State tourney could be coming for baseball, softball

The end of the high school year is a mindboggling cornucopia of proms, award nights, final exams — and in the near future — maybe baseball and softball state playoffs.

“Both sports are in line for state championships,” said Ron Nocetti, associate executive director of the California Interscholastic Federation.

Changes, however, will need to be made to the current schedule.

Eastlake High played a San Diego Section Open Division baseball semifinal playoff game at 2 p.m. last Thursday and held graduation ceremonies later that evening.

Cathedral Catholic graduated Saturday morning at USD, and the Dons baseball team returned later in the day to play Eastlake for the Open Division championship.

Scripps Ranch and San Marcos played at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at USD for the Division II baseball championship. Both schools had prom that evening. Girls in formals started showing up at Fowler Park around 5 p.m.

USD officials graciously agreed to let the players shower and change into tuxedos after the game. Nothing worse than a girl in a formal heading to prom with a smelly baseball player with dirt on his arms.

“Right now, under the current school calendar, we don’t have the time for a state playoff in these sports,” said Jerry Schniepp, San Diego Section commissioner.

So the proposal is to move the school calendar statewide up a week starting with 2017-18.

The 2016 football season kicks off Aug. 26. Practice starts in late July.

Moving up the school calendar a week would mean starting the football season around Aug. 20.

Basketball season would also move up a week.

“I’m a huge baseball fan, but to fit a state baseball and softball playoff in would mean thousands of athletes in other sports would be effected,” said Cathedral Catholic football coach Sean Doyle. “I’m not sure how practical that is.”

Baseball and softball would also have to give up something. Playing three games a week to shorten those seasons by a week to fit in a state playoff is one suggestion, but a number of San Diego schools already play three games a week in the league season.

The San Diego Section’s double-elimination playoffs in baseball and softball might be cut back to a single-elimination format to shorten the playoffs.

“Right now, nothing is off the table,” Nocetti said. “We’ve never had a state playoff in soccer because Northern California and Southern California played in different seasons. “Northern California is coming in line with Southern California, so we’ll have a state playoff in soccer.

“Baseball and softball might have to start small. Things are still in the planning stage. We might go with Southern California and Northern California regional playoffs to start.”

Spring sports like swimming and track have state finals, but those aren’t teams sports at the state level. A school with a great swimming or track program might send five athletes to a state meet.

“I’m not opposed to a state playoff, but I don’t like all the divisions,” said veteran Rancho Bernardo baseball coach Sam Blalock. “If they do this, they need to keep it small with just the elite teams — at least at the start.”

So yes, there would probably be fewer teams and fewer divisions at the start.

Facilities wouldn’t be a problem. Both ends of the state have great college fields for baseball and softball.