slice60

I tend to criticize the IHSAA often but not in this case. I was there for every pitch of all 4 games & honestly didn't notice any difference in intensity or fan support. (I haven't compared attendance to typical numbers.) At times, the crowds were quiet but that could be due to some of the dominant pitching performances. If you want to point a finger at somebody, blame the International League. As they always do, the Indians asked to be on the road this past weekend but the League gave them a homestand this past weekend instead. Besides, Indy got 3.5 inches of rain along with some nasty storms on Saturday so it's likely that 2 or 3 Saturday games would have been moved to Monday anyway. Not sure how you can complain about watching THREE walk-off wins with some wacky plays in the 7th. And the 2A finale was as heartbreaking as you can get.

So if the tournament "solution" to breaking the 120 Pitch limit is a 1-game suspension for the Head Coach & Pitcher., what happens if a Coach decides to keep his Senior ace in there for 130, 140, 150 pitches in a State Championship game that goes into extra innings?

In 2014, LaPorte & Cathedral were both 4-5 in the regular season but both made the title game. The tournament is working well. I don't understand why so many people around here want to blow it up. The Indiana HS Basketball tournament was easily the best HS sports event for generations & that was an all-in format.

Yes. The 2 Point minimum Success Factor rule ONLY applies to teams which are currently playing in a higher class after being bumped-up for earning 6 or more points in a cycle. The most extreme possible example would be if a team earns 5 Points but, by enrollment, drops into a lower class. This could have happened to ANDREAN Baseball-- their Enrollment figures have dropped them from 3A to 2A but with last year's State title & this year's Semistate title (& possible State title tonight), they will move up to 4A in Baseball.

After 3 years of varsity baseball at Noblesville, Reese Sharp transferred to University for his Senior year. According to the Indy Star, Noblesville did not sign off on the transfer & the IHSAA ruled that Sharp was ineligible to play until 365 days after his last game for Noblesville. So he wasn't allowed to suit up until after his teammates cruised through Sectional #58. He's the fun fact-- Sharp played a grand total of 4 games for University & he was the starting pitcher in all 4 of those games. And now Reese Sharp & University HS won a State Championship...one might say The Ringer won a ring.

Big time props to the grounds crew & top notch facilities at Victory Field. Even with all the rain lately, the field was in great shape tonight for the 1A & 4A title games. 4A was a great, compelling game with gutsy pitching, many defensive highlight plays & some clutch 2-out hitting. It stinks that a great championship game ended with 2 errors but it happens.

That's absolutely not true. *** If you read the entire thread, you will see that I posted this on June 2nd: I have only looked at these sports-- Football, Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball, Baseball, Softball. So if anyone has looked at the other sports (Volleyball, etc), please chime in. As mentioned, two bumped-up Football programs earned 2 Points in the current 2-year cycle but the IHSAA has bumped them DOWN-- FW Snider from 6A to 5A, Cathedral from 5A to 4A. In Boys Basketball, Marquette earned 2 Points (2 Sectional titles) in the current cycle-- the IHSAA is keeping them UP in 2A. In Girls Basketball, no bumped-up programs earned 2 Points. In Baseball, Lafayette Central Catholic earned 2 Points (2018 Regional title, lost in 2019 Sectional) in the current cycle-- the IHSAA will be keeping them UP in 2A. In Softball, Gibson Southern earned 2 Points (lost in 2018 Sectional, 2019 Regional title) in the current cycle-- the IHSAA will be keeping them UP in 4A. To my knowledge, there are no other bumped-up Spring sports programs which will be impacted by the recent change from 3 Minimum Points to 2 Minimum Points. *** The whole purpose of the thread was to ask why the rule change was being implemented for the WINTER & SPRING SPORTS but NOT the FALL SPORTS. Fortunately, the IHSAA (eventually) recognized the fact that, if the rule change was going to be implemented with the cycle ending in 2018-2019, then they needed to apply it to all sports.

Illinois has a 1.65 multiplier for non-boundaried schools AND a Success Factor. Ohio has something called Competitive Balance which seems complicated. Seems like many public schools in Michigan are unhappy with the current structure. http://www.fairplayoffs.com/

Yes. The state football tournament was not an all-in tournament back then. Please don't even attempt to make the argument that the Points system (or whatever it was called) or the Cluster system was better than the current format. Those formats SUCKED. Worthy teams were left out when the tournament field was set. The champion gets decided on the field instead of with a Points system or Sagarin ratings or Win-Loss criteria. So keep doing it. Indiana HS Football is more high profile today than it was 40 years ago & the all-in tournament format has played a role in that.

I may be wrong but I don't think that the 1A, 2A, 3A sectionals will be impacted. The only bumped-up teams who earned exactly 2 Points were Snider & Cathedral. Somebody will drop from 5A to 4A to replace Cathedral. But it won't flow down below that. Caveat-- all of this is my best guess.

No. If a team earns 6 Points in a 2-year cycle, they move UP 1 class. If you're already in 6A, there is no 7A. If a team who has been bumped up from earning 6 or more Points in a previous cycle (like Snider to 6A & Cathedral to 5A) then earns 2, 3, 4 or 5 Points in the next 2-year cycle, they STAY in the same class. (The minimum used to be 3 Points but the IHSAA changed it in Aprill, effective immediately.) Since Snider won 2 Sectionals & Cathedral won 1 Regional during the 2017 & 2018 football seasons, they will STAY in their same classes (Snider 6A, Cathedral 5A) for the 2019 & 2020 football seasons. If Snider earns only 0 or 1 Point during the next 2 seasons, they will move DOWN 1 class to 5A. If you're still curious, go to the IHSAA site & read the rule directly.

It will NEVER happen. The number of schools in Indiana allow for all-in tournaments in EVERY sport. That's the way the IHSAA & most member schools like it. High school sports are for the student athletes. They work very hard & deserve an opportunity in these tournaments. If it was only winning records make the tournament, you would see many schools trying to schedule easy wins to start the season. Then it really would turn into a cluster fudge.

The 2 Point Success Factor rule only applies to teams that have previously been bumped up to a higher class when they earned 6 or more Points in an earlier 2-year cycle. FW Snider football got bumped up after earning 6 points with their 2015 State title & 2016 Regional title.

Every class has the same Success Factor rules.

All I can say is "You're welcome, everybody."

I heard through the grapevine that IHSAA Asst Commissioner Robert Faulkens (who is in charge of Baseball) attended the LaPorte Regional this past Saturday. During a discussion about the Pitch Count rule & the role of the Official Scorer during tournament games, a sportswriter offered an idea to announce when a pitcher reaches 100 pitches so that everybody knows & to avoid violations. Faulkens flatly told him they're not going to do that. Why? I have no idea. I guess the IHSAA must enjoy having a rule in place that is relatively easy to break (by accident or on purpose) which causes controversy.

Yes, that is the rule. The Northridge pitcher had thrown 112 pitches heading into the 7th. 1st batter was retired on 5 pitches--117. 2nd batter was also retired on 5 pitches-- that put him at 122. According to the Pitch Count rule, that pitcher must be replaced at that time. Instead, he threw 1 pitch to the 3rd batter of the inning. At that point, the Penn Coach stopped the game to discuss the situation with the umpires (who have no responsibility for tracking or enforcing this rule) & the northridge Coach. Apparently, the Northridge Coach was convinced that the rule had been broken with that 123rd pitch so he brought in a reliever to finish that batter & end the game.

As Slicer28 pointed out above, Cathedral football is dropping to 4A even though they won Regional in fall 2017. Laf Central Catholic baseball won the Regional in spring 2018 & will stay up in 2A when the IHSAA announces the spring sports classes & sectional assignments.

Mishawaka is leading a charmed life...good draw in Sectional, didn't have to play Penn or face Northridge's ace in Regional semis, didn't have to face #1 Crown Point in regional finals due to Lake Central's upset. But now they must beat a really good Hamilton SE team & their pair of D-1 pitchers.

Yes, the "bad programs" were discovered shortly before the 1st game started. Corrected programs were printed. Baseball is a crazy game. Mishawaka struggled at the end of the season-- lots of errors & runs allowed. Then the tourney started-- 3 runs allowed in 5 games, including shutouts over Plymouth, Northridge & Lake Central.

I attended the LaPorte Regional & saw Northridge lose to Mishawaka 7-0. The Cavemen avenged 2 losses to Northridge during the season. A sportswriter on Twitter stated that Enfield was allowed to watch the game from the bleachers but Coach Brabender had to stay inside LPHS during the game. Maybe he did a cool Breakfast Club angry dance.

I have only looked at these sports-- Football, Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball, Baseball, Softball. So if anyone has looked at the other sports (Volleyball, etc), please chime in. As mentioned, two bumped-up Football programs earned 2 Points in the current 2-year cycle but the IHSAA has bumped them DOWN-- FW Snider from 6A to 5A, Cathedral from 5A to 4A. In Boys Basketball, Marquette earned 2 Points (2 Sectional titles) in the current cycle-- the IHSAA is keeping them UP in 2A. In Girls Basketball, no bumped-up programs earned 2 Points. In Baseball, Lafayette Central Catholic earned 2 Points (2018 Regional title, lost in 2019 Sectional) in the current cycle-- the IHSAA will be keeping them UP in 2A. In Softball, Gibson Southern earned 2 Points (lost in 2018 Sectional, 2019 Regional title) in the current cycle-- the IHSAA will be keeping them UP in 4A. To my knowledge, there are no other bumped-up Spring sports programs which will be impacted by the recent change from 3 Minimum Points to 2 Minimum Points.

I missed another one in Football! In addition to Cathedral, FW Snider is dropping down to 5A in football even though they earned 2 Points with back-to-back Sectional titles. There will probably be a couple of bumped-up Baseball/Softball teams to earn 2 Points & stay up just like Marquette Boys Basketball.

Here were Enfield's Sectional stats: TH 5/23 - 5-4W vs Elk Central - 2IP, 0H, 0R, 4K, 2W, Save (28 pitches) SAT 5/25 - 10-6W vs Warsaw - 1.2IP, 0H, 1R, 0ER, 3K, 1W, Win in relief (29 pitches) M 5/27 - 2-0W vs Penn - 6.2IP, 2H, 0R, 12K, 6W, Win (123 pitches) With Enfield's suspension from the Regional semifinal, Mishawaka doesn't have to get past Penn (who spanked them 10-0 recently) & doesn't have to face Northfield's ace either.

Swift justice. (Well, there is no justice for Penn-- they are still eliminated.) The IHSAA still needs to do much better in order to proactively stop these violations from occurring... and the Northridge Coach is clearly not a Math teacher. What's the point in having the Official Scorer keep track of Pitch Counts if they don't have the power to enforce the rule? In basketball, fouls are recorded by the Official Scorer & announced by the PA & on the scoreboard. They don't rely on each team to correctly track the number of fouls & then "self-report" when one of their players commits a 5th foul. So let's start with the Regional games on June 1st -- after the bottom of every inning, the PA announcer should give the Pitch Count totals for every pitcher as recorded by the Official Scorer. If a pitcher reaches the maximum, the Official Scorer should instruct the PA announcer to stop the game because a pitching change is required-- just like a basketball player who fouls out.