(Update: The NJSIAA has upheld Westfield’s protest. Click here for the story.)
Westfield submitted an official protest Friday to the NJSIAA alleging a pitch count violation involving a Ridge pitcher in Thursday’s North 2, Group 4 sectional quarterfinal between the Red Devils and Westfield, according to Sandy Mamary, Westfield’s athletic director. The protest, if upheld, could render the pitcher ineligible and force Ridge’s disqualification from the tournament.
The pitcher, Connor Byrne, hurled 69 pitches in Monday’s first round game against Piscataway, which Ridge won 11-1. Byrne then pitched 5.1 innings Thursday against Westfield, helping Ridge to an 8-1 victory that ended Westfield’s season.
The discrepancy concerns whether Byrne threw 81 or 82 pitches.
The game’s box score, on nj.com, initially showed Byrne had tossed 82 pitches, which would violate the state’s scholastic rules. NJSIAA rules stipulate that a pitcher may not throw more than 150 pitches in a five-day span.
With Byrne’s 69-pitch outing Monday, that would mean Byrne totaled 151 pitches, tipping him over the limit.
But the box score, its stats submitted by Ridge in typical nj.com proceeding, now shows 81 pitches, which would hold Byrne to 150 and stop him at the threshold.
According to NJSIAA rules, “Failure to remove a pitcher when he has reached the maximum number of pitches thrown is the basis for protest by the opposing coach. If the protest is upheld, the penalty will be forfeiture of the game. It is the coach’s responsibility to know the pitch count.”
“I submitted an official protest about the pitch-count violation,” Mamary told Hi’s Eye Sports. “It appears as though their pitcher pitched one too many balls in the five-day rule.”
Under single-game pitch rules, a pitcher may finish his final batter even if it forces him over the pitch limit. But that rule doesn’t apply to the five-day limit.
“Once the 150-pitch limit in five calendar days is reached, the pitcher may not continue with the current batter,” NJSIAA rules state.
The game’s result, and the fate of two teams’ seasons, teeters in the balance. Mamary hopes to hear back Friday night or Saturday.
As it stands, Ridge, the No. 1 seed in the North 2, Group 4 sectional tournament, will face No. 5 seed Bayonne in the semifinals Tuesday. But, if Ridge is indeed disqualified, No. 8 seed Westfield will advance instead.
The NJSIAA and Ridge High School have not responded to requests for comment.
