Schedule	Rules & Regulations
Field locations	Practices
Gallery of Champions	Past Schedules & Records
Previous Team Photos

Field Locations

Aloha Park:  Near intersection of SW 178th & SW Blanton Street in Aloha.  Map.
Barnes School: 13770 SW Walker Road, Beaverton. Map.
Five Oaks:  1600 NW 173rd Avenue, Beaverton (#3 is lower field). Map.
Meadow Park:  14100 SW Downing Street, Beaverton (#3 is closest to parking lot). Map.
Merle Davies:  13000 Farmington Avenue, Beaverton (corner of Farmington and Erickson). Map.
PCC Rock Creek: On the Portland Community College Rock Creek campus at 17705 NW Springville Rd. Map.
Rec Center:  SW 158th & Walker Road, Beaverton (#5 is north of the main complex on 158th Avenue, near the skateboard park)
Water District:  SW 170th and Merlo Drive, Beaverton (NO PARKING LOT USE; parking on street only, use Merlo). Map.
West Sylvan: 8111 SW West Slope Drive, Portland (#2 is farthest from tennis court)

Practices

Regular practice days for the 2007 season are currently alternating between Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30 PM.

Since we can't be sure which fields will be available on practice days, there's a Usual Field Rotation for finding the practice. This map shows all the schools.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: As of June 4, 2003 we have dropped Barnes School from the rotation (at least for now). That means the UFR is now:

• First check Barnes School.
• If Barnes School is not available, try Meadow Park. To get to Meadow Park, head WEST on Walker Road from Murray Road. Go through the light at Murray (stopping if it's red, of course!), then take the next right (behind the 7-11-like place), which is Butner Road. When you see the school crossing signs, look for a place to turn left between the apartment buildings to enter the school parking lot. Be sure to look at the far-away field as well as the nearby field. (You can actually drive around the school and the neighborhood and park near the far field if you work at it.)
• If Meadow Park is busy, check Five Oaks School. Return to Walker Rd and continue west. Turn right at the light at 170 Ave. Five Oaks appears on your right. Go to the parking lot on the north side of the building. There are a couple of diamonds visible from the parking lot, plus two more down below the hill.
  

2005 Update on Rules and Regulations

Changes or emphasis for 2005 are shown in red

IDs and Roster Checks

• Players must have acceptable photo ID at each game.  "Acceptable" means a THPRD ID card with a photo, Oregon driver's license, or Oregon-issued photo ID (in lieu of driver's license).
• Mandatory roster checks before every game have been replaced by spot checks.  YOU MUST STILL BRING YOUR PHOTO ID because roster checks may be made at any time, but we won't line up before every game.
• As usual, you can keep your THPRD ID in the "softball bag" so it will always be at games; this is recommended if you don't need your ID for other reasons. Those of you who do use your ID have an additional option :  Team managers may keep a photocopy of your ID so that you don't have to keep the original.  THPRD stressed that in this case the picture and name on the photocopy must both be clear.  If you'd like to use this method, please bring me a clear copy and we'll add it to the folder with the roster.

Use of Facilities

• NEW (and stressed at meeting): THPRD has banned alcohol from its premises. "No alcoholic beverages may be possessed, displayed, or consumed while in or on any Park District property. Violations will result in a minimum 30-day exclusion from all Park District properties. (THPRD Rules and Regulations Section 7.1)" We will, of course, continue to repair to the nearest McMenamin's Pub following most games to remedy the deficiency.
• Players and spectators are asked to leave the THPRD Complex after the last game of the evening within 15 minutes as the gate in the grass parking lot will be locked.
• REMINDER:  Oregon State law prohibits the use of alcoholic beverages on public school property.  This includes spectators at any games on school grounds.
• REMINDER:  Beaverton Schools prohibit tobacco products on all school grounds.
• For THPRD Complex: Dogs must be on a leash at all times and must be secured. Owners are required to pick up all dog waste.

Weather

• In case of bad weather, the team manager (usually me) is responsible for calling the THPRD recorded rain-out number for updates.  The manager will pass along info to team members.  Please do not call THPRD yourself; they want to keep the lines clear so all teams get the information.
• THPRD is also planning to post rainout information on their website at www.thprd.org, which you are free to check.

Equipment

• No metal, hard plastic, or polyurethane spikes similar to metal sole and heel plates are allowed.
• Head wear is optional and may be worn backward.
• NO JEWELRY may be worn during the game.  NSA rules list some kinds of permissible jewelry, but THPRD has decided to ball ALL jewelry. No warnings for jewelry violations will be issued. If a violation occurs, the player(s) will be called out. Medical tags are acceptable if covered with clear tape and taped to the body.
• 11" ball is used when women bat, 12" ball is used when men bat.
• All balls (both men's and women's) will be .44 COR Low Compression (400 pounds). Last year, the women's ball was .47 COR and both balls were wound to 525 pounds compression. This means the 2004 balls will be LESS lively than the 2003 balls. Both men's and women's balls are yellow.
• A list of legal bats can be found at www.PlayNSA.com. Please note that this lists only NEW bats; all formerly legal bats have been grandfathered by THPRD and are still legal.

Player Conduct and Disciplinary Action

• THPRD has a series of rules covering unsportsmanlike behavior and disciplinary action. I won't bother to type them all in here since we'll oust you from the team long before THPRD rules kick in.

National Softball Association

In 2002, THPRD leagues changed affiliations from the America Softball Association to the National Softball Association (NSA). Visit their website for more info. There are a few rule differences, which have been highlighted below.

Batting Order / Roster

• At each game we have the option of batting the ten players in the field OR batting the roster. When batting the roster, all players present are listed in the batting line-up and any ten (5 men, 5 women) may be in the field at any time. Exception: Since the line-up must stay balanced between men and women, any "extras" are not in the line-up, but are available for substitution. We will generally not bat the roster; we bat 10 players and use NSA substitution rules to get everyone into the game.
• If for some reason we can't field a full team (people out of town, injured, hiding underground from the authorities, etc.) we are allowed to start a game with 8 or 9 players. With 8 players we need 4 players of each gender; there is no additional penalty except for all the giant holes in the field. With 9 players (5 of one gender, 4 of the other), a 10th vacant slot is added to keep the batting order legally balanced; an automatic out is declared whenever that slot comes to bat.

Pitching

• Pitching distance is 53 feet (same as 2004).
• At the beginning of each half-inning or when a pitcher relieves another, not more than 1 minute may be used to deliver not more than 3 pitches to warm up.
• The ball must be delivered with an arc that reaches at least 6 feet from the ground while not exceeding a maximum height of 12 feet (formerly 10 feet) from the ground. NOTE: NSA rules specify a 10 foot limit, this is a THPRD rule exception.
• The catcher shall return the ball directly to the pitcher after each pitch, except after a strike out or put out made by the catcher. The pitcher has 5 seconds to release the next pitch; if not, an addition BALL is awarded to the batter.
• Any action or motion by the pitcher (e.g., stops or pauses in the pitching motion or fakes a pitch) while on or off the pitching rubber shall result: A dead ball, a ball shall be called on the batter, and a warning issued to the pitcher that a similar act will be grounds for removal from the pitching position.
• The pitcher must deliver the ball on the first forward swing of the pitching arm past the hip.
• The pitcher cannot make any motion to pitch without immediately deliver the ball to the batter, whether on or off the pitching rubber.
• It is not necessary to step while pitching, but if a step is taken it may be forward, backward, or sideways, as long at the ball remains within six inches of the hip.
• (I don't think this is a new rule, but I never knew it before and it's too cool not to share): A pitcher may not intentionally walk a batter if the next batter is an "automatic out" slot (e.g., if the batting team is playing short-handed with nine players).

Batting

• As in 2004, distance between bases will be 70 feet (formerly 65 feet). The base distance, the pitching distance, and the COR & compression of the balls have been adjusted because NSA was growing increasingly concerned about the speed of balls coming off the new high-performance bats.
• A list of legal bats can be found at www.PlayNSA.com. Please note that this lists only NEW bats; all formerly legal bats are still legal.
• The batter must take his/her position with five seconds after the umpire has called "play ball". If not, the umpire will call a strike on the batter and issue a warning to the batter to take his position or risk being called out.
• Baserunners may not advance (tag up) on a third strike foul ball, including a legally caught foul fly; however, all runners may advance (tag up) on any legally caught foul fly with less than two strikes. It will no longer be necessary for Janet to yell "Two strikes, let the foul balls drop!"
• The umpire shall not or will not give a vocal warning, or a delayed dead ball signal to the batter on an illegally pitched ball. This means that you won't hear the umpire call "illegal" on pitches with too much or too little arc before the ball reaches the plate.
• If a batter strikes at any illegal pitch, it shall be a strike and there shall be no penalty. The ball remains in play if hit by the batter.
• Intentional Walk:  When a male batter is intentionally walked (defined as a count of 4 balls, no strikes) it results in a two base award to the batter.  Note that the batter must touch first base before continuing ahead to second base.  The next female batter will bat.  EXCEPTION:  With two outs, the female batter has the option of also accepting a walk (putting her on first base) or batting.
• Home runs on the THPRD Complex only are limited to 2 home runs, then Progressive for our league. "Progressive" home run rule will be used for all untouched over-the-fence hits. Progressive means that no team may be more than one home run ahead of the other team.  Additional over-the-fence hits will be ruled dead ball outs.  (Note:  This rule only applies to over-the-fence hits, it does not apply to "inside the park" home runs.)

Base Running

• Beginning in 2005, all fields at the THPRD Complex and some other fields will use a double first base for safety. The base straddles the foul line, with an inside portion that is white and an outside portion that is orange (see illustration). In general the orange portion is used by a batter running to first base while the fielder uses the white portion to make the play. Details for use of the base are given in the following bullets.
• If the first play is at first base, either from the infield or outfield, a batter/runner must use the outside (orange) base and will be called out for touching the inside (white) base.
• If the play is elsewhere, the inside base may be tagged in a continuation or possible continuation toward second base.
• The batter/runner running toward first base may cross over to the inside to avoid a collision if a wild throw occurs. The fielder may tag the outside (orange part) of the bag to record the out in this situation. This is only permissible on the initial play at first base.
• The inside bag will be used by the batter/runner/runner if attempting to get back to first base.
• If a runner on the first play at first base touches ANY part of the orange bag, that runner is considered to have touched the bag legally. If the runner touches ANY part of the white bag in a continuation or possible continuation to second base, the runner is considered to have touched the bag legally.

Fielding

• No outfielder may cross the chalk line in the outfield at 175 feet from home plate until the ball is hit by either a male or female batter.
• As in 2004, distance between bases will be 70 feet (formerly 65 feet). The base distance, the pitching distance, and the COR & compression of the balls have been adjusted because NSA was growing increasingly concerned about the speed of balls coming off the new high-performance bats.

Run Limits / Length of Game

• There is a 6 run limit per inning, except in the 7th inning or a declared last inning (these both have unlimited scoring).
• If a team is ahead by 10 or more runs after the fifth or sixth complete inning, the game is over and that team is declared the winner.
• The length of games is seven innings or one hour fifteen minutes playing time limit, whichever comes first.
• No new inning will begin after the hour and fifteen minute time limit.  Any inning that begins before the time limit expires will be played to completion.
• The declared last inning is by umpire's judgment and will be called no sooner than an hour and five minutes after the start of the game. Scoring in a declared last inning is unlimited. When a declared last inning is completed, the game is OVER whether or not the hour and fifteen minute time limit has elapsed. Note that because of the whimsies of timing, it's possible to play a game of less than seven innings that never has a declared last inning.

Gallery of Champions

Trophies

2004: I League, 3rd Place

2002:  J League, 3rd Place Kneeling: Katherine Kelly, Eric Dittert, Mary Bourret Front Row Standing: Janet Tolopka, Heather Beavens, Peggy Hill, Kim Coolidge, Fred Morgus, Jeff Payne Rear Rows: Deb Mueller-Kruse, Bob Seibel, Anita Seibel, Rick Lindsley, Jim Beavens, Gary Frye, Steve Tolopka, Scott Morgus

2000:  I League, 1st Place

1997:  I League, 1st Place

1997:  Halloween 1-pitch tournament, 1st Place and Most Original Male Costume

1996:  H League, 2nd Place

1996:  Halloween tournament, 3rd Place

1990:  D League, Sportsmanship Award

Past Schedules and Records

Wanna know how we did against Bandito Taco in some previous year? Game results and won-lost records from previous years are available right here. Includes reminders of fabulous plays and other notable events!