Baseball Mercy Rule: Little League and High School

Little League

A regulation game is 6 innings in the Major Division and below, and 7 innings in Intermediate (50/70), Junior and Senior League. The run rule ends it early when one team is far enough ahead.

Major Division and below:

After	Lead that ends the game
3 innings (2½ if the home team leads)	15 runs
4 innings (3½ if the home team leads)	10 runs
5 innings (4½ if the home team leads)	8 runs

Intermediate, Junior and Senior League: the same 15, 10 and 8 runs, after 4, 5 and 6 innings (3½, 4½ and 5½ if the home team leads).

How it works:

• The trailing team’s manager concedes the game, and it counts as a complete, regulation game.
• If the visiting team is ahead, the home team still gets its turn at bat in that inning. The margin is checked when the inning is over.
• In the regular season, a local league can choose not to use the run rule.
• In tournament play the 15-run and 10-run rules are required, and the 8-run rule isn’t used.

Little League revised this rule in 2023, so guides older than that may give different margins.

High school

High school games are 7 innings. The NFHS rulebook lets each state association adopt its own game-ending rules, so whether there’s a run rule, and its margins, depends on your state. Your state association’s baseball manual has it, and so does your conference or tournament packet.

From 2027, states can also adopt an extra-inning tiebreaker that starts each half-inning with a runner on second base.

Travel ball and other leagues

USSSA, PONY, Cal Ripken and other leagues set their own run rules and time limits, which often change by age and by tournament. They’re printed in the tournament rules; ask the director if you can’t find them.