.png)
Teams must win once to win regionals, twice in one day to win semistate
BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
The IHSAA changed its state tournament format for baseball to where teams will now have to win one game to win a regional and two games in one day to win a semistate, according to a vote of its Executive Committee at its March 24 meeting.
Previously, schools had to win two games in one day to win a regional and one game to win a semistate.
The new format starts this year. It will have no impact on sectionals, which run from May 24-29, or the state finals.
The Executive Committee voted 17-0 in favor of the new format.
The new format aligns more closely with girls basketball, boys basketball and softball, all of which require a team to win once at the regional and twice at the semistate.
The IHSAA also said that regionals will be held statewide on June 3 but did not list sites for regionals. Each regional site will host two games, with the winner of each game advancing to semistate on June 10. Victory Field in Indianapolis will host the state finals June 16-17.
While basketball had a blind regional draw among schools that feed into that regional, baseball will not. Instead, sectional champions will meet other sectional champions with whom they are numerically adjacent. In other words, the Sectional 1 champion will play the Sectional 2 champion, the Sectional 3 champion will play the Sectional 4 champion, and so forth.
There will be another draw for semistate after the regional. In addition, the IHSAA will decide which venue will host which class for the semistate.
Semistate sites in the north include LaPorte, Lafayette, Kokomo and Oak Hill.
RTC AREA BASEBALL SECTIONALS (MAY 24-29)
Class 2A, Sectional 36 at Wabash: Rochester, Pioneer, Bremen, LaVille, Manchester, Wabash
(Sectional champion plays Sectional 35 champion in the regional.)
Class 3A, Sectional 18 at John Glenn (Newton Park): Tippecanoe Valley, Culver Academy, John Glenn, Knox, New Prairie
(Sectional champion plays Sectional 17 champion in the regional.)
Class 1A, Sectional 50 at Tri-Township: Argos, Culver, Marquette Catholic, Oregon-Davis, Triton, Tri-Township, Westville
(Sectional champion plays Sectional 49 champion in the regional.)
Class 1A, Sectional 52 at Caston: Caston, North Miami, North White, Northfield, Southwood, West Central
(Sectional champion plays Sectional 51 champion in the regional.)
