I’m out here in rightfield just watching the dandelions grow (Rightfield by Peter, Paul and Mary)/
Hello fastpitch fans.
In the past two bulletins I’ve published somewhat of a watch list of teams in Divisions 3 and 4. In the process I was hoping to hear from readers about teams that we get little information about that need to be on the watch list. Keep in mind the Watch Lists this time of the year are The Fastpitch Chronicle Group’s thoughts on teams that we could see at the sectional semi-final level and beyond come late May and early June.
I received a great email from the Lake Michigan lakeshore area today from a fan. It was well written and included a paragraph about how much the writer has enjoyed following other parts of the state over the years of reading these bulletins and more on the FPC website.
So we’ve added Kewaunee and Mishicot to the Division 3 watch list for this year. Here is some informaition I can pass along to you about those to up and coming programs.
Kewaunee - So here’s the stats…Kewaunee returns most of their roster from last season. Most importantly they return a strong pitcher in Ellie Olsen and a solid SS in Brooke Geier, both now juniors. Olsen had some serious strikeout numbers last year and an ERA around 2. Geier is the leader offensively having hit over .500 last year with good pop and speed. Olsen also hit near .500 last year and they have solid pieces around them. They started off the season with a nice 2-1 win over Chilton last week, in which Olsen had 15Ks. It should be a battle with them and Algoma for the conference title.
Mishicot…they lost 6 seniors from a team that finished 3rd behind Wrightstown and Chilton in the Olympian last year and went to state the year before, but return their primary pitcher and several solid bats. Alyssa Ahumada was the all area player of the year in Manitowoc County last year as a sophomore after compiling a 14-1 record and an ERA of about 2.40. She had 145 K’s in 136 innings and just 24 walks. She also hit over .430. They have 3 others returning that hit over .300 last year. A key for them will be the success of 2 high potential Freshman in Katie Koeppel and Kourtney LeRoy. It appears they are both slated for starting spots and could provide the offense needed to fill out a solid lineup top to bottom. They were supposed to open against Chilton tonight, but that has been postponed. They should compete with Random Lake for a conference title in the new Big East conference.
So there you have it from someone in the know along the lakeshore. I encourage everyone to forward this kind of information along so people can read it. Afterall, we must always keep in mind that there are people out there who continue to think they can sneak up on people. We all know those days are long gone.
The seven-team event in Poynette on Saturday has been cancelled and may be rescheduled for April 9th.
Questions about the DP/Flex rule continue to come in. There are really a lot of both umpires and coaches who do not totally understand how that rule works and how they as coaches can utilize it to their advantage. A number of years back I wrote some scenarios using Bug Tussle and Hooterville as the teams. Bug Tussle of course was sponsored by Sam Drucker’s General Store while Hooterville was sponsored by Petty Coat Junction with Bobbi Jo, Billi Jo and Betti Jo all playing for Hooterville under the astute guidance of Uncle Joe.
Here it is again for your reading and hopefully a total understanding of the rule.
If a team chooses to utilize the DP/Flex it must be noted on the lineup card handed in at the pre-game meeting between the head coaches and the umpires.
Basically the DP is a player designated to bat for one of the starting 9 defensive players but with some additional defensive possiblities. Let’s say that it is Bobbi Jo who gets penciled in as the DP. Let’s say that the coach want’s Bobbi Jo, the DP to bat in the third spot of the batting order. The coach writes in the Bobbi Jo’s first initial and last name in the #3 spot of the batting order. The coach then fills in the rest of the batting order through the #9 spot in the order. On the 10th line of the lineup card the coach lists Billi Jo and her position is Flex. The Flex, in this case Billi Jo can play any one of the nine defensive positions. So Uncle Joe puts a number 9 in the box where he had printed Flex after Billi Jo’s name. In the top of the first inning (this game is being played at Bug Tussle), Bobbi Jo, the DP is ont he bench cheering while Billi Jo is out in rightfield (perhaps watching the dandelions grow).
The difference between a designated hitter (baseball) and a designated player (DP) is that if the coach wishes he/she can put the DP into the game on defense at any time for any one of the defensive players other than the flex without having to report the difference in defenders from the previous inning. So in our Hooterville vs Bug Tussle game Bobbi Jo goes into play first base for Betti Jo who has been batting in the #8 spot in the batting order. That’s legal and does not require an announcement becuase there is no subsititution. They were both in the game all along. So now Betti Jo is sitting out the defensive half of the innin while Bobbi Jo, the DP and Billi Jo, the flex are both playing defense. That’s legal.
In the third inning all three sisters are placed in the field and the starting second sacker sits out for an inning. No reporting was required.
Remember always – the Flex player absolutely must be in the field when her team is on defense. If she is not out there when the first pitch of that half inning is thrown, there has been an unreported subsititution because – the flex must be playing a defensive position.
So remember – the DP and the flex can be playing defense at the same time legally with no substitution announced.
In the fourth inning Bobbi Jo, the DP doubles but she doesn’t run very fast so Uncle Jo sends Billli Jo, the Flex out to second base to run for her sister. Now, a substitution did occur because the flex can’t play offense in any way without being substituted in and the only place in the batting order she can substitute in is for the DP, in this case Bobbi Jo. Now the team is down to nine players and Bobbi Jo is out of the game for the first time. The half inning drags on and suddenly Billi Jo is now supposed to bat. Uncle Joe choose to re-enter Bobbi Jo for bill Jo. That’s legal and Billi Jo has now been substitituted for and is out of the game for her first time. Bobbi Jo then singles and Uncle Joe re-enters Billi Jo. This is legal as Billi Jo, like all players can be removed and re-enter one time. However, Bobbi Jo is now out of the game for the rest of the game because she has been substituted for two times. When the inning is over Uncle Jo takes Billi Joe out and substitutes in a player who has not been in the game previously. Billi Jo is now also out of the game for the rest of the game becuase it is he second time out of the game.
Key Points to remember are:
If the DP/Flex is used it must be used to start the game
A team can drop down to nine players by substituting the flex in for the DP or having the DP play defense and have the Flex sit out and not play defense.
The Flex player must play defense and if she is not out there a substitution has occured.
The DP and the Flex can both play defense at the same time.
For more reading and explanation on the DP/Flex rule I have posted a two-page explanation on the Poynette Fastpitch Organization website at pfo.clubexpress.com under the Documents tab. Just click on Documents and look for DP/Flex pdf.
So the question is – whose job is it to make sure that when there is a Flex player in the game that she is out there playing defense.
I believe the answer to that is two-fold. First the coach of the team using the DP/Flex must report the substitution if the Flex player is not going to be out there on defense. Secondly, the opposing team’s scorekeeper must catch it and appeal to the umpire that an unreported substitution has occurred. Then the umpire must confirm that suspicion correct and warn the offending coach that he/she has broken the rule and that the next time it happens the unreported substitute and the head coach are both restricted to the bench area for the rest of the game.
Good luck to all scorekeepers in the state on this duty.
Have a great day and
Keep it Rising!
Bob
