Ridge, one of the favorites to win the Group 4 baseball state championship, has been disqualified from the state tournament by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association following a pitch-count violation in its 8-1 quarterfinal win over Westfield on Thursday.
Ridge — the No. 7 team in the NJ.com Top 20 and top seed in the North 2, Group 4 section — violated the NJSIAA pitch-count rule that limits a pitcher to 150 pitches in a five-day calendar period.
By NJSIAA rule, if a pitch-count rule is broken, the penalty includes forfeit of the game in which the violation occurred.
Ridge ace Connor Byrne threw 69 pitches in the first-round win over Piscataway on Monday and threw 82 pitches in a game against Westfield, giving him 151 pitches within the five-day calendar period.
The NJSIAA conducted an investigation after Westfield athletic director Sandy Mamary told NJ Advance Media she filed a protest Friday morning to determine whether Byrne violated the pitch rule.
Westfield, the No. 8 seed in the section, advances to the semifinals because of the forfeit and faces fifth-seeded Bayonne on Tuesday.
“During Thursday’s quarterfinal game of the NJSIAA Section 2, Group 4 baseball tournament, Ridge High School violated pitch count rules. As a result, its pitcher was declared ineligible and, per rule, Ridge was required to forfeit. Westfield High School will now advance to face Bayonne High School on Tuesday,” according to an NJSIAA statement given to NJ Advance Media on Saturday.
Byrne was stellar in his outing against Westfield, scattering three hits, allowing one run, striking out six and lowering his season ERA to 0.72. He was removed in the sixth inning with one out and Ridge leading, 8-1.
According to NJSIAA rules, a pitcher is limited to 110 pitches in a single game, but if a pitcher reaches that threshold while facing a batter, a pitcher may continue to pitch until that batter reaches base or is retired or the third out of the inning is recorded. However, a pitcher cannot continue pitching past the 150-pitch limit within the five-day calendar period.
“The rules are there for the safety of the our student athletes and we have to make sure that we follow those rules to keep our athletes safe and healthy,” Mamary told NJ Advance Media. “This wasn’t a great situation, and the rules had to be upheld and so we move forward and we will do our best to compete.”
“It is a shame. I feel badly for the kids and coaches who have put in so much time and effort,” Ridge athletic director Richard Shello told NJ Advance Media in a statement. “Whether this is the result of a clerical or interpretive error, it was not done in an attempt to gain an advantage. Our coaching staff was operating in what they believed to be the spirit and letter of the rule. The kids do not deserve to be punished when they have done no wrong.”
Ridge coach Tom Blackwell told NJ Advance Media he was told he thought Byrne could finish the batter after reaching the 150-pitch limit, just like the 110-pitch threshold.
“It’s a shame that I know this isn’t a court of law, but there’s so much reasonable doubt that this was a decision that was made. And now, my kids don’t get a chance to play and compete for a championship,” Blackwell said.
Mamary said that Westfield and Ridge coaches checked in with the official pitch counter after each half inning, per the NJSIAA rule that was implemented this spring. Mamary said both coaches agreed that the Ridge pitcher threw 82 pitches.
But Blackwell said that both coaches weren’t checking with the official pitch counter every half inning. Blackwell said he checked in with Westfield coach Jay Cook in either the third or fourth inning and agreed on the number of pitches that were thrown up to that point of the contest.
Blackwell added there was no discussion between the two coaches after that.
“When that kid pitched his 82nd pitch, we stopped the game, we asked how many pitches they had because they are the home team and they confirmed that they had 82 pitches,” Mamary said. “The umpire said, ‘Yes, we have 82 pitches.’ (He) said back to my coach, ‘Yeah, there’s 82 pitches’. And we said, ‘OK.’”Now it’s kind of out of hands.
“Everything was confirmed verbally. Now they are going to go and put in NJ.com and when they did, that’s when it came up negative one.”
“When I put the game in the system, I put 82 because when it was brought to our attention at the game from their coach, he said that was 82,” Blackwell explained. “He talked to the umpire, and then the umpire talked to me and said it was 82. When we discussed it at the time, we said 82 and, ‘OK, he gets to finish the batter anyway, so the pitch count is irrelevant.’
“When I went to put it in the system, I put 82. I then got a phone call from somebody I trust who was there covering the game, he called me and said, ‘He actually did not throw 82 anyway. That he threw 81 and therefore, all of this discussion was irrelevant.’ So then I changed it in the system to 81.”
Westfield forfeited a game against Johnson on Wednesday after Mamary said one of their pitchers violated the same pitch-count rule. Mamary self-reported the violation to the NJSIAA.
By NJSIAA rule, coaches from both teams are supposed to exchange their pitching logs before a game during the pre-game meeting with the umpires. The log has to include the names, numbers and the pitches thrown by each pitcher.
Mamary said she wasn’t sure if the pre-game check happened before the Ridge game, but that Westfield coach Jay Cook knew how many pitches were available for each player for the game.
“We’re competitors. We would’ve much rather win on the field. I spoke to the kids yesterday. We had practice yesterday,” Mamary said. “Jay Cook is a terrific leader, and he speaks to these kids all the time. He’s constantly in touch with them. At first, we were just trying to keep them all together. Trying to explain to them what this means and them get to ready to go to compete and give our best effort in the tournament.”
Ridge’s season ends with a 25-4 record, with a share of the Skyland Conference’s Delaware Division title and as runners-up in the Somerset County Tournament.
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You can reach Luis Torres at ltorres@njadvancemedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter @ByLuisTorres.
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