question for gg

[Jako18]

How will the boys in Boone deal with the 4A pitching rule? FD/Dowling game moved to Thur am. Now, one of them could play 3 days in a row. The rule says: If a pitcher pitches on any two consecutive days, with a combined total greater than four innings, he will follow with two days off for rest. NOTE: As part of the pitching limitation rule, one pitch constitutes an inning having been pitched. This puts the winner at an unfair disadvantage. Will they count the FD/Dowling game as a Thur game or a Wed game. In usssa tourneys I have played in as a kid, when we rained out on Fri and played Sat, those games counted as Fri games for pitching rules. Will the iahsaa do the same??? gg, you probably don't want them to do that since the rule states what it states and they will ACTUALLY play on Thur. Your thoughts.

 

[gg2224]

I don't think there is a determination to be made by Boone. The rule stands on it's own.


In the suspened game case, it doesn't matter which day the game officially falls on. Pitching innings are accrued by calendar day independent of the number of games played (even if it's less than 1). I think the one exception is when a game is played over the midnight hour, then pitching innings count as accrued on the day the game started.


As you noted, in all other cases, it's all about exceeding the 4 inning threshold in a two consecutive day period or 9 innings in a single day.


So your assessment is correct, teams that didn't get to finish on Wednesday not only lose Thursday as a rest day, pitchers who throw just five innings between Wednesday and Thursday are done for the tournament.


In contrast, for teams that were able to finish on Wednesday, a pitcher could have thrown as many as 8 innings Wed and still be eligible to pitch another 8 on Friday or Saturday. (A pitcher throwing 8 on Wednesday has not exceeded 9 in a day rule or the 4 innings in 2 day limit.)


So yes, teams that finished on Wednesday have an advantage, but I don't think it's unfair. It's a frustrating byproduct of bad luck (the rainout), playing the tourney at a single venue (which tends to condense the schedule for 3A/4A teams) and the pitching limitation rules.

 

[gg2224]

From a pitching perspective, it looks like FD was able to make the most of the situation. The full staff is available for Friday and Saturday, although Gormally could only throw 6 tomorrow and Vaughn only 5. If they don't throw tomorrow, they'd both be available for 9 innings on Saturday.