PureBaseball

I did forget to say that the play at the plate was a point of emphasis not to long ago.

Also, some more trivial items, such as a Pitcher with a two toned glove is not allowed - or some of the pitchers stances in reference to balk protocol. The question needs to be asked, "does this ruling give him and advantage or a batter/runner a disadvantage"? I could go on but you get the idea.

A problem with the Rule Book. Just about every year at the clinics, they have "points of emphasis". This can be based off of the previous years games, or a safety/welfare of the players issue, etc. The hardest thing for the Umpires is when a situation occurs, will they all interpret the incident the same - which of course can be extremely frustrating for the Coaches if it is not - in a game or, game to game. What Coaches, Players & Fans don't want, is an Umpire's call to sway the verdict of a game. Remember, you don't usually notice a good Umpire is hardly even there, because their calls are seamless within the game. So, the call at the Plate, may have had an impact in the game; but I feel did not sway the verdict. CCH had other opportunities they did not capitalize on.

Since the addition of former 9th Region teams; have the 8th & 10th Regions become harder to get through? Your Call.

Conner and Highlands advance while CCH and Dixie out hit their opponents. Walks and a few key defensive plays are the difference in Connor win. Pressure running attack and defensive implosion the difference in Highlands win. Yesterday I stated that the 2 hottest Teams were probably Conner & Highlands. Well, here they are. Your Call.

Take away the 1st inning, CCH vs. St. Henry and the 4th inning, Conner vs. Bellevue; left you with 4 pretty fair pitching performances. Highlands completely dominated a Beechwood team that had no resemblance of the team it was throughout the season. The GEM of the day, Dixie's King vs. Boone's Ganns left you heart broken for Ganns in his dominant outing but leaping for Dixie Pride as this funny game of Baseball isn't over til' it's over. • Was final pole #3 Beechwood's Tank empty after a nail biting battle in their District Championship Game? • Highlands and Conner may be the 2 hottest Teams, can they advance again over #1 & #2 in final season pole? Can these 2 aggressive teams at the plate be slowed down at this point? • Cov.Cath ?? Did they through their ace, do they have an ace? How dangerous is their offense? • Is it Destiny Dixie after that kind of win over Boone? They have been the season's most consistent. Your Call.