SE DII DIstrict & Regional Tournament

[mhs95_06]

Do the possibilities for even starting the first game look pretty bleak for today? If postponed, any idea when the make-ups would be?

Since D3 SF games are scheduled at Unioto tomorrow, would they move the SF games away from Unioto and take away Unioto's homefield advantage? Or would they play at Unioto Thursday? If they played Thursday, would they still play the final Friday, or would they move it to say 3pm Saturday after the the D3 final at 1pm?

If the schedule gets compressed in time between the SFs and the finals, which of the four teams would that favor? Which team has the deepest pitching? Of each team's pitcher that has pitched the most innings, which of those four has the lowest percent of her team's total innings?

Just things I'm wondering about how the weather may affect the competitive balance, or imbalance when you factor in the unfair advantage the Unioto has being originally scheduled to play at home.

[danicalifornia]

Please stop whining about it being a huge advantage for Unioto. A field is a field, the only advantage that Unioto has is that they don't have to travel.

Unioto's #2 pitcher tore her ACL vs. Logan Elm during the opening week, so their #1 has pitched virtually every inning since, so if wear and tear is a concern, I'd say that she would be the one that it would affect the most. Unioto's field is pretty good at holding up and they have a great crew to take care of it, so if there is a chance to play anywhere, that would be the best place to play.

[mhs95_06]

Now that the games have been postponed until Thursday, is there the possibility that the distrcit championship is played Saturday rather than Friday?

With the convention being in the sectional that that the team in the upper position in each match-up was the home team, I assume that both #1 seeds will be the home team and bat last in the semifinals. Does that mean if both #1 seeds win in the semifials, that Unioto would be playing on their home field , but have to bat first? That would be some measure toward being more fair for the team that gets to play on their home field to have to take the less strategically advantageous half of each inning, especially the last inning.

[Xtoxxviii]

or imbalance when you factor in the unfair advantage the Unioto has being originally scheduled to play at home.

http://www.kleenex.com/

Unioto does not have a senior on the team, start two freshmen and three sophomores.
There are reserve teams with more experience than the U has.
Then factor in our #2 pitcher is out and our #3 pitcher is in eighth grade.
I doubt one would could classify them at an UNFAIR advantage!

[hititbaby]

So I would guess they also start 4 juniors. As far as experience this group of girls have played since they were small they know the game. We know they didn't get any of there experience from Unioto's reserve team since they haven't fielded one in several years. A school Unioto's size should be able to field a reserve team.

[Ironman92]

Unioto vs Warren Local should be a dandy of a district semifinal.

I still don't understand how Unioto gets to play at home in the districts. Doesn't matter if their kids are freshmen or seniors. It's not their fault in any way.....but it's not fair in any way.

[Cap'n Scoop]

The Unioto softball team did not make the rules and had to play good ball to get to the Districts. BUT, a 2 1/2 hour bus trip is in NO way fair to any team.

[softballer24]

I agree Cap & Scoop, its not right that 1 team has a 2 plus hour drive to get to game!

[mhs95_06]

Valley, Minford, and Northwest apparently put in bids as they are hosting district SF and finals games in D3 and D4. Belpre and Waterford and D4 just as soon go to Unioto, and D4 with Warren, Unioto, and Gallia just as soon go to Minford so no one plays on their homefield. Let Unioto host other divisions!

[mhs95_06]

Its the home field advantage that needs to be gotten away from, and it is more in softball than in basketball, and they never let it happen in basketball. The travel can never be fair. For instance in basketball Marietta went two hours to Southeastern to play Jackson on a neutral court which was a much shorter trip for Jackson.

[FANOSPORTS]

In every sport there will always be a couple teams that have to travel 60-100 miles for district or regional games. It depends on how the districts are split and they do it every couple years (when OHSAA moves teams up/down in divisions) but for the most part, the locations are set up in the best neutral site & setting that "put in bids" on the games, regardless of the sport. My personal opinion on the home team debate is that the home team has no advantage when "my team is better than theirs". If we lose, 95% of the time we lost to the better team. Things happen and the other 5% can be blamed on players under performing, errors, turnovers, refs, umpires, field conditions, fans etc. but I'll take that 95% chance if my team is better than theirs going in.

[bman]

It's sad most of the talk is about the venue and not the teams. I could see an argument for football or basketball with bigger crowds and the like, but Unioto has a nice softball facility and it isn't that much of an advantage. Logan Elm beat them last year in a district final.

Should be an interesting two games - two SEOAL teams, an MSL team and an SVC team.

[Cap'n Scoop]

I'm not upset so much about Unioto on their home field...it is a great venue. I'm upset that if you are on the Eastern edge of the SE District you have to travel 2+ hours to the western edge to play a team that doesn't even have to take a bus to get to the game.

In no way is Unioto at fault. I don't blame them at all. I just think the District Powers That Be need to make some kind of adjustment to even the travel time. We go by a lot of really nice fields on the way to where the Districts are played every year.

[mhs95_06]

I see the D3 games at Unioto have been moved from tonight to Friday. Does that mean, assuming the D2 games are played tomorrow as scheduled, that the D2 championship will be Saturday?

[Cap'n Scoop]

Logan??? Who said Logan? I'm thinking Jackson or Alexander.

[Xtoxxviii]

Again youre back to did either of those sites even put in a bid to host? The OHSAA cannot award bids to schools who do not want to host.

One thing Iv e noticed in recent years is the OHSAA consistently awards bids to sites who indicate a desire to be there for the long haul. If you keep moving sites around to accomodate schools you dont even know are going to be there until the week before the tourney, you may wind up having to constantly look for schools who want the job.

I would think it is one reason the OHSAA is hesitant to move the football finals from Mssillon/Canton to Columbus because the Stark County folks have become pros at hosting, even though it is not centrally located.

My guess is, because of their history of doing a great job, that Unioto will get the bid for as long as they want it. And you have to admit that their staff and boosters really go out of their way to make visitors welcome.

But this discussion, like many on this site, is a moot point because it is what it is, and personally I would drive to the moon if it meant our girls were still playing softball. If we win the district, we go back to Pickerington, which is even a longer trip, and if we win there we go to Akron, which is longer yet. I can only dream about making those two trips.

Amen brother…………..

I think a very good and deserving team will win this district and I hope the winner takes the entire tournament. I would love for this team to be the U but realistic think we are a year away yet. “So you belly-achers get your A.D.’s off their butts and bid on this District Tourney if you don’t want it in Frenchtown next year…………………”

The X will be there today standing down the third base line enjoying what will be one of the finest and most competitive District Tournaments in all of Ohio.

[mhs95_06]

What do you think the chances are of these games going off as scheduled to day. I'd like to come to root on the two SEOAL teams, but its a 2 hr trip, and I don't want to have much risk that they won't be played, and I have a great option in a local 4:30 NCAA D3 baseball game with our local team playing in the semis of the winners bracket. Looks to be some rain in NW Ohio moving toward Chilli. Is the field capable of taking on some rain and still being playable? If there is a delay, does that put the 2nd game in jeopardy of not being completed due to darkness?

On the subject of turning in bids for softball district tourneys, do they bid on hosting a SE district tourney or bidding to host the D2 softball district tourney. It should not be possible to play on your home site in district play. Travel is not going to be fair no matter how you do it. What would be wrong with scheduling it to be played at Minford if they put in a bid to hold a softball district final?

[Cap'n Scoop]

I agree that the best team will win the District and I wish all the teams good luck. Maybe I'm just sore cuz I don't get off work until 5:00 and will not get to watch my daughter and her teammates play tonight and must save some vacation time for volleyball.

BTW: Warren Local will NEVER be given a SE District Tourny...no one wants to go there...lol

[mhs95_06]

Perhaps I misunderstand your point, but so far the only ones unhappy with the Unioto site are from Washington County, which is understandable. What I dont understand is why you think is a satisfactory solution to move the DII tournament to Minford, which would be an even farther drive from Washington County.

Because it wouldn't be home field advantage for any team! To me that far outweighs driving distance inequities which can never be made fair. I strongly support home field in sectionals for all the better seeded teams, and if they wanted to continue that in districts that would be fine also, but don't give just one team in the district the opportunity to have the district games at their home field!

[superblue]

Just have a few Questions... How Many years has Unioto hosted the district tournament for SB???... How many times has Unioto made it to the regions?? My personal opinion is that home field advantage is quite overrated and can sometimes be a detriment...