George Guido: Breaking down new rules for spring sports

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, March 27, 2018 | 11:21 PM

Most high school baseball rules changes for 2018 are of the cosmetic variety, but softball has a major change in the way intentional walks are issued.

Starting this season, any coach, pitcher or catcher may request an intentional walk without pitches in order to “maximize the flow of the game.”

The request doesn't necessarily need to be made when the at-bat starts. It can be done at any time, no matter what the count is.

Baserunners have to be careful, however. If a girl on base moves up with the intentional walk and overruns the next base, she can be called out if tagged out before returning to the base.

If the bases are loaded and a girl overruns the next base and is tagged out before the runner from third base scores, the run doesn't count.

Also in softball, wristbands with a playbook/playcard attached as equipment have been defined.

The wristband “shall be a single solid color other than optic yellow.”

Umpires no longer will be required to inspect equipment before the game. The rule requiring head coaches to verify that their players are “legally and properly equipped” will be enforced.

When a pitcher is removed from a game, the umpire now has the authority to “allow a reasonable number of warm-up pitches.” Up to now, there were no guidelines, although five pitches served as a default number over the years.

Batters now must make an attempt to avoid being hit by a pitched ball between home plate and the batter's box.

The rule previously had been omitted when the rulebooks were printed.

• In baseball, uniform standards have been adopted for the ball itself.

While a school can use either horsehide or cowhide balls, they must be 5 or 5¼ ounces in weight and have a circumference of 9 to 9¼ inches.

Each baseball must have an mark that reflects National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) manufacturing standards.

The National Federation of State High School Athletic Associations (NFHS) now requires an authentication mark on all baseballs — something most schools were doing already.

Also, non-wood bats that have exposed rivets, pins, rough or sharp edges or any form of exterior fastener or attachments are prohibited.

• The national rulesmakers also told school officials to do away with what's called the national anthem standoffs.

That's what it is called when players try to stare down an opponent after the national anthem is observed. Also, intimidating opponents or refusing to leave their respective baselines before the other team departs is also taboo.

Coaches can be held accountable for such player behaviors.

Freeport volleyball sign

Freeport's volleyball team, reigning state champs, will pose with the sign commemorating the title drive at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday.

The team and others will gather at the sign greeting motorists on the borough end of the Freeport Veterans Bridge spanning Buffalo Creek.

Another sign is located on Route 128 South near the community park entrance.

1K for Speedy

St. Joseph's Prep's season ended with a second-round PIAA loss to Abington.

But it was a memorable season for Hawks coach William “Speedy” Morris, who won his 1,000th game as a basketball coach.

His 50-year career has spanned the high school ranks at Roman Catholic and LaSalle College. He is in his 17th season at St. Joe's and is the only Pennsylvania coach to have 300 wins at two schools.

Morris, 75, coached at LaSalle in the Atlantic 10, putting in 17 seasons with the men's team and two with the women.

After the PIAA loss, Morris told the Philadelphia Inquirer he plans on returning for his 51st season next year. He will turn 76 on April 20 and has 1,009 victories.

Six of his players have gone on to the NBA.

George Guido is a Valley News Dispatch scholastic sports correspondent. His column appears Wednesdays.