All published rules are in effect during the playoffs with the following exceptions:
Each game is considered complete when six or more full innings have been played and the score is not tied.
Any incomplete game will be suspended and finished on another date starting from the point where it was suspended.
Rest between Games and Scheduling
The playoffs generally run approximately 12 days and start around the 2nd week of June. The schedule is typically setup to allow between one and three days’ rest between games. The amount of days between games is designed to give teams an opportunity to rest pitchers.
Playoff Divisions
The following Divisions are scheduled for season ending playoffs:
Girls AA
Girls AAA
Girls Majors
Boys AA
Boys AAA
Boys Majors
Team Seeds and BYEs
All teams in playoff Divisions participate in the playoffs. Each teams rank is based upon games played within Ardsley Little League only (not out of League games). The team rank also known as the team seed (i.e. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc…) is known once the regular season is over. The team seed is used to identify which teams are paired for each playoff game. The seed is also used to identify which team is home or away. The home team is always the team with a lower seed in any playoff game. This is true even if a team with a lower seed has won a prior playoff game vs. the top seeded team in the Division. A team may earn a BYE, where they skip the first playoff round, depending on their seed. A BYE can occur in the following brackets and playoff rounds:
Three Team Bracket: 1st seed skips Semifinals
Five Team Bracket: 1st, 2nd and 3rd seeds skip Wildcard
Six Team Bracket: 1st and 2nd seeds skip Wildcard
In the event of a tie within a Divisions team seeding, use the tiebreaking procedure below. A tie is defined as having the exact same winning percentage as defined by the standing on the site. For example, 6-5-1 vs 6-5-1 is a tie, while 6-5-1 (.542 win pctg) and 5-4-1 (.550 win pctg) is not a tie and 5-4-1 is the higher seed.
Tiebreakers:
If 2 teams have the exact same record at the end of the season, the tie will be broken as follows:
head-to-head record of teams that are tied...if still tied,
run differential in head-to-head games....if still tied,
coin toss
If more than 2 teams have the exact same record at the end of the season, the tie will be broken as follows:
head-to-head record within all teams that are tied...if still tied,
run differential in head-to-head games within all teams that are tied...if still tied,
pick number out of hat
Procedure B can be used several times until only 2 teams are still tied. Procedure A can then be used to break the tie between the remaining 2 teams.
Brackets
Ardsley Little League utilizes a single elimination playoff bracket. This means that all teams eligible for the playoff will continue to play until they lose one game. Winners of playoff pairings advance to the next level and the losers are eliminated from the playoffs. The only exception is the Championship Round is a best of three game series except for Boys AA Division who play a one game Championship.
Sample Playoff Schedules
Three Team Bracket
Five Team Bracket
Six Team Bracket
Semifinals (#2 vs. #3)
Finals Game 1
Finals Game 2
Finals Game 3 (if necessary)
Wildcard (#4 vs. #5)
Semifinals #1
Semifinals #2
Finals Game 1
Finals Game 2
Finals Game 3 (if necessary)
Wildcard #1 (#3 vs. #6)
Wildcard #2 (#4 vs. #5)
Semifinals #1
Semifinals #2
Finals Game 1
Finals Game 2
Finals Game 3 (if necessary)
For leagues with 5 teams or more, the semifinal pairings will be set such that the #1 seed will always play the team with the lowest seeding remaining after the wildcard round. For example, if in a 6-team league, #6 seed beats #3 seed in the wildcard game, then the semifinal games will be #1 seed vs. #6 seed, and #2 seed vs winner of #4 vs. #5. If #3 seed beats #6 seed in the wildcard game, then the semifinal games will be #1 seed vs winner of #4 and #5, and #2 seed vs. #3 seed.
