Illegal Pitches in 5A State Championship Games

[93players]

Tomball had 11 called in one inning. Bowie had a number called in their game. Crowhopping is seen all over the district games. UIL needs to clamp down on it throughout the season or let it go in the state championship. The umpires get to change the balance of the game with those calls. Are you telling me that two senior pitchers (Bowie) and (Tomball) dont know how to pitch without that off the plate movement? There are alot of teams that lost to these two who would have like to have had those calls.

[Lunatic Fringe]

Harrumpf!

I agree that if the rule is going to be enforced, enforce it all season long in a consistent way.

[Brooke's Dad]

A little birdie told me in the game that Tomball got called for the 11 IP's.... each and every IP called was done in the 3rd Inning (after mowing down the 1st 6 batters in the 1st 2 Innings) and....


- The 3b Ump made EVERY one of the IP calls.....

and

- He is the Brother (or Brother-in-Law) of the AD for the team Tomball played and lost to....



Disclousre - this was all told to me by someone AT the game... I was not there (my DD was playing in the Premier Qualifier @ Dyess) - so take it or leave it - IDC.

[softballfan2010]

Actually, there were 16 illegal pitches called and they started in the 1st inning. Even though the IP were called, our pitcher battled through it and got the runners out with no runs scored until the 3rd inning. In the 3rd inning, 3 runs scored. No hits and all due to IP. Then, the pitcher was pulled and another pitcher put in. A 2 run HR scored off her, then our starting pitcher was put back in after she clearly was not having IP. She came back into the game and overexaggerated her drag of her back foot and still the IP was called. A 3rd pitcher was then put in the game. After going all season without the IP called, this was very unfair and resulted in the loss. There is no way to defend against that. The senior pitcher worked hard for 4 years to realize her dream to be in the State tournament and this is how her season had to end? She pitched as a freshman making it to the Semi-finals, then the Finals, and then area, to finally make it to State this year. I'm a parent on the team, and hated to see this happen to her. All calls were from the 3B ump. When he had to move to 2B when a runner was there, the 1B ump never called the IP.

I commend the Tomball girls for coming back to the championship game to cheer on Pearland and were loud and showed they were a team of great class, coming together to scream for the illegal pitches that were then called against Bowie in the championship game against Pearland. Pearland fans began screaming GO TOMBALL for our girls.

[93players]

Softballfan2010, that is why I posted this topic. The umpiring in Texas UIL is an embarrassment. How can two games be decided by IPs in the State Finals? District game umpiring is so biased with home teams controlling umpires they want. Playoff game early rounds have the same politics. There is probably nothing we can do about district games. But bring in independent umpires from the beginning of the playoffs. We are a big enough state. Umpires can be brought it from 3 hours away from all participants without any problems. To the Tomball team and parents who missed a school graduation to have to go through this charade, I am truly sorry you had to put up with this. You deserved a chance to play the game under the same rules that were applied to you throughout the playoffs. Great season.

[Coweta89]

Wow, I agree, the system needs to change.

In Oklahoma, umps are not from the area(District) the schools are from.

Why can't that be the same here?

[RexinTex]

The umpires were told to crack down on the illegal pitches all season, and MOST chose not to do it.

I have seen the Sr pitcher from Tomball on several occasions this year, and yes, she throws a lot of illegal pitches. But she is not the only one that does.

One of the pitchers from New Caney illegally replants on every pitch she throws,and never called.
One of the pitchers for Sante Fe replants on EVERY pitch. Never saw it called.
The pitcher from Garland Rowlett jumps outside the 24 inch "pitching lane" about 60% of the pitches she throws. I watched them play 5 games and didn't see it called once.
AT LEAST 50% of the pitchers west and south of San Antonio are illegal on every pitch they throw. (The better ones are not of course, but there is some WEAK pitching out there)

The difference between these girls and the girls at Tomball is that most of these girls ONLY pitch in high school. If every single illegal pitch was called, the game would take 5 hours to complete. If they abandon the rule altogether, the "full time pitchers" would have no boundries in which to operate and that would allow the teams with the best pitching to roll over everyone they played.

There is a problem with this, but there is no simple solution. It should be cut and dried, but it is so difficult in high school to find anyone that can throw strikes that I think the coaches, for the most part are OK with the umpires NOT calling it all year, even though they see it all year. These coaches know what an illegal pitch is and yet they don't mention it to their pitchers when they see them doing it even though they don't get called for it.

[93players]

Next year, many of us will be riding umpires constantly to enforce the illegal pitch rule. The Tomball Bowie game was not a game. The umps handed the game to Bowie. I am not sure Tomball could beat Bowie but I wanted to see the two teams play the game without umpires sending runners over the plate.

It is just not fair in UIL PLAYOFFS to allow a pitcher to go entire games without calling illegal pitch, until she gets to McCombs stadium. It is not fair to the human being, pitcher, it is not fair to her coaches and teammates, and it is not fair to the opponents who faced them. I can live with district games not lasting 5 hours when some pitchers can barely get it over the plate. But all pitchers who throw illegal pitches need to be weeded out by the first two rounds of UIL playoffs. Is that a hard rule to enforce? UIL needs to gets it act together and bring in unbiased umps and call the games evenly throughout the playoffs.

[Bleacher Creature]

Next year, many of us will be riding umpires constantly to enforce the illegal pitch rule. The Tomball Bowie game was not a game. The umps handed the game to Bowie. I am not sure Tomball could beat Bowie but I wanted to see the two teams play the game without umpires sending runners over the plate.

It is just not fair in UIL PLAYOFFS to allow a pitcher to go entire games without calling illegal pitch, until she gets to McCombs stadium. It is not fair to the human being, pitcher, it is not fair to her coaches and teammates, and it is not fair to the opponents who faced them. I can live with district games not lasting 5 hours when some pitchers can barely get it over the plate. But all pitchers who throw illegal pitches need to be weeded out by the first two rounds of UIL playoffs. Is that a hard rule to enforce? UIL needs to gets it act together and bring in unbiased umps and call the games evenly throughout the playoffs.

Was she(the pitcher) not called for the IP in the Rowlett game as well ? By the same blue? Was the coach not advised before that they would be calling the IP that week end by a local blue that was in attendance in Austin?

I was at the game and I do absolutley think the 3rd base blue had an agenda. As mentioned before he WAS the only one to call it in that game. I think he also was the one who called them in the 2-A semi that cost a team a game. That girl had not had one IP called on her all yr.

On a side note the same guy called the 4-A championship and did not call a single IP ?


Pitching Coaches need to stop it . thats where it should start!

[RexinTex]

Pitching Coaches need to stop it thats where it should start!

AMEN!