Someone said that this call causes this to be a "tarnished championship" and that Johnson Central should have been playing on Saturday? This game was on Friday morning. Johnson Central is now 0-6 at the state tournament. I watched the video and they clearly got screwed, but they weren't going to make it to Saturday. They would have had to win 4 more games Friday if they won that one. Don't be so dramatic.

 

Rainmaker, I respect your opinion but I do not think you can say that they weren't going to make it to Saturday.

According to the Ashland Daily Independent, yes he is. If you get chance, have a read of their article. It's quite the eye-opener.

 

State softball: Late call cloaks Ashland-Central game in controversy » Local Sports » Daily Independent (Ashland, KY)

 

DAVE

 

I think this coach was grabbing at straws with the, "it bounced over" call, and was really lucky that the "3 blind mice" agreed.

Edited June 8, 201412 yr by mcpapa

According to the Ashland Daily Independent, yes he is. If you get chance, have a read of their article. It's quite the eye-opener.

 

State softball: Late call cloaks Ashland-Central game in controversy » Local Sports » Daily Independent (Ashland, KY)[/url

 

I think this coach was grabbing at straws with the, "it bounced over" call and was really lucky that the "3 blind mice" agreed.

 

I get that coaches will do about anything for their kids but it should not be at the expense of cheating the other girls on the field. I do not know this coach but I have no respect for his actions.

Edited June 8, 201412 yr by mcpapa

According to khsaa.org the following were the umpires.

 

Umpires - HP: John Newell 1B: Kristie Combs 3B: Mike Eldridge

According to the article, 2 of the 3 umpires signal HR, the 3rd base ump called the ground rule double... I think he was probably the farthest from the play, how did they use his determination of the play to overturn theirs?

 

He should have been rotated over behind second base and would have been closest to the play in this rotation.

Here would be an interesting idea I just kind of came up with. Create 4 pools of the region winners. Make a pool play tournament be held in 4 different regions of the state 1-4, 5-8, 9-12, 13-16. Hold it at parks throughout the state on that Monday and Tuesday. Then put region 1-8 on one side of the bracket, and 9-16 on the other side. Seed each side based on pool play results. Then play single elimination from then on out at a college campus like UK or UL.

If I was czar:

Districts Tourney- 1 and out top 2 teams advance (host rotates)

 

Regional Tourney- 1 and out top 2 teams advance (host rotates)

 

Super Regional- 4 regions 8 teams in a 2 and out format at a college campus. 1 team since it's a 2 and out.

 

State Finals- 4 teams come together at the best field in the state in a 2 and out format.

 

2 and outs gives the opportunity to overcome 1 bad game. If 2 teams are advancing anyway so make those rounds a 1 & out

 

That's why I am not the czar!

 

Simply NO MORE temporary fenced NO MORE huge infields! Simply give the girls same respect you give the other sports in Kentucky!

Why not do the same with all the other sports? If that is the goal of the tourney.

 

I would be for that. Especially in Baseball where it could be a battle of #3 pitchers in the Final game now. I see no need in Football. But I would welcome it in Volleyball where it could easily be done.

Strikes and ball calls are always argued, but this was an obvious HR. I feel bad for the coach and the girls who knew they lost yet chose to play on. Could have been a great life lesson and character builder if the coach had declined the win.

He should have been rotated over behind second base and would have been closest to the play in this rotation.

 

I was going off of the comments in the article... They said that they felt that had they properly rotated per the NFHS three-person coverage, they would have been in better position to make the call. I took this to mean that they had not rotated as they should have.

I was going off of the comments in the article... They said that they felt that had they properly rotated per the NFHS three-person coverage, they would have been in better position to make the call. I took this to mean that they had not rotated as they should have.

 

Couldn't tell from the video. That rotation could have been referring to chasing the ball to the fence rather than initial positioning. That was my take on it.

 

I would find it hard to believe that at this level someone was completely out of a starting rotated position. Almost impossible IMO.

Have no knowledge what so ever about where the umps are supposed to be, rotating, whatever.

What I don't get is if home and 1st signal homer, how does 3rd over turn that?

 

During their huddle to discuss, everyone in the outer-outfield (???) close to the play was signalling it was a homer. I know they can't make a ruling based on that alone. But during the discussion, when it's 2-1 for a homer as the original call.... You'd think that seeing all those people out closest to where it happened would at least weigh in the minds of the 2 umps that called it a homer... That they were right.

 

Then the guy with the video from the press box saying it's a homer...

Yah, you can't use that either...

But how does that not make the Home and 1st umps even more sure that they called it right?

 

What was the overturning argument?

 

Then KHSAA saying that the temp fence had nothing to do with it....

Do they know that little about the game and how it's played?

 

I know very little, but I do know that if it were a fixed fence, it would not have fallen when the center fielder slid/fell into it. There would have been no optical illusion to make 1 ump think it bounced OVER, instead of bouncing BEHIND that fence.

Even watching the video at full speed, I think that it's obvious, even with the fence falling, that it's a HR.

Have no knowledge what so ever about where the umps are supposed to be, rotating, whatever.

What I don't get is if home and 1st signal homer, how does 3rd over turn that?

 

During their huddle to discuss, everyone in the outer-outfield (???) close to the play was signalling it was a homer. I know they can't make a ruling based on that alone. But during the discussion, when it's 2-1 for a homer as the original call.... You'd think that seeing all those people out closest to where it happened would at least weigh in the minds of the 2 umps that called it a homer... That they were right.

 

Then the guy with the video from the press box saying it's a homer...

Yah, you can't use that either...

But how does that not make the Home and 1st umps even more sure that they called it right?

 

What was the overturning argument?

 

Then KHSAA saying that the temp fence had nothing to do with it....

Do they know that little about the game and how it's played?

 

I know very little, but I do know that if it were a fixed fence, it would not have fallen when the center fielder slid/fell into it. There would have been no optical illusion to make 1 ump think it bounced OVER, instead of bouncing BEHIND that fence.

 

I thought the same thing when reading KHSAA's response and the news article. How do 2 umpires call it a homerun and the 1 guy over rules them? This whole thing makes no sense to me besides the coach from Ashland (no matter what anyone says he knew it was a HR IMO) should have let it go because everyone of his players knew it was a HR and to me he just cheated Johnson Central advancement no matter if they would have won or lost the next game. I don't even know the coach but I kind of lost some respect for him. Plus I really did not like some of his comments in the article.

 

I just find this whole situation terribly sad for JC, the girl who hit the HR, and the sport of softball in Kentucky. These girls deserve the same quality field(s) the boys do, PERIOD! If the boys championship game is being broadcasted live then so should the girls championship game (it might have been and I completely missed it). Like I have said in previous comments in this thread, the state tournament should be single elimination, you have to play your best in playoffs in basketball, baseball, football, volleyball, etc. Why are we giving the girls a chance to say oops we played bad but we have another chance. That is bullcrap in my opinion. (rant over)

Edited June 9, 201412 yr by Randy Parker
Rule 8

I thought the same thing when reading KHSAA's response and the news article. How do 2 umpires call it a homerun and the 1 guy over rules them? This whole thing makes no sense to me besides the coach from Ashland (no matter what anyone says he knew it was a HR IMO) should have let it go because everyone of his players knew it was a HR and to me he just cheated Johnson Central advancement no matter if they would have won or lost the next game. I don't even know the coach but I kind of lost some respect for him. Plus I really did not like some of his comments in the article.

 

From the article:

When first asked about the game, Miller chose to hit the rewind button to just a few pitches earlier. Hensley was close to polishing off a perfect game. Delong took a 3-1 offering for ball four and a walk to halt the perfection.

 

“That pitch split the middle of the plate,” Miller said. “It was right on the knees, no doubt about it. Everybody’s jumping up and down (over the ground-rule double call), but nobody wants to talk about that call. A missed call’s a missed call. That’s a perfect game he cost us.”

 

How could he see that pitch split the plate? Was he behind the pitcher? catcher?

Did he climb the backstop fence and watch it cross the plate?

No

 

So he's calling it a missed call?

Does that mean he agrees it was a home run?

I find it hard to believe anyone could say that with a straight face!