THIS! Why are these games being played on a men's field. Go find a nice softball facility somewhere else in the state.

 

State track tourney is at UK stadium. Every year.

State Bball tourney is at Rupp. Every year.

Why not state softball tourney?

Do they play several games at the same time? If so then UK, EKU or other college locations wouldn't work with the current schedule, as they only have the one field.

What a disaster . I root for Ashland but if I knew that ball cleared the fence I'm not begging for it to be overturned .

Do they play several games at the same time? If so then UK, EKU or other college locations wouldn't work with the current schedule, as they only have the one field.

 

Yes they do. Used to play it at Skyview park in J-Town. I don't remember them using temp fences there.

The sad thing is the young lady who hit the HR will never have the hero moment she deserved. Too bad.

 

Beside the team winning, this is the biggest injustice of all. The more I think about it, the worse I feel for this young lady.

Beside the team winning, this is the biggest injustice of all. The more I think about it, the worse I feel for this young lady.

 

Yes, I have this awful feeling about this aspect of the unfortunate event. Never have I seen a more clear cut bad call. To watch the young lady celebrate the moment and then to have it ripped from her. Just plain bad.

Heard that Asst. KHSAA Commish, Darren Bilberry tired to confiscate the tape from the news crew, but they said, "na baby na".

06/06/14 – STATEMENT ON ENDING OF ASHLAND BLAZER-JOHNSON CENTRAL SOFTBALL GAME

 

June 6, 20142013-2014 News Releases

During the 7th inning of game 14 of the Worth/KHSAA State Softball Tournament (a consolation bracket elimination contest) a judgement call was made by the umpiring crew which in hindsight, and upon postgame review by the KHSAA staff, was in error. The situation occurred when Johnson Central’s Rachelle Fairchild hit an apparent game-winning home run, but following a brief conference, the crew of officials declared that the hit was a ground rule double instead of the game-winning home run.

“Following today’s game between Ashland Blazer and Johnson Central, KHSAA staff reviewed news footage of the at-bat which was ruled a ground rule double in the seventh inning. With the benefit of slow motion, high definition video, it is clear that the ball left the park on the fly, and a home run should have been ruled,” said KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett. “Unfortunately, our umpires don’t have technical access to slow motion, high definition video during a contest (or any other type of video), nor are they permitted within the bylaws or playing rules to review these situations; and left to the judgement of the naked eye, they clearly erred.”

“While NFHS playing rules do not permit the review of video, I felt it important to make a determination so as to help identify areas of emphasis for training in the future, ” noted Darren Bilberry, KHSAA Assistant Commissioner with primary responsibility for softball. “Under both the NFHS playing rules, and KHSAA Bylaw 21, protests or appeals of judgement calls are not permitted once the contest has ended, and the judgement of the official, right or wrong, must prevail. On review, clearly the ball left the park, and a fielder attempting to make a play then displaced the fence afterwards. The fence was not a factor in the play, it was simply an error in judgement.”

“Assessments and evaluations of the officiating crews are made following each set of games at the state tournament, and the official’s involved in the Ashland Blazer-Johnson Central game were not retained to officiate additional games,” added Bilberry. “In reviewing the play in question, we felt that had they properly rotated per the NFHS three-person coverage, they would have been in better position to be able to accurately make the correct call.”

“At the amateur level, there is always an element of human judgement and performance, whether that’s a coach in his/her decision about playing time or strategy, player execution of game strategy and coach directives, or the judgement of an official. Interestingly, I had a conversation with a couple of individuals before leaving the park about a coach’s decision to pitch to a very good hitter earlier in the tournament in a situation that resulted in that player getting a game-winning hit. The human element simply can never be removed from amateur sports. We put a great deal of time, energy and resources into recruiting and training the independent contractors that serve as umpires and other officials, in an effort to help make them consistent and allow for their advancement and expansion of knowledge. In addition, our staff and hundreds of workers and volunteers devote countless hours and resources to making the participation experience optimum for all players, coaches, officials and fans. It is a shame that some of the participant’s memories of this unique experience may be permanently marred by this incident. We will continue to strive to help our officials improve to help the participation experience of the students, ” Tackett concluded.

The state tournament cannot be played at a college field because it is a double elimination tournament. They could never get in all of the 30 or so games that are played. The KHSAA recently considered moving the tournament to Bowling Green but chose to stick with Owensboro.

That statement from the khsaa is weak.

So to read that statement it looks like an appeal of judgment is not permitted. If the home plate umpire initially called it a homer as was written here, the game would have been over, and then that could not have been appealed?

 

But it was.

 

Talk about sentences that mean absolutely nothing with a lot of words that clarify nothing...

That statement from the khsaa is weak.

 

What is missing?

 

Said it was an error. Said the officials didn't rotate properly. Said they were not asked to officiate any more games.

I was there, and feel terrible for the young lady. Seemed to me that the KHSAA officials were trying to ferry the JC crowd out of the park, with the assistance of multiple local police offices, as quickly as possible. JC earned the victory. Conditions dictated otherwise, sadly.

Worst call ever, I was at the game an you did not need a high speed camera to see it went over the fence. I also strongly disagree that the tempory fence did not add to the problem. Congradulations to JC for a great comback win, you guys should be playing on Saturday. I hate that hit , the biggest of that girls carrer was taken from her. I hope they make changes for future tournaments.

I agree Clyde, they do admit it was a blown call, with poor performance on protocol for positioning. And they say there is nothing they can do now. It is simply a tarnished championship. Shame, but it is what it is.