Tennessee high school baseball team's season ends after pitch count violation wipes out no-hitter

A Tennessee High School Division II-AA three-game playoff series has been cast into the national spotlight after Ensworth’s pitcher Connor Cobb tossed a no-hit gem to tie the series with Father Ryan at 1-1.

While you’d expect the buzz to be focused on the Vanderbilt commit’s masterpiece, that’s not the case. Instead, it was Cobb’s final pitch—No. 121 on the day— that caused a stir.

In short: it was one pitch too many under TSSAA’s rules.

Per the TSSAA rulebook, the pitch count rule allows for an athlete to throw no more than 120 pitches in one day.

Ensworth’s coach Jason Maxwell called the association the following day and reported the infraction, which led to the forfeit of the series and a shocking end to the season.

As The Tennesessaon’s Tom Kreager reported, it sounds like this occurrence—though odd—isn’t uncommon:

[Gene] Menees reiterated that the TSSAA’s rule is 120 pitches and has been “as long as there has been a pitch count rule.” Menees said the first year of the rule pitchers were permitted to finish the batter at the plate. That changed after one year. The pitch count rule began in 2017.

Menees said the TSSAA sees pitch count violations submitted to its Hermitage office each year. He said it’s more common in the playoffs.

Father Ryan now advances to the Mid Region round, where they’ll play Lipscomb Academy.