The South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) is reviewing whether a Summerville High School baseball team may be disqualified from competing for a state championship due to a pitch count violation. On Wednesday, the team defeated Ashley Ridge High 6-4 in the South Carolina Class 5-A Lower State championship game. However, it appears that the team’s starting pitcher Thayer Tavormina may have broken the league’s pitch count rule.
According to SCHSL rules, if a pitcher throws on consecutive days, they have a maximum of 75 pitches on the second day, regardless of their pitch count on the first day. Tavormina threw two pitches in Wednesday’s game against Ashley Ridge and then threw 83 more pitches in Thursday’s deciding game, putting him in violation of the rule.
Ashley Ridge informed the umpires that Tavormina had exceeded his pitch count limit due to pitching in back-to-back games. An SCHSL official confirmed that they were reviewing the situation and no decision had been reached yet regarding the rule. If Summerville is forced to forfeit, Ashley Ridge will move on to compete for the state championship series.
Rules such as limiting pitch counts over consecutive days are designed to prevent injuries in baseball at all levels of play. While these measures have been put in place to protect players from injury, concerns about player health still exist even at the highest levels of professional sports. As pointed out by CBS Sports’ Matt Snyder in a recent column, injuries are still a significant concern for Major League Baseball teams and their players.
