strike zone and philosophy

[jumpmaster]

Senior BR 16-18 yr old state tournament. Elimination game.

Top of 1, R1. Pitcher goes 0-2 on two borderline strikes, then throws 4 straight balls. PU starts calling a BIG zone. 12-18 inches off the plate, 0 inches inside, nipples to mid shin. Pitchers are having a hard time hitting the traditional zone. Final score 4-2. All runs score on errors.

After the game I asked my partner about his zone. There were a couple of instance where the catcher was catching balls leaving his feet and PU was calling strikes.

My partner said "These kids suck. The pitchers couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. You have to expand the zone in order to move the game along. See, we finished in 1:50 and now are tournament is on schedule."

My thinking is this. This is a state tournament with no time limit. These teams should be able to compete at this level. Expand the zone a little, not before the 2nd inning. Give 2-3 baseballs on the outside, 1 baseball on the inside. Don't change up and down. "Hit the mit, win a strike", but not a foot off the plate. Don't adjust your zone this big, no matter how long it is taking. F2 is going to camp out 2 feet off the plate and F1 is going to live out there.

Any thoughts?