Local baseball coaches happy with change

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

All three of Van Wert County’s high school baseball coaches are pleased with a decision by Ohio High School Athletic Association’s Board of Directors that will slightly alter the season, starting in 2019.

Last fall, the board rejected a proposal to extend the season by two weeks, but by a 7-2 vote last Thursday the same board reversed course and approved a proposal by the Ohio Baseball Coaches Association to extend the season one week beginning next year.

The maximum number of regular season games won’t be affected by the change, but the regular season will be one week longer. The 2019 state tournament will be June 6, 7 and 8 instead of May 30, 31 and June 1.

Van Wert has dealt with more than a half dozen rainouts or postponements since the season began in late March, and head coach Charlie Witten said he’s in favor of the pending change.

“I definitely like the decision to extend the baseball season,” Witten stated. “It will give teams more opportunities to get games made up and hopefully make it so teams do not have to schedule six games in a week.”

“We have a stretch of eight games in nine days starting April 30, now that we are rescheduling games we have missed,” Witten added.”

Longtime Crestview head coach Jim Wharton has dealt with countless rainouts and postponements over the years and with pitching restrictions in place, he said he’s excited about the decision to extend the season by a week.

“With the recent and much needed pitching restrictions ruling I feel this decision was made having the health of our athletes a top priority,” Wharton explained. “Looking at other states, Ohio still has the fewest number of dates to complete it’s season. We have 42 days from the opening day of the season to the opening day of tournament play.”

“This extended one week is a positive start looking at all the factors pertaining to player conditioning, weather conditions, and the potential of higher quality baseball,” Wharton added.

Lincolnview head coach Eric Fishpaw echoed many of the same sentiments as his Van Wert County counterparts.

“I am very glad that it passed for the sake of the game of baseball, the players, and coaching staffs,” Fishpaw said. “It allows more practices to get teams better and improve the quality of the game. It also allows us to play in some warmer weather.”

“Games can be more spread out throughout the season and there are make up dates available for when the weather does not permit us to play, Fishpaw continued. “The spring is such a small sample size of what the season is and extending it can help players continue to improve and get better even if it is five or six extra days to play or practice.”

Other states, including Indiana and Michigan already have longer baseball seasons compared to Ohio. Indiana’s state semifinals and finals will be played June 15 and 16, while Michigan’s will be played June 14-16.