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West Forsyth baseball team is forced to forfeit two games
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Published: May 15, 2009
West Forsyth appeared to clinch the Central Piedmont 4-A's No. 1 seed for the baseball playoffs when it defeated Mount Tabor 8-1 in a one-game playoff Tuesday.
But Wednesday morning, that win no longer mattered.
T.R. Richards, the athletics director at West, discovered that one of West's players had a physical expire April 30. Richards reported the infraction to the NCHSAA, and West forfeited two conference wins.
So instead of having a No. 1 seed and home-field advantage for the first four rounds of the playoffs, the Titans (11-9) will enter the postseason as the CPC's No. 3 seed. Still, they'll be at home for at least the first round, opening tonight at 7 against Central Cabarrus (13-7).
"We inadvertently played a young man two games at end of the season after his physical had expired," Richards said. "They have to have one every 365 days. We knew that, and we just missed it.
"I told the kids yesterday, and I said, ‘Hey guys, it's my fault, I should have caught this sooner and all I can do is apologize, but you are still in the dance and if you are going to win it all you have to beat everyone anyway.'"
West forfeited wins over North Forsyth and North Davidson. The fallout from the forfeits made Mount Tabor the No. 1 seed, North Davidson No. 2, and West No. 3. Davie County, the No. 4 seed, was not affected.
The normal NCHSAA fine for self-reporting the use of an ineligible player is $250, and Rick Strunk of the NCHSAA said that Richards did report the violation.
Richards added that the player in question had a physical on Wednesday and is now eligible again.
"The parents are upset that their kids earned a conference championship, and they are upset because it was a paperwork snafu," Richards said. "We lost home-field advantage through the playoffs. Now, Mount Tabor will be at home until they lose (or reach the regional championship series)."
Mount Tabor (13-6) will open at home tonight against East Burke. Mat Batts, who pitched a perfect game last week in his last start, is scheduled to start for the Spartans.
Thirty-two teams from Northwest North Carolina qualified for the playoffs in four classifications. Saturday is the first-round deadline, but several other area teams also have games scheduled tonight, and Reagan opened last night at Asheboro in Class 3-A.
All four of the 2008 state champions -- Greenville Rose (4-A), Rocky Mount (3-A), Hillsborough Orange (2-A) and Cherryville (1-A) -- are back in the playoffs. Second- and third-round games are scheduled next week. Regional championship series are scheduled May 28-30, and state-championship series are scheduled June 5-6.
■ Mason Linker can be reached at 727-7324 or at mlinker@wsjournal.com.
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