My first game...

[VAUmp]

21-1 Final Score (JV Game)

 

Home Team:  Terrible.  The catcher came up to me in Top 1 and said, "Pitching is going to be a problem, after our starter, no one has ever pitched before."  The starter was TERRIBLE, but not nearly as bad as the three that followed.  VT actually quit taking bases on passed balls and struck out on purpose twice.

 

2 hour 45 minutes - 5 innings

[VAUmp]

I told the catcher that as long as he didn't dive to catch the ball, I can call it a strike.  I was giving at least 7 inches off the plate (when I could).  Even then, I still couldn't call strikes.  The VT coach even asked me if I could expand the zone, and I told him "I'm trying, but it has to be in the same zip code for me to call a strike"  Oh, and this was a Friday night, which made everything just a little bit worse.

[law_reb]

In Mississippi we schedule a JV/Varsity doubleheader.  The JV plays first, and the game is 5 innings or 1:30.  Never have to worry about 3 hour JV games that way.  And since they would like to play the full 5, the players are motivated to keep things moving.   So far this year all 5 of my JV games have gone the full 5 innings in less thasn 1:30.  That's not always been the case, sometimes the pitching(or lack thereof) will not allow the game to move quickly and the time limit comes into play.       

[grayhawk]

Had a very similar 24-4 varsity game between two small schools.  No time limit, and we got 6.5 done in 2:40 (thankful that the home team won).  In the 5th, two home batters struck out on purpose so we could get out of the inning.  The VT pitcher had never pitched before and balked almost every pitch.  We only called one of the most egregious ones, and the home coach thanked us for not calling the rest.

 

Told both coaches after the 5th that I was going to open up the zone, and both agreed that it was a good idea.