2012 D1 Baseball Playoffs

Great forum guys. I just discovered it a couple of weeks ago and have been reading it before joining today. Although my son plays in D3, many years of AAU/travel baseball has allowed him to play with or play against several of the kids playing well in D1/D2, so it has been fun to read about some of those players on the forum. Just to jump in to the conversation a bit regarding D3, I agree completely with what has been posted. My son plays for Hopkinton, and I believe there is a difference based on who you play. By not playing a wider variety of teams, I do think it is possible for some weaker teams to earn seeds that may be better than the team actually is. Conversely, we played some strong teams that were seeded lower than I believe they should have been. There are 23 teams in D3, 20 make the playoffs. Teams 13-20 play a "play in" game and the winners are seeded in the tournament of 16.

For those interested, the Hopkinton/Franklin game yesterday was a hard fought and close game all the way through. Congratulations to Franklin on a well played game, I'm sure it was a tough one for them to lose.

Welcome to the Forum... Nothing like a bit of baseball playoffs to wake up the bees in the Sports Forum nest. So far lots of a good, close games. I just hope this continues through the Finals.

Might be nice/fun to have continued summer discussion about legion teams much like we get to read about summer basketball

NOTE: NHIAA site has Merrimack v. Exeter on Tues June 5th now... yikes.

JAF wrote:NOTE: NHIAA site has Merrimack v. Exeter on Tues June 5th now... yikes.

It also says the game is at 2:00pm at Gill Stadium ??

Update: Time has been changed to 1:00pm.

Location change doesn't surprise me - Merrimack's field doesn't do well with water. The time change is a bit odd considering it's a school day. One wonders if that was a keypad typo (1 and 4 are next to each other). Could also have to do with umpire or field availability or perhaps some other school event that either Merrimack or Exeter already had planned and couldn't be adjusted.

Exeter's prom is scheduled for tomorrow night.

NativeFan wrote:Exeter's prom is scheduled for tomorrow night.

That must be it. Makes sense.

Write down the date though - an act of compassion by the NHIAA powers that be for a scheduled school event that isn't graduation....

It is amazing that the NHIAA was actually allowed Exeter to move a game.

I still think it is a shame that the NHIAA doesn't try and move the Semi's to Saturday with all the delays for Rain.


The big question in today's game Exeter v. Merrimack is do they come back with their number one pitchers today. Merrimack is extremely confident in their number 2 Wojicak, I always spell it wrong, but do they go with Hudon. Does Exeter have the same faith in Clark? I think it is going to be a great game. I wish it was tonight so I could actually watch it, but work doesn't consider high school playoffs to be a good reason to leave early. If anyone is going please keep us stuck at the desk informed of score.

I don't think there's any question that Exeter and Merrimack both go with their aces. No coach will look past today's game in a single elimination format and take a chance on losing with their ace on the bench. They'll worry about Thursday after today's game is over. Exeter has to go with Joyce since they know Merrimack doesn't give up many runs. Taking nothing away from Wojciak, that forces Merrimack's hand to go with Hudon.

Shawn Manfredo confirms in a post on another site that it will be Wojciak (Merrimack) vs. Clark (Exeter).

I saw that. I'm surprised. It'll be interesting to see what Pembroke - St. Thomas and Portsmouth Christian - Lisbon do. If it were me, I'd throw my ace. It's one and done.

Silver Knights are at Holman on Saturday, so NHIAA would have to find a different venue for semis if they decided to move them.

If you do Twitter, it looks like @nhhssports is tweeting from the Merrimack-Exeter game. No score after a half inning.

Showcase League Director Shawn Manfredo is saying 3-1 after 2 innings. I will start to follow nhsports on twitter to get the scoop.

3-1 Merrimack after 3 complete. Neither team has a hit.

Merrimack 6 Exeter 1 -- final score.

We finally get what looks like a good day for baseball and there are some great match ups today.

Game 1 Merrimack v. Nashua North
Two of the premier pitchers in the state in Tom Hudon and Jake Melling going head to head. Neither team has done a lot with the bats as of late, Merrimack did score 6 against Exeter, but from what I heard the majority of them were unearned. It is going to be interesting to see two struggling offenses against two dominate pitchers. This one will be a close game and come down to the wire. I am predicting a Merrimack win 1-0 over North. It will be a game that both teams deserve to win, and I think both pitchers will be on their game. It will come down to which defense is more solid behind their pitcher.

Game 2 Memorial v. Concord
This will be an exciting game. I just do not think Memorial has enough fire power to stay with Concord, but Coach of the Year Aaron Abood has done amazing things with his boys. I saw them play against Timberlane in the Quarters and he has those boys playing near flawless ball. When Dionne is on the bump Concord is a tough opponent to beat. Dionne will be pitching again looking for his third win of this playoffs. I think Concord wins a tight one, Beckwith is a solid pitcher, but I am not sure he has enough to hold the bats of Concord at bay all game. It will be a tight game early and Concord will create space down the stretch. I think Concord on top of Memorial 4-1.

These should both be exciting games. I am excited to get outside and watch some quality ball tonight.

Apparently both head coach Ryan Anderson and the Merrimack AD have resigned prior to the next baseball game. Seems that they may have violated some rules during Coach Anderson's suspension. Seems like more NHIAA bullcrap to me. I know Ryan to be an upstanding guy and I think he's taking the fall to prevent any DQ scenarios with his team. Here is the story from Joe M.

abruptly.htmlhttp://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/963802-196/merrimack-baseball-coach-athletic-director-resign-abruptly.html

This story is very interesting. I've seen head coaches/managers miss their playoff games due to sickness, physical problems and bereavement. I don't ever recall a head coach/manager being let go or stepping down days before a state title game, as is the case with the Merrimack baseball team.

I wonder if any of our Forum members who are Merrimack fans or really have their pulse on this situation would be able to tell us any thing aside from what's been put in the regular news outlets?

In the defense of the NHIAA, rules must be followed. I understand the two game suspension. I also understand that discipline needed to be applied when the suspension was not adhered to in accordance with the rule even if it was misinterpreted. Whether Coach Anderson is a horses butt or class act with a stellar reputation makes no difference it this matter, the NHIAA can NOT allow “exceptions” in these matters. That said here’s my problem with the NHIAA. The discipline for this kind of infraction should have NEVER been one that would penalize 18 kids who have worked their butts off year round for this kind of opportunity. Most of these kids will NEVER play in a bigger game. For that game to not happen because of a technicality, defeats the purpose of what student athletics are all about. Secondly, this kind of infraction should NOT mean the job of a 10 year coach. Apparently, his resignation, along with the AD’s, was the only way the kids were going to be allowed to play in this game. I don’t know this coach but I know common sense. Common sense tells me that the coach definitely a misinterpreted the rule of his suspension. No coach in their right mind would do anything that would jeopardize their team’s chances for a championship just to watch infield practice. The NHIAA needed to take a very close look at the fact that while he was present before the game he immediately left before the first pitch. Once they established that there was no intent by the coach to undermine the rule (See Bobby Valentine with the fake mustache) they should have applied the discipline in a matter that doesn’t mean someone having to lose their job or kids not missing out on a once in a lifetime. A five game suspension at the beginning of the 2013 season for example.
All of this being said, it’s very possible there is so much more to this story that we don’t know. Based on what we do know, I commend the coach and the AD for doing what they seemingly had to do to allow these kids to play this game. If the facts are as they seem, I hope there is a way for these two individuals to get their jobs back as soon as possible. If for some reason they cannot, shame on the NHIAA!

What we don't know in this scenario is whether it's talked about during the annual coach's meeting and/or if the Merrimack AD attempted to get a clarification on the policy. If it was talked about and chosen to ignore, then I can understand the NHIAA position. I can also see where a coach's disregard for the rules would hurt the team, although a tough lesson (it's a similar scenario to the 9 inning issue w/ Portsmouth). If it wasn't talked about and no clarification made, then it's kind of a head scratcher ... I think there's a lot we will never know. Can you imagine the nightmare since the "following game" was played? I guess you'd have to go back and have North play Exeter if you were to disqualify Merrimack because of the rules issue in the Exeter game. How fair would that be now - North uses their ace vs. Merrimack, but he'd probably be unavailable in a replay scenario and Exeter would certain have/use their ace. Crazy stuff... All preventable though.

You can bet there will be two clarifications made in the off season - because that's why we have these special clauses/rules...

#1. The 9 inning rule issue - there's vagueness in the P&P whether "1 pitch" applies only to the 5 inning max and days rest and whether that same 1 pitch relates to the 9 inning rule. This is because other parts of the rule indicate that innings are counted in thirds and that going beyond a max won't be penalized if there's a double/triple play to cause the maximum to be surpassed.

#2. What it means to be involved in the "next" game and the level of contact you are allowed... Does it include practice as well? Moral of this story, don't get chucked...

JAF writes: <<< If it was talked about and chosen to ignore, then I can understand the NHIAA position. I can also see where a coach's disregard for the rules would hurt the team,...>>>

I understand your point, but does anyone in their right mind believe that the Merrimack coach went on that field before that game knowing he was putting his team's season, his AD's career, and his own position as baseball coach on the line? Somehow he got into his head that he was following the rule by leaving the field before the game. He was wrong and should be disciplined for it but the consequences are way too extreme. Disregard? I don't think so. Disregarding rules means you know the rule and are willing to accept the punishment for breaking it. (See Bobby Valentine talking about umpires yesterday...he's willing to give up a few bucks to get his point across) Do you honestly believe Coach Anderson was willing to accept the ramifications that fell upon him when he decided to walk on that field before the game?

(I would like to thank Bobby Valentine for always being there for me)

Here's the rule straight from the NHIAA Rule book, which includes one new component for this season.

Sect. 6: Disqualification from an Interscholastic Athletic Event
A. Any player who is disqualified before, during or after any sanctioned event at the sub-varsity or varsity
level, for exhibiting unsportsmanlike conduct, shall not participate in the next scheduled interscholastic
athletic event, including NHIAA tournament contests. Any coach who is disqualified before, during or
after a game at the sub-varsity or varsity level, for exhibiting unsportsmanlike conduct, shall not
participate in the next two scheduled interscholastic athletic event, including NHIAA tournament
contests and MUST take the NFHS Teaching and Modeling Course for Disqualified Coaches prior to
returning to coach in any capacity, effective 2011-12. Any player or coach who is disqualified from a
game and participates in the next scheduled interscholastic athletic event(s), including NHIAA
tournament contests, will cause that school's game(s)/event(s) to be forfeited in the event of a win. In
the event of loss (es), the matter will be referred to the Sportsmanship Committee for action. It is the
coach’s responsibility to promptly notify the school of any disqualification and the school must
immediately impose the stated sanctions regardless of when formal notification is received from the
NHIAA.
70
COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Q: When is the next game suspension for the junior varsity coach who is ejected for
unsportsmanlike conduct while sitting with the varsity team during a contest in the same sport?
A: The coach may not participate in any game, at any level, until a two game suspension has been
served at the level in which the disqualification occurred and must take he NFHS Teaching and
Modeling Course for Disqualified Coaches prior to returning to coach in any capacity, effective
2011-12.
Q: When is the next game suspension for unsportsmanlike conduct for the person who serves as
BOTH junior varsity and varsity coach in a sport?
A: The coach of both levels who is ejected from a contest/day of competition may not participate in
the next two contests/days of competition at the level in the game which the disqualification
occurred and must take he NFHS Teaching and Modeling Course for Disqualified Coaches prior
to returning to coach in any capacity, effective 2011-12.
Q: If the coach is a parent of a team member, and is disqualified from a contest/day of competition,
is that coach allowed to attend the next game as a parent?
A: During the period of disqualification, a coach shall not be in attendance at the game(s)/event(s)
for which the disqualification is imposed and must take he NFHS Teaching and Modeling
Course for Disqualified Coaches prior to returning to coach in any capacity, effective 2011-12.
Note: During the period of disqualification, a coach shall not be in attendance at the game(s)/event(s)
for which the disqualification is imposed. If there is a violation the contest shall be forfeited. Individual
schools can determine if a disqualified student athlete is allowed to continue practice or other school
activities or whether to exclude the student athlete as in the case of a disqualified coach.

DBack - if the rules say that "if you participate in any manner, then the penalty is this", then how do you believe that a coach knowing the rules and flaunting the rules shouldn't bear the exact penalty as written. That's subjective penalization and calls into question the governing body's ability to impose the penalty. I don't disagree that it's hard on the kids who don't read the rules or have control, but as the adult or "buck stops here" person, you need to take responsibility and do the right thing. I would assume or guess that's what's happened here - this is the trade off so that the student athletes don't get screwed by something they had no control over.

As a coach you are supposed to have read the rules and regulations - trust me when I tell you that coaches will come out and tell the umpire how wrong the umpire is because of some rule whether or not they actually are right. They are only seeing the interpretation of the rule from one side and for anyone that wants to get into the interpretation of a rule, go to the basketball section of this board and search on traveling or hand-checking!