Baseball playoffs to have mixed formats

    Class 5A baseball playoffs will take longer to decide which schools will compete for state championships.
    A small group of principals from the Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s highest classification recently voted to have both single-elimination rounds and best-of-three rounds, beginning with the 2013-14 school year.
    The principals also approved a proposal to limit the number of innings a pitcher  may throw per game or round.
    Under the new rule, the bi-district (first) playoff round will consist of one-game eliminations for half the 32 teams which qualify.
    The format for the next two rounds (regionals and quarterfinals) will change to best-of-three games in which the higher seeds will have home-field advantage.
    When the top four teams have been determined for the semifinal and championship rounds, the format will return to single-elimination play.
    To accommodate the additional games, the Class 5A regular season will end a week earlier than the six other classes. If inclement weather forces postponement of a game, the round may be finished on a Sunday.
    The authors of the proposal
noted that the rule change is designed to get the best teams in the finals rather than the teams with the best pitchers.
 The additional games will make it necessary for playoff qualifiers to have two or more competent starters and depth in the pitching ranks.
    There will no longer be extended pitching duels for longer than 10 innings, and the pitcher will be restricted to limited innings of work.
    Under the new playoff pitching rule, a pitcher will be limited to throwing 10 innings per game or round.
    And if a pitcher throws more than four innings in a game, he may not pitch the next game. And one pitch thrown will constitute a full inning.
    These rules will apply for each round of the playoffs and for the semifinal and final rounds as one round together.
    The authors of the rule included principals from seven public schools.