little Lady Komet registrations after April 23rd, 2008.