Final: Commack 7, Pat-Med 2
WP: Johnny Pohlman (6.2 IP, 0 ER)Commack advances to the Class AA Finals pic.twitter.com/6V3yJOfGhl
— aXcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) May 26, 2017
(Disclaimer: I was not in attendance for this game, as I was covering West Islip-Ward Melville. The following is based off of spectators that were in attendance)
Commack (20-3) defeated Pat-Med by the score of 7-2 at St. Joseph’s College to advance to the Suffolk County Class AA Finals on Monday against the reigning champion West Islip. College of St. Rose-commit Johnny Pohlman fanned 11 over 6.2 IP to earn his seventh win of the season.
Entering the seventh inning, however, Pohlman was inching close to the NYSPHSAA pitch-count limit of 125 for a postseason game. The rule has been a hot-topic all season, but it had subsided during the postseason as the increased limit has had a minimal impact on starting pitchers.
With runners on 1st & 3rd, and Commack leading 7-0 over Pat-Med, the batter lifted a fly ball to deep center field. The outfielder dropped the ball leading to both runners scoring.
Now here’s where it gets murky. The real story was not that the game was slipping away, but what number pitch it was for Pohlman. The Pat-Med coaching staff was adamant that it was No. 129, in which case he shouldn’t have been allowed to continue the game. He remained in the game to face the next batter. He threw ball one and then the game was delayed after it was determined that he was over the pitch count. As per the rules, a team that violates the rule is forced to forfeit the game. This would mean that the teams would play a Game 3 of the series, with the winner advancing to the finals.
In any event, Pohlman was taken out for a reliever, who promptly retired the next batter on a fly ball to end the game. Pat-Med announced that they were protesting the game, but it has been determined that the result of the game will stand and Commack will remain victorious.
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Obviously, had this occurred in early April or any regular season game it would be a different narrative. With the season on the line in a semifinal game, it becomes a story.
During the pre-season coaches meeting, a prominent Head Coach in Suffolk County mentioned that if the pitch count is being treated very seriously this year, why not have it enforced by a paid, independent member of Section XI? Many of the coaches agreed, but the director of the meeting stated that while that was a fair point, it wouldn’t be integrated in 2017.
Perhaps this event will bring that idea to the forefront for 2018, because if a rule is in place and there is a clearly defined consequence, there is very little room for interpretation. At the very least, both coaches must be on the same page each inning so that there is no confusion in a late-game situation as the pitch-count is drawing near.
As I saw each game this year, there was communication between members of opposing teams each inning to compare pitch-count logs and make sure they are identical. Clearly, this was the inopportune time for one of those to be incorrect.
