ABOUT PORTSMOUTH LITTLE LEAGUE
Portsmouth Little League is structured with three age-based divisions as well as a Challenger [adaptive] division. Each division has an assigned home field, game schedule and practice schedule. The age-based divisions are 11/12 year-olds, 8/9/10 year-olds, and 6/7/8 year-olds. Players aged 8 participate in either our coach pitch or player pitch division based on past play in coach pitch and readiness. Little League age is the numerical age of the player on August 31 of each year.
All children who reside in the City of Portsmouth, Town of Greenland, Town of Stratham, or Town of Newington are eligible to play in our program. We place all registered players on teams and once the season begins we add new players on a space available basis up until we begin the round robin level of play.
Registration is online and during the month of March. We advertise registration dates on our website, in the local newspaper, and when possible through school email distribution lists. Tryouts are held in March, practices begin after tryouts and continue to Opening Day. Teams practice anywhere from 3 to 6 times per week based on the division of play.
11/12 Hislop DIvision
The number of teams in this division depends on the number of registered players in this age group. The goal is to have 10 players with no more than 12 players per team; on occasion a team will roster 13 players. All games in this division are played at Hislop Field. This field has the capacity for either a 46’ or 50’ pitching distance and a 60’ or 70’ base path. The outfield fence is 225’ from home plate. As most players at this level have played organized baseball for a few years the focus of this division is consolidating positional play, advancing knowledge of the strategies of the game, leadership, and having fun.
Players in this division must play the minimum mandatory during each game: one at-bat and six defensive outs each game. In addition, all players are required by our local rules to play three complete games in the regular season. Players who miss regular season games for other than required school or church activities might forfeit complete game assignments.
A few special rules for this division are: 1) continuous batting order
8/9/10 Player Pitch Plains Division
The number of teams in this division depends on the number of registered players in this age group. The goal is to have 10 players and no more than 12 players per team; on occasion a team will roster 13 players. All games in this division are played at Plains Field. The field has a 46’ pitching distance and a 60’ base path. The outfield fence is 200’ from home plate. The focus of this program is consolidation of the fundamental skills of baseball, pitching, learning the strategy of the game, teamwork, and having fun.
Players in this division must play the minimum mandatory during each game: one at bat and six defensive outs each game. In addition, all players are required by our local rules to play three complete games in the regular season. Players who miss regular season games for other than required school or church activities might forfeit complete game assignments.
A few special rules for this division are: 1) special pinch runner may be used once per game for each batter who becomes a runner; 2) intentional walk rule limits walking any one player to once per game; 3) batting around the order, and 4) use of tournament substitution rules to allow for easier game reentry by players who are not in the starting lineup.
6/7/8 Coach Pitch Central Division
The number of teams in this division depends on the number of registered players in this age group. The goal is to have no more than 10 players per team; on occasion a team will roster additional players. All games in this division are played at Central Field. This is our introductory level of organized baseball. Coaches focus on basic fundamental skills in a fun environment. There are two games per week and one practice per week once the season begins. Games are time limited [one hour, 45 minutes] for the first 2/3 of the season. We encourage coaches to assure that all players in this division be in the lineup for the LLB minimum mandatory. However, we do not force players to meet this requirement. Many players in this division are participating in organized baseball for the first time and need to adjust to the game.
To keep games moving, to keep the players engaged, and to help with baseball instruction there are special rules used in this division, including:
• Entering all players names into the batting order and batting around the order
• Limiting runs to 5 per half inning except for the last inning of the game
• Allowing free substitutions
• Positioning 10 players defensively (pitcher, catcher, 4 infielders, 4 outfielders)
• Issuing rules for running/stealing on overthrows and passed balls
• Not applying the infield fly rule
• Limiting game time to one hour and 45 minutes during the regular season
• Prohibiting protests