For the second weekend, I took part in a college sponsored
tournament. Both tournaments had four college teams playing
RR's[round robins]. In this weekends tournament there were
also 38 18U teams. We were utilizing 12 fields. I am not
associated with any conference, therefore I don't do college
games except in show case and scrimmages.[usually timed games.] In the
18U games utilizing ASA rules. All games seven innings, college and 18U.
The average 18U game was 1hr35mins. The average college game was over 2hrs
and 15mins. The 40+ mins different was because in NCAA a pitcher
is allowed five warm ups but without an allotted time in which to
complete. In ASA you have 5 pitches or 1min from the time the last
out was recorded. Do you guys doing college have a speed up rule
that our UIC was unaware of? She informed us to allow the 5 pitches
and not to <b>rush it</b>. Average time between innings seemed to
be six to seven minutes X seven innings, you are losing lots of time.
How do you guys doing college ball cope with it, or is really not
a big deal once conferences start?

Just wondering.

glen

Can you say Prima Donna?????

http://www.stopstart.freeserve.co.uk...ggrinshoot.gif

Look at it this way. They don't want to upset the coaches with the red pencils

Yes the College Game is S....L....O....W. All you can do is deal with it. There is NOTHING in the rulebook that allows us to speed things up.

Glen,
It's also "fall ball" and that is much slower than the regular season.

Steve M

Steve,

Not sure I agree with you regarding "Fall Ball" being slower than regular games....At least around here. In fact 2 schools that are Notorious for being slow, are actually quicker in the fall.....I believe it's because the coach doesn't think as much :)

Kellers - Maybe that's a Pennsylvania thing for college fall ball. We don't track either offensive or defensive conferences, allow free substitution, and seem to have a number of players in fall games that I never see in the spring. You're right, the coaches don't think about strategy that much, but they are using the games for some tuning & teaching.

Addition - Even with the slower pace of fall ball games, I'm not usually seeing games that go longer than 1:40 and even had one last week that was under an hour.

Steve M

[Edited by Steve M on Oct 6th, 2003 at 05:22 PM]

Steve,

I understand what you are saying. There are some fall "Tournaments" where we have open substitution, No charged Conferences, ect...Then we have the 7 inning 3hr and 10 min fiasco we experienced 2 weeks ago in 50 degrees, with a 10-15 mile wind, some rain(no rain delays though) and a team from Tennessee, who seemed to believe that the NCAA championship was on the line, and drove everybody absolutely insane.

We walked off the diamond wondering where "Fall Ball" went. Oh well, done until January. Will you be heading to the big Meeting in Chicago?

Mike wrote:

<b>Look at it this way. They don't want to upset the coaches with the red pencils.</b>

And I did not intend to upset the coach I did with 2 OBS calls
at HP.
Same catcher, twice blocked the plate well before ball reached
and the sliding runner had no opportunity to reach the dish.
She actually committed the act three times, but dropped the ball
on the third one. Coach informed me that the college umpires
normally gave a little more leadway to a play of that nature.
Told her was not a college umpire, but don't think even they would
have allowed a block as early as her F2 was doing. Had one of her
batters keep bat over plate on an attempted bunt, [ball bounced to
plate] without even a hint of drawing the bat back and when I called
it a strike, she said that was not my call to make, [I stated "she went"
Strike.] that it was FU's call and that I called it without asking
him if batter "Swung". I call a lot of AFA whose rules are largely taken
from NCAA. If batter leaves bat over plate without withdrawing it,
then regardless of ball location, pitch is a strike.

Guess we all have something to learn.

glen

Glen:

In AFA does the batter not have to offer at the ball with the bat for it to be called a strike? I am wondering, because ASA, USSSA and I believe NFHS (though I don't have the book here with me at work) all require an offer be made. Just the mere act of squaring to bunt, and holding the bat over the plate is not enough to get a strike call. There has to be movement, in the judgement of the umpire, to the ball.

Scott,
Glen said in the past that AFA follows NCAA's requirement that the bat be pulled back, otherwise it's a strike. Whereas in ASA & Fed - dunno 'bout U-trip - the bat may be held out over the plate & ready to strike at the ball without that being considered offering at the pitch.

Steve M

Kellers,
Chances are really good that I will not make the Chicago meeting - too many iffy things at work & with family. Maybe next time. Meanwhile, 1 more fall ball date left & then I'm done on the field but still have a few clinics to attend before it starts again at the end of Feb.

Steve M

Learn something new everyday!

Scott,

Steve is correct. AFA adopted NCAA's rules almost to the
letter. Another thing I am beginning to like is that in or
for intereference to be called, you just about have to have
contract. Naturally there are many forms of interference,
but AFA UIC's [all I have worked for] always make mention of
the fact that you must have contact for interference to be
called. The mere fact that a batter will bring the bat way
back towards the catcher to slow her attempt to throw out a
runner is not interference unless contact. The mere fact that
a base runner slows in front of a defensive player attempting
to field a batted ball is not interference unless runner is waving
arms or skipping back and forth. I called interference on a runner
for slowing and remaining in front of defender until just before
the ball reached her. The defender had lost sight of the ball and
it bounced up and hit her in the neck. My UIC did not like my
judgment on the call, but finally agreed that this type of disruption
had to be called. I also ejected her for USC....

BTW, Yankees will play Cubs in series......http://www.spao.de/pict/smilies/biglaugh.gif

glen

Regardless of what the rules require the batter to do, I assume all codes allow the PU to call a swing a strike without the BU.