2007 SECTION V SOFTBALL HANDBOOK

(SOFTBALL HOME PAGE)

Welcome to the 2007 Section Five Softball Tournament. The following pages contain important information dealing with the tournament. Please take a few moments to read it over so you are familiar with all aspects of the tournament.

CLICK HERE FOR OFFICIALS VOUCHER

INSTRUCTIONS TO THE PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS

1. Weekday games are set for 4:15 PM except when played under the lights or otherwise noted.

2. If the game has been cancelled, the host school will contact the coordinator, the officials, and the participating schools. Games will be rescheduled for the next day, same site and time.

3. Each team should have its own first aid kit. The site will have access to a phone in case of an emergency.

4. The home team will be the higher seeded team. They will have choice of baseline and will provide the home scorebook and a proficient scorer. Section V will provide an official scorer at the finals.

5. Each team should provide at least two new, Dudley SB 12 LRF-FP ---NHS, yellow leather cover with red stitching game balls for each game. Please bring towels or rags to keep balls clean and dry in case of inclement weather.

6. For teams playing at Brockport, if there is a question about playing conditions, call 585-615-4832 before leaving for the game.

7. The 15 run rule IS in effect for sectional play.

8. All games must be played to completion. Therefore, games that are suspended due to adverse conditions (weather, darkness etc.), must be played to 7 complete innings.

9. Games that are tied after 9 innings, the international tie-breaker will be used in the 10th inning.

INSTRUCTIONS TO COACHES

1. Make sure your equipment is legal. Check the rule book if you are uncertain.

2. Each team will have a maximum of ten minutes for infield practice before the game begins. Please have your team warm up on the side of the field before your turn to take infield.

3. Have a copy of your lineup, including names and positions, for the umpire before the game. The official scorer should also have this information.

4. Make sure you understand the ground rules before the game begins. Captains and coaches should both meet with the officials to discuss these.

5. Your pitcher has one minute or five pitches to warm up. Have another player ready to catch for her if your catcher is not ready.

6. In all Classes, games through the quarterfinals will be played at the higher seed unless the sectional mileage policy warrants the game being played at a neutral site. In that case, the Section Five Softball Committee will set the site. Semi-finals and finals will be played at a neutral site.

7. If you expect a large number of spectators from your school, please bring an additional school representative to help control and supervise your crowd.

8. If your team reaches the semi-finals, they will be observed for the All-Tournament Team. Prior to the game, please supply the home plate umpire with THREE complete rosters so that members of the All-Tournament Committee can pick up and use them as references.

INSTRUCTIONS TO THE HOST SCHOOL

1. Starting time for all weekday games will be 4:15 PM unless otherwise noted.

2. Please provide a site supervisor for the game at your school. The host school is strongly encouraged to charge admission if at all possible.

3. Please meet the team and officials when they arrive.

4. Hand out and collect vouchers for game officials. All checks, vouchers, and unused tickets should be mailed to; Jacqueline Meyer, Treasurer, PO Box 55, Wolcott, NY 14590

5. Know where the nearest phone is and have emergency numbers available.

6. In case of inclement weather, please contact chairperson @ 607-698-4225 x2402 or 607-329-7278, officials, and the participating schools by 1:30 PM. All games should be made up on the following day at the same site and time.

7. The home team will have their choice of first or third baseline.

8. Please have field lined according to ASA rules. For the safety of the players, please make sure all bases, home plate, and the pitcher’s rubber are safely secured.

9. The winning coach is responsible for calling the Section V Coordinator and the news media from the site of the game. Please allow them access to a phone and remind them to call before leaving the site.

SCORE REPORTING

Immediately following the game, the winning coach must call the results into the Section V Coordinator and then the news media. Please call from the site of your game.

COORDINATOR: MICHAEL WRIGHT - 607-329-7278

NEWSPAPERS: DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE - 716-232-7100

Each coach is responsible for contacting their local news media.

WEBSITE

Section Five Softball information, classifications, sectional dates, sectional results and schedule can be found on the official Section Five Softball Website at

http://www2.brcs.wnyric.org/sectionvbaseball/sectionvsoftball/SB%20Index.htm

TOURNAMENT SEEDING PROCEDURE

Seeding will be based on a quotient derived by dividing the number of seeding points by the number of games played. In no case will it be divided by less than twelve. The final date for games to be played and count towards seeding will be Saturday, May 19^th. The seeding meeting will be at 11:00 AM on Sunday, May 20^th at Penn Yan Middle School. Independent teams should contact the Coordinator to be certain they get their information to the meeting.

Classification is determined by using the State Classification Numbers:

D   0-192           C   193-324        B   325-549        A 550-949           AA   950 +

If two or more teams end up with the same quotient, the following criteria will be used to determine the higher seed.

1. Head to Head Competition

2. Overall record winning percentage

3. League Standing

4. Coin Toss

All teams in each Class will qualify for sectional play.

SEEDING POINTS

CLASS	AAA/AA	A	BB/B	CCC/CC/C	DD/D
AAA/AA	+5	+4	+4	+4	+4
A	+6	+5	+4	+4	+4
BB/B	+6	+6	+5	+4	+4
CCC/CC/C	+6	+6	+6	+5	+4
DD/D	+6	+6	+6	+6	+5

SECTIONAL SITES

The higher seed will host through the quarterfinals in accordance with the Section Five Mileage Policy

Semi final and final games will be played at sites set by the committee taking into consideration several factors including field availability and conditions, lighting, travel, etc.

The Section Five Softball Committee reserves the right to change any sites, times, or make other necessary arrangements in order to fairly and safely complete the tournament.

ADMISSION

1. Admission will be charged for all semi-final and final games.

2. For the first two rounds, all efforts should be made by the host school to charge admission.

3. Admission for all rounds will be $4.00 per person.

4. The site supervisor should collect and send all gate receipts to: Jacqueline Meyer, Treasurer, PO Box 55, Wolcott, NY 14590

OFFICIALS

The Softball Chairman will designate assignors for all sectional softball games. If the higher seed has to go to a site outside the area serviced by their board, the home plate umpire will still be assigned from the official’s board that serves their school. For the semi-finals the home plate umpire will come from board servicing the higher seed and the base umpire will come from the board servicing the lower seeded team.

OFFICIAL BALL

The official ball of the Section Five Softball Tournament will be the SB 12 LRF-FP ---NHS, yellow leather cover with red stitching.

FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES

1. Class A will play on Saturday, June 2^nd. Classes AAA, AA, BB, B, DD, and D will play on Thurssday, May 31^st. Classes CCC, CC, and C will play on Wednesday, May 30^th.

2. Each site will have a person in charge of the All-Tournament selections who will gather the information and make the awards presentation at the end of the game.

3. Awards will be announced as follows: (Maximum of 18 t-shirts and certificates per team)

A. Plague to the #1 Seeded Team

B. Certificates and t-shirts to the second place team

C. Runner Up Plague to the second place team

D. Shields, certificates, and t-shirts to the championship team.

E. Championship trophy to the Championship team

F. Awards to the All-Tournament Team

4. When you arrive at the finals, please have a complete team roster for the site supervisor to use for the awards presentation following the game.

REGIONAL AND STATE PLAYOFFS

The year 2007 will be the 23^rd State tournament. Here is a summary of how Section Five teams have done since voting to participate

in the state tournament in 1997.

1997	Elba (Class D) becomes the first Section Five Softball team to advance to the State Final Four. They go on to also become the first Section Five Team to be crowned State Champions by winning the Class D title.
1998	Elba (Class D) and Warsaw (Class C) both advance to the State Final Four. Warsaw loses in the semifinals while Elba loses in the title game.
1999	Elba (Class D) and Geneva (Class B) both advance to the State Final Four. Elba wins its’ second state crown in three years while Geneva wins the Class B title.
2000	Wellsville (Class C) advances to the State Final Four losing in the semifinals.
2001	Newark (Class B) advances to the State Final Four losing in the semifinals.
2002	Wayland-Cohocton (Class B), Pembroke (Class C), and Alfred-Almond (Class D) advance to the State Final Four. Pembroke loses in the Class C Championship game while Way-Co and Alfred-Almond lose in the semifinals.
2003	Newark (Class B) and Prattsburgh (Class D) advance to the State Final Four. Newark wins the Class B Championship while Prattsburgh loses in the semifinals.
2004	Bolivar-Richburg (Class C) loses in the Class C Championship game while Alfred-Almond (Class D) loses in the semifinals.
2005	Mercy (Class A) loses in the Class A Championship game.
2006	Greece Arcadia (Class AA), Bolivar-Richburg (Class C), and Elba (Class D) advance to the State Final Four. Bolivar-Richburg wins the Class C Championship capping a perfect 31-0 season. Arcadia and Elba fall short in the semifinals.

Regional Playoffs

Since New York State crowns five team champions in Classes AA, A, B, C, and D, it is necessary to determine which of the nine Section V Champions will represent Section V in the Western Regional Playoffs with the representatives from Section VI of the Buffalo region. To determine the teams representing Section V in the regionals, the following procedure will be used:

1. The Class Play-offs (AAA vs AA, BB vs B, DD vs D) will be played on Saturday, June 2^nd with the winner advancing to regional play. **With Class C having three classifications (CCC, CC, C) the first Class Play-off will be Thursday, May 31^st with the team having the highest seeding index at the conclusion of the regular season receiving a bye. The final Class Play-off for C will also be played on Saturday, June 2^nd **.

2. The Class A Champion receives an automatic bid to the Regionals.

The five Section V regional representatives will meet the five Section VI representatives on Tuesday, June 5^th. Classes AA, A, and B will play in Section V and Class C and D will play in Section VI. Specific game times and sites will be announced. The winners of those five games will advance to Binghamton in Section IV for the State Final Four on Saturday, June 9^th.

PROTEST PROCEDURE

1. Any and all protests must be reported within 24 hours with written verification postmarked no later than 48 hours. This mailing must go to the Coordinator, concerned coaches, and all other parties concerned.

2. A written decision from the Coordinator will be issued within 48 hours upon receipt of the protest.

3. All expenses incurred by the Coordinator for hearings, if necessary, will be born by the protesting school.

4. Due process must be observed by the Coordinator.

APPEAL PROCEDURE

1. Twenty four hours after the decision of the Coordinator is received, it may be appealed to the Section Secretary and President with written verification postmarked within 48 hours. Notification must again be made to all concerned parties

2. The Secretary and President will convene the Executive Committee if necessary to review the protest and may have a hearing to determine final disposition of the case.

3. All expenses of the appeal are to be born by the appealing parties.