Page 179 - (FINAL!) UPDATED 13.0) 2020-2021 HANDBOOK - SEPTEMBER 2020 EDITION_Neat

26. SOFTBALL - DIVISION III
Section 1. Tournament Dates
May 27-29, 2021 at Carrier Park; Syracuse, NY
May 26-28, 2022 at Carrier Park; Syracuse, NY
May 25-27, 2023 at Carrier Park; Syracuse, NY
Section 2. Tournament Host Pre-Tournament Responsibilities

A. Pre-tournament information shall be sent by April 1 by the Tournament Director.
B. The Tournament Host shall notify the participating teams of time schedules and other pertinent tournament information, including a
coaches and officials’ pre-tournament meeting.
C. The Tournament Host shall be responsible for the promotion, advertising and ticket sales of the contest. They shall secure the
playing site and make all the arrangements for the handling of the spectators.
Section 3. Qualification of Teams for Competition
A. District qualification shall take place as follows:

2020-2021 NJCAA DIII SOFTBALL DISTRICTS
DISTRICT REGION(S) DISTRICT REGION(S) DISTRICT REGION(S) DISTRICT REGION(S)

Mid-Atlantic 15, 20 Midwest 4, 12 North A 3A North B 3B

North Atlantic A 19A North Atlantic B 19B North Plains A 13A North Plains B 13B

 3A Champion will be the winner of the #1 seeded bracket tournament 1, 4, 5, 8
 3B Champion will be the winner of the #2 seeded bracket tournament 2, 3, 6, 7
 13A Champion will be the winner of the double elimination tournament
 13B Champion will be the winner of the double elimination tournament
B. Teams must notify District Directors by April 11, 2021 of their intent to participate in a district playoff.
C. District and region play must be completed by Sunday, May 23, 2021. TBD due to COVID-19
D. District Tournaments must be double elimination tournaments. All colleges must qualify in compliance with Article XII of the NJCAA bylaws.
E. District Directors shall be responsible for the following:
1. Determining date of their respective district Tournaments and notifying the National Tournament Director in writing by January 1.
2. Developing a financial plan for handling the District Tournament subject to approval by Regional Directors involved.
3. Notify National Tournament Director and NJCAA National Office when district site has been determined and again when the
results of that tournament are known.
4. District playoff procedures MUST be on file in the NJCAA National Office by January 1.
5. Regions involved in District Tournaments must complete Regional Tournaments by Sunday, May 16, 2021. TBD due to COVID-19
F. Substitution Process
1. In the event there is not a representative from a district, a runner-up from another district will be selected to fill the vacancy
using a substitution order. When a team accepts or declines the opportunity to compete in the NJCAA through the substitution
procedure, that district drops to the end of the substitution order and the next district moves up accordingly.
2. The substitution order is as follows: District NA-A, NA-B, N-A, NP-A, MA, N-B, NP-B, MW.
G. National Tournament Pairings. The tournament will be a double elimination tournament:
#1 Seed #3 Seed
Game 1 Game 3
#8 Seed #16 Seed
#4 Seed #2 Seed
Game 2 Game 4
#5 Seed #7 Seed

Section 4. A. The seeding committee will consist of the NJCAA DIII Softball Committee. The committee will seed all eight teams by Mon., May 24, 2021.
Seeding will be on the basis of, in no particular order:
1. Regional placement in the National Tournament the previous year
2. Strength of Region/District
3. National Poll
4. Overall and Division III NJCAA Record
Should a member of the seeding committee coach a team that participates in the tournament, that individual should be
excluded from the seeding process.
Section 5. Rules and Procedures
A. All postseason tournament play shall follow the NCAA Rules with the following exceptions:
1. The halted game rule will be in effect for all national tournament play.
2. The international tie-breaker will not be used in national tournament play.
3. The eight-run rule will not be in effect for the national championship game.
B. The tournament shall be conducted as a double elimination Softball Tournament.
C. All Region/District Hosts will use and be furnished the official tournament ball in all postseason play with the exception of regions
within a district, which will receive balls only for a District Tournament.
D. The official tournament ball is the Dudley Thunder Heat 4N-143.47 compression ball.
E. Home team will be the higher seeded team in the first round. The home team for all other rounds will be determined by a flip of the
coin 30 minutes prior to the game. The home team will occupy the third base dugout.
F. Weather/Suspended Game(s): When a game is underway and it starts to rain/snow, only the umpire can suspend the game.
Suspended games are continued from the point of when the play was suspended. The official scorebook should have the point of
suspension, outs, etc. recorded.