March 28, 2024

Small schools forced to adjust to pitch count rules

Before the season, Prairie City-Monroe baseball coach Jeff Lindsay thought the new pitch count rules would force smaller schools to stop playing weekend tournaments.

There just isn’t enough arms to go around after a week of conference and non-conference games during the week.

“We have already been told by East Marshall that they are not going to be holding their tournament anymore,” Lindsay said.

Midway through the season, Lindsay still has that opinion. And he is joined by a few other area coaches.

If you look around the state at scores from games played on Saturdays, you’ll find several high-scoring games.

CMB, which has just 13 players on its roster and no JV team this season, had to use two pitchers Saturday against Colo-NESCO who have not yet pitched this season.

CMB was in front 8-1 after four innings but those two inexperienced varsity pitchers allowed 21 runs in two innings and the Raiders lost 22-12.

“The pitch count rules will really depend on numbers each year,” CMB coach Max Seeman said.

“If the 20 kids who told me in the spring that they would play this summer, it would be easier. If you have enough players out, it can be done.”

Colfax-Mingo is on the fortunate end of the numbers game.

The Tigerhawks have 25 players out this summer, and Colfax-Mingo coach Greer Milledge is more focused on winning a conference title than he is on playing weekend games.

Colfax-Mingo actually put most of its non-conference games at the end of the season, too.

“I would be OK with playing a solo game on a Saturday, but tournament style games are probably going to go away for most of the small schools around the state,” Milledge said.

Milledge said he will discuss with Colfax-Mingo Athletic Director Zach Tomas after the season whether they want to continue with their annual tournament.

If Milledge has any say, the school will no longer hold the event on the first Saturday in June anymore.

The new pitch count rules are designed to limit arm injuries on young players. It will help them possibly play the game longer, too.

I don’t think all athletes are created equal though.

“The new rules are definitely safer for the kids,” said Seeman, who is leaving the CMB program after this year to become the new athletic director at Martensdale-St. Marys.

“It makes me approach the pitchers in a different way, but the rules for lower pitch numbers needs to be adjusted.

Right now, a player who throws 25 or less pitches does not need to take a day of rest.

If that pitcher throws 25-40, they need a day rest and the rest days go up as you throw into the 41-110 area.

“I have noticed that teams are using more pitchers in each game now so they can use those same pitchers in more games that week,” Lindsay said.

The Mustangs have more depth than other programs, too.

The only time they ran into issues with the pitch count rules came in Saturday’s tournament at East Marshall. They lost to the host Mustangs, 13-11.

“We did have two different tournaments that day and did not have any JV guys with us,” Lindsay said. “I think programs will look at the number of games they play in the week leading up to weekend tournaments to see if they want to stop playing in those games. I am lukewarm on them right now. It does put some coaches in a tough spot.”

Contact Troy Hyde
at thyde@newtondailynews.com