Ripken Quickball – Ultimate 4-on-4 Baseball Bash
August 15, 2008
Ripken Baseball Academy – Aberdeen, MD
1 p.m. until a champion is crowned!

Concept
The Ultimate 4-on-4 Baseball Bash will be held at the Ripken Baseball Academy in Aberdeen, MD, on August 15, 2008 – prior to the U.S. and International Championship Games of the Ripken World Series. Teams of four or five players in several different age groups will compete in three different formats to determine the Ultimate 4-on-4 Baseball Champions. Each of the formats is exciting and fast-paced, testing a variety of baseball hitting and defensive skills using plastic bats and foam or patented plastic Quickballs on reduced-sized fields. The Ultimate 4-on-4 Baseball Bash is Backyard Baseball to the Extreme!

Teams and Age Groupings
Players may sign up as individuals or teams in one of the following age groups: 10u, 12u, 14u and 15+. Age groups are determined by the age of the participant as of August 1. So, for example, if a player turns 14 on July 30, he or she is eligible to compete in the 14u age group. However, a player who turns 15 on or before August 1 would have to play in the 15+ grouping. The event is co-ed. Individual registrants will be assigned to a team by the tournament staff. This is strictly luck of the draw. Team’s may consist of four or five players, however only four players compete at one time. There are unlimited substitutions throughout all formats.

Cost
Teams of four and five can participate for a total fee of $20. Individual players will be charged $10 to compete. To register, please click here

Time
The Ultimate 4-on-4 Baseball Bash will begin at 1 p.m. on Friday, August 15, and continue until a champion has been crowned in each age group.

Game Formats
Participants in each age group will compete at least once in each of the following three formats. A cumulative score will be kept to see which teams advance beyond the first round:

Diamond Derby
Ball: Foam Quickball

Rules
4- or 5-player teams
No baserunning
2-minute team batting sessions
4 defensive players in the field at a time
Defenders can play anywhere on the field, including behind the fence
Each team bats once per inning
4-inning game
Teammates pitch to each other

With a teammate pitching, batters score runs by hitting balls beyond the fence line. The defensive team tries to prevent balls from rolling past the fence line or from landing beyond the fence line in the air. The defensive players can position themselves anywhere on the field, including behind the fence. Pitching is batting practice speed from the mound in innings 1-3 and high-speed soft-toss in the fourth inning. Batters must rotate after every 3 swings. Hitters score one point for a ball that rolls past the fence line and two points for a ball that lands beyond the fence line in the air.

Hit-for-the-Cycle
Ball: Foam Quickball

Rules
4- or 5-player teams
2-minute team batting sessions
4 defensive players in the field at a time
Each team bats once per inning
4-inning game
Officials pitch

With an official pitching, each batter scores 1 point each time he or she completes a baserunning assignment safely; and 2 points for each home run (hits that land beyond the fence line). In the first inning, the batter’s assignment is to hit the ball and reach first base safely. In the second inning the assignment is to hit the ball and make it to second base safely. The third-inning assignment it is to make it to third and the fourth-inning goal is to run all the way around the bases.

The defense prevents the offense from completing its assignment and scoring by either catching a batted ball in the air or recording a force out at the designated base. For example, in the first inning the defense attempts to field the ball and throw it to a teammate at first before the batter gets there. Likewise, in the second inning, the defense attempts to get the ball to second before the batter arrives there.

In the third inning, the defense must record a force out at first base and then relay the ball to third base for a force out there before the batter/runner arrives. During the “home run” round, the defense must turn a second-to-first double play before attempting to get the batter out at the plate. To get the batter out at home, the ball must be thrown and must hit the Ripken Quickball AutoUmp target (on the fly or bounce) before the runner crosses the plate.

4-on-4 Baseball Rules!
Ball: Patented Plastic Quickballs

Rules
4- or 5-player teams
3 outs or 3-minute timed batting sessions per team at bat (whichever comes first)
Traditional baserunning
No bunting
4 defensive players in the field
4-inning game
Officials pitch

Teams try to score as many runs as possible during each 3-minute or 3-out batting session. Batters hit and run bases in the traditional manner and fielders play defense in the traditional manner. It’s 4-on-4 with real baseball rules!

Traditional baseball rules apply, except that each half-inning concludes with either 3 outs or at the 3-minute mark, whichever comes first. Each time the batter hits the ball, next batter cannot hit until the play in the field has been completed

Defenders may not play behind the fence. Batters do not have to run out home runs.