Spring baseball tourney standards finalized

The MIAA Baseball Committee met Wednesday morning to put the finishing touches on a 2021 spring tournament.

A significant concern was determining who would host a game when teams reach the state semifinals and finals. It’s not a problem in the sectional stage of the postseason, where the higher seed would host.

One proposal is that the higher seed would get the opportunity to host the state semifinals and/or finals. Super 8 tournament director Don Fredericks and others felt a simple coin flip would be the fairest way to decide the home team; that motion passed unanimously.

Longtime umpire Joe Cacciatore successfully argued that a second umpire be at home plate for pregame instructions, contending there was a chance any miscommunication could be prevented.

The committee also looked into the new MIAA power rating system. A sticking point: the margin of victory (MOV) cap that factors into the ratings. Baseball and softball are using a five-run cap recommended by the Tournament Management Committee.

The MIAA policy is for capping the point differential, eliminating the possibility of a team running up the score solely for rankings purposes.

Also at issue is making sure schools don’t exceed the 20-player mandate for this year. Site directors will be responsible for policing.

Key dates for the 2021 baseball season:

■ Since it is an open tournament for this spring alone, schools must announce whether they are opting in by June 2.

■ The cutoff date for teams to play games which count toward their record is June 15, with tournament seeding occurring the following day.

■ All four sectionals, including the West, which has traditionally used the Walker System for seeding teams, will be seeded by winning percentage this year.