Andover Softball.

[wsushox1]

Thoughts?

[wsushox1]

Well Sub is giving me his on twitter.

Apparently no effort was made to prepare the fields afterwards?

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

I loathe the KSHAA.

[ShockdaWorld]

Andover girls got screwed. KSHSAA is a joke. TRYC (or whatever it's called) should be ashamed of their "effort."

[bleednblackngold]

Bad rule. Not sure how this rule relates to other states but looks really crappy. Why we put up with kshssa is beyond me.

[SubGod22]

This is a one time thing, but I was told it was brought up here so I thought I'd chime in because I am pissed. Yes, my oldest niece plays for the Andover softball team so I may have a "biased" POV. But Andover was told if they could get the game going by midnight that they'd finish the game. When the rain stopped and the skies cleared and the sun came out, it wasn't 15 minutes later that word came that the game was called and Andover would therefor lose because they were down one in the previous inning. We all understand that rule, but the fact that it was used, in a State tournament game with a chance to play for a State championship on the line with ABSOLUTELY ZERO EFFORT to get just one of their fields ready to play a half inning of softball is what's inexcusable. It can't be blamed on a lack of manpower because the softball team and many of the parents were ready to help get the playing surface prepared and ready.

KSHSAA has yet to explain why such a decision was made when it was without attempting to finish the game. They continue to try and hide behind the NFHS rule about reverting back to the prior inning even though that rule was established to decide games rained out in April and not championship games in May. I've been pretty vocal on Twitter as some of you know and I'm not alone. There have been a lot of comments from people not in anyway associated with AHS.

I've officiated for many years with the KSHSAA patch on my sleeve. They've always claimed that they exist for the kids and everything they do is in the kids best interests. There have been rules and decisions dictated by them in the past that I haven't agreed with as I think it actually holds Kansas kids back from excellence and hurts their chances of reaching the next level. But with some of the decisions lately, and especially the Andover decision that cost these girls their one and only chance at playing for a State title is the last straw for me. I will never work under the KSHSAA umbrella again. My brother has made the same decision. We both loved officiating and for us, it was about the game and the kids. But if KSHSAA doesn't care about kids or the integrity of a State title then there's no point in them even existing at this point.

KSHSAA is a joke. This decisions was absolute bullshit and they should have to answer the questions coming from fans and media without hiding behind the rule. The decision is what needs to be addressed and they won't go near it because they know they've screwed up and screwed a bunch of teenage girls. I'm thinking at this point we should put KSHSAA on trial for screwing minors.

If you have any questions for me you know where to find me.

I'm out.

[Dave Stalwart]

This is a one time thing, but I was told it was brought up here so I thought I'd chime in because I am pissed. Yes, my oldest niece plays for the Andover softball team so I may have a "biased" POV. But Andover was told if they could get the game going by midnight that they'd finish the game. When the rain stopped and the skies cleared and the sun came out, it wasn't 15 minutes later that word came that the game was called and Andover would therefor lose because they were down one in the previous inning. We all understand that rule, but the fact that it was used, in a State tournament game with a chance to play for a State championship on the line with ABSOLUTELY ZERO EFFORT to get just one of their fields ready to play a half inning of softball is what's inexcusable. It can't be blamed on a lack of manpower because the softball team and many of the parents were ready to help get the playing surface prepared and ready.

KSHSAA has yet to explain why such a decision was made when it was without attempting to finish the game. They continue to try and hide behind the NFHS rule about reverting back to the prior inning even though that rule was established to decide games rained out in April and not championship games in May. I've been pretty vocal on Twitter as some of you know and I'm not alone. There have been a lot of comments from people not in anyway associated with AHS.

I've officiated for many years with the KSHSAA patch on my sleeve. They've always claimed that they exist for the kids and everything they do is in the kids best interests. There have been rules and decisions dictated by them in the past that I haven't agreed with as I think it actually holds Kansas kids back from excellence and hurts their chances of reaching the next level. But with some of the decisions lately, and especially the Andover decision that cost these girls their one and only chance at playing for a State title is the last straw for me. I will never work under the KSHSAA umbrella again. My brother has made the same decision. We both loved officiating and for us, it was about the game and the kids. But if KSHSAA doesn't care about kids or the integrity of a State title then there's no point in them even existing at this point.

KSHSAA is a joke. This decisions was absolute bullshit and they should have to answer the questions coming from fans and media without hiding behind the rule. The decision is what needs to be addressed and they won't go near it because they know they've screwed up and screwed a bunch of teenage girls. I'm thinking at this point we should put KSHSAA on trial for screwing minors.

If you have any questions for me you know where to find me.

I'm out.

Miss you.

[ShockerFever]

Ok first, i really feel for Andover. I especially sympathize with a local team in a situation like this when it benefits a team from the northeast bubble of the state. As a neutral observer, I will just play the devil's advocate here, since I'm not as emotionally invested.

First off, you're assuming Shawnee Heights wouldn't have scored in their half of the inning. They could have scored 2 runs and won. So to say that Andover had this won is not completely accurate. We don't know what would have happened which makes this situation all the more screwed up. So ya, I get that.

What were the actual on-field conditions? Was there standing water in areas of the outfield? With all the rain we've had recently, and with fields not as high up to handle such rains, I can see that as a possibility. So how exactly are you supposed to make the field playable? Take a giant vacuum and suck up all the standing water? What had to be done to get the fields in game condition? Was it humanly possible in the time slot allowed?

And if you really pushed it to play under questionable field conditions, how fair would it have been to been playing that last half of the inning under those conditions? That seems like it would have been detrimental to both teams, even more so Andover, since they were the ones that were gonna be taking the field. And what if they lost while sliding around on the outfield missing out on a routine fly ball. Would Andover fans have bitched and screamed unfair then?

This is a case where KSHSAA had their hands tied. I agree it's a lousy rule and the game could have and should have been finished the next day or something. It wouldn't have been that hard to do I'm sure. But it was a rule. And whether it was a bad rule or not, everyone knew the playing field before the game began. Sometimes, it just sucks. The weather has effected outcomes in all outdoor sports at a all levels and it's not always fair. But you can't control it either. This was made especially bad because of what was at stake and the situation the game had become. The real culprit here was the weather, not the KSHSAA. And that's really the only thing you can be mad at here.

It sucks but unfortunately that's life.

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

eyeroll emoji

[AndShock]

Well at least now we know what it takes to draw SubGod out.

[ShockerFever]

eyeroll emoji

No counter points? Just eye rolls?

Got it.

[ShockdaWorld]

No counter points? Just eye rolls?

Got it.

The counterpoint was already made in Subgod's post. There was ZERO attempt to even try to get any of the fields in playing conditions. Also, there were other fields in close proximity that were turf where the game could've been moved if the KSHSAA had put in the effort to make a phone call or two. The rule that they can't play the next day is a stupid one, but it is a rule, so they did enforce the rule as it's written. Mother Nature definitely had something to do with the screw job these teams suffered, but with even a small amount of effort, the KSHSAA could've insured that Mother Nature and a bad rule didn't screw them out of their chance. I have zero association with AHS, so I don't have a dog in the fight. You're right there's no way to know what would've happened in the bottom of the 7th. The Shawnee team was also screwed in my opinion, because they weren't given the opportunity to show that they could come back and win the game. Bad rule, Mother Nature, and mostly a complete lack of effort from the KSHSAA cost both teams a chance to determine the outcome on the field.