Spring Baseball Season Getting Shorter
Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013 -- 10:52 AM
With the spring weather not cooperating in 2013, the spring baseball season in our area is becoming shorter and shorter.The Neillsville baseball team has played one game thus far. At least 12 games on the schedule have been cancelled so far, and that includes the whole first half of the conference season. The Warriors and the rest of the Cloverbelt conference hope to get the season started this Thursday. Neillsville will be hosting Colby. The Cloverbelt season has already been shortened to 9 games this year and there may be a possibility of playing some doubleheaders in the second half.
The Cloverbelt softball teams already have scheduled most, if not all, of the their games as doubleheaders in the second half of the season.
This week it was announced that the WIAA has requested and has received permission from the NFHS to schedule five-inning baseball games this spring in response to the extreme spring conditions. The Cloverbelt has not agreed to doing this as of yet. This relief does not change or alter the seven-innings-in-three-days pitching rule. In addition, the relief does not impact the "mercy rule" also known as the 10-run rule, nor does it include games in the WIAA Tournament Series.
The WIAA is encouraging each school to make sure safe conditions are provided for athletes. While there are maximum of 26 games allowed, schools do not have to play all of the games allowed for your sport. Academics are the highest priority and schools should keep loss of class time in mind.
Schools are allowed to reschedule postponed games until the end of the season (the final day of the state tournament in that sport) even if your team is eliminated from the tournament. Younger players who will be returning next year can receive coaching during this time.
The WIAA Spring Baseball Regionals start on May 24th and WIAA Deputy Director Wade Labecki said that they have received inquiries about moving the state tournament dates farther into June, but he said that the number of changes that would need to be addressed at regional, sectional and state tournament sites along with officials working multiple sports are extensive. Labecki went on to say that family plans, summer jobs, camps and clinics and other summer activities would be affected and that it doesn?t seem as if that?s an option that could realistically be considered.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.