League upholds Rebellion protest
The National Pro Fastpitch league upheld the protest lodged by the Pennsylvania Rebellion over Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Bandits at Consol Energy Park.
The game was played under protest when the umpires did not implement the International Tiebreaker after the ninth inning of the tied game. The International Tiebreaker is used when the game is tied after nine innings of a single game or eight innings of a game that is part of a doubleheader. With the tiebreaker, the player who made the last out of the previous inning is placed at second base at the beginning of an inning.
“I didn’t expect that,” said Rebellion manager Craig Montvidas. “We have another chance to win the game, and we have a month to prepare for it.”
The game, which originally ended in a 7-3 win by Chicago in 11 innings, will resume when the two teams play again July 5 in Rosemont, Ill., with the game tied 3-3 in the top of the 10th inning. Only players on the teams’ rosters at the time of the first game are eligible to be in the game. The halted game will begin at 2:45 p.m. and will be followed by the regularly scheduled game at 3:05 p.m.
In a post on the NPF website, the league said the protest was upheld, “because game officials did not institute the tiebreaker rule properly.”
Montvidas said he asked the home plate umpire Steve Gould in the seventh inning about whether the International Tiebreaker would be used in the eighth inning, as is the rule for international games, or the 10th inning, which is used in NCAA games.
“He said, ‘Let me ask (the other umpires) and get a clarification,'” Montvidas said. “I didn’t ask him again. When he walked back, he passed the other dugout and told them there was no International Tiebreaker. I’m guessing that Chicago won’t be happy about this.”
The protest was presented to a league management committee made up of a representative from each of the five teams in the league. Since the protest involved the Rebellion and Chicago, their representatives on the committee did not participate in the decision.
“I don’t recall ever having a protest (reach this office),” said Cheri Kempf, the NPF commissioner. “Our protests are supposed to be handled by the umpires. It’s not supposed to get past them. Our rules are the same as the NCAA (women softball’s). We also have a post on the website for certain revisions.”