So the big story today is the debacle in the America East as the conference elected to not resume yesterday’s suspended game “due to inclement weather”. At the time of the rain delay, Stony Brook was leading NJIT 1-0 in the bottom of the third inning with the bases loaded and threatening to score more. NJIT and the umpires determined it was best to pause play. The plan was to resume the game at 10am on Sunday morning. Given the circumstances of NJIT being 2-0 and Stony Brook being 2-1, Stony Brook would have to hold on to win and then win another game in order to capture the championship. They decided that “due to inclement weather” the game would not be resumed and NJIT would receive the automatic qualifying bid because they were 2-0 at the time of the suspended game and they would not be playing tomorrow due to the NCAA Selection Show occurring at noon. Stony Brook captured the regular season title, so it would make sense to send the team with the best regular season record given the volume of sample size as opposed to two games. Given the shortened season and the lack of non-conference games, it is unlikely that Stony Brook will receive an at-large bid – so their season is likely over, ending the collegiate careers of many players.
NJIT is headed to its first NCAA Division I Baseball Championship in program history.@NJTechBaseball | #AEBASE | #AEChamps
Full release: https://t.co/83l8Gs77j3 pic.twitter.com/GlWvvTr6ZR— America East (@AmericaEast) May 30, 2021
Let’s break it down a little further:
Stony Brook was prepared to play the game and they were in the dugout for a 10am start. The weather was not great, but given the turf facility and that it’s Division-I baseball, it was completely realistic to attempt to play the game. According to a Stony Brook player, NJIT was taking BP in the hitting facility by the basketball arena but chose to remain there and not take the field. They claimed the conditions were unsafe. I received a call at 12:21pm that the game was going to be cancelled. At that moment, the precipitation was light and it would remain light for the next couple hours – which would’ve certainly provided enough time to play 6 innings. Regardless, you can wait it out until it gets dark.
As far as the NCAA Selection Show, it will take place at 12pm tomorrow, so it is perfectly reasonable to attempt to resume play at 10am, or even 9am – as Stony Brook has done in the past when the forecast is ominous on Sunday. Additionally, it would stand to reason that if this exact scenario had played out in the ACC or SEC, they would require the teams to play the games. Instead, the official word was that the NCAA requires the automatic qualifiers to be awarded by today. With that being the case, they certainly could’ve made an effort to play at one of the many lighted facilities in the area – Baseball Heaven, Moriches Complex or even Mitchel Field
Had Stony Brook been guaranteed an at-large bid, the situation would not have been nearly as disastrous. They would have simply prepared to play next week in the NCAA Regional.
What we don’t know is, when was this decision made? Was it last night and they simply waited to announce it in order to create the illusion that an effort was made? Why was the rain delay only called in the third inning with the bases loaded when it had been raining heavily prior to that? If safety was actually the priority, the game should’ve been paused earlier.
Why did the commissioner not issue a statement that laid out the options that they pursued as opposed to a generic statement at 1pm?
Lastly, it definitely doesn’t pass the smell test. If a team knew that this rule would essentially render yesterday’s game meaningless, what incentive is there to resume play?
Stony Brook has a real gripe. They were the regular season champs, they were winning 1-0 with the bases loaded and they have a turf facility that can withstand plenty of precipitation. After losing their 2020 championship hopes to the pandemic, it now seems they lost their 2021 championship hopes to ineptitude.
As for NJIT, they have been hot. They’ve won 9 games in a row and won in dramatic fashion on Friday on a walk-off in the 9th. But let’s play the game instead of advancing on an arbitrary decision.
What can we learn from this moving forward?
- Maybe move the tournament up so that the final day isn’t the deadline to award a champion.
- As they do in the Skyline Conference – a team should only be able to host the tournament if they have a lighted facility.
- Have some feel – like they teach you in DARE class – if you don’t want it to be in the newspaper the next day, don’t do it!
