Carrier Park to host Women’s Softball Championship Tournament

The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) announced Town of DeWitt’s Carrier Park as the next host site for the 2021-2023 Division III Women’s Softball Championship Tournament May 27 to 29, 2021.
The tournament has been in Rochester Minnesota for the last 15 years.
Next year will mark the first time the tournment has been in New York since 2005 when it was hosted in Hornell.
“We are thrilled to be selected to host this exciting event at our Carrier Park recreation facility,” Town of DeWitt Supervisor Ed Michalenko said. “Not only is this a great opportunity for folks to come and enjoy the games and the park, but it is a significant economic development opportunity in terms of generating sports tourism dollars – via hotel, gas, restaurant, retail and entertainment spending – not only for the Town of DeWitt, but the county and the CNY region as well.”
Michalenko further added, “Coming back together as a community and ensuring the health and well-being of our citizens is the imperative right now, but meeting the coming economic challenges wisely and well is job #2; this tournament will help us do that. My sincere thanks to P.J. Anadio and Herkimer College for their partnership.”
The NJCAA Championship is a double-elimination tournament and includes eight teams who play over three days; the addition of a fourth day is being discussed.
The Carrier Park facility will have two turf fields that will be used for games, one with lights.
In addition, a youth softball clinic will be held in conjunction with the tournament, with the possibility of another clinic being offered at Carrier Park late summer or early fall 2020, depending on the precautions related to the Coronavirus.
Willis Carrier Park is a $12.5 million state-of-the-art, all inclusive, multi-sport facility for children and adults, including those with special needs.
It is the home of the Syracuse Challenger Baseball program.
When completed, the park will be one of the first fully integrated, fully handicap accessible outdoor complexes in the CNY region.
The original design of the park includes up to nine championship tournament quality fields, including two dynamically designed super turf fields which can be utilized for baseball, softball, lacrosse, soccer, football, field hockey and other special events. An all-inclusive playground and basketball courts, partially funded by the Jim & Juli Boeheim foundation, will open later this spring or early summer, depending on distancing considerations due to the Coronavirus.