A New Jersey 12U softball team’s hopes of reaching the Little League World Series were dashed last week after a controversial state championship game.
The state championship between Toms River and Hanover Township was suspended due to lightning with Hanover leading 6-4. The game was stopped at the start of the sixth inning because of the weather, but tournament officials initially said the game would be played the next day.
Toms River coach Brad Bossow told the New York Post he believes his team got the short end of the stick. Bossow accused Hanover’s Little League district of pulling a "fast one" as tournament officials decided the next morning the game was over. The score stood as the final, giving Hanover the win.
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"And that’s sort of the sneaky, slimy part of it all," Bossow told the newspaper. "In the middle of the night, he sends out a message to them, saying that, based on these Little League rules, the game should be completed, and Hanover should be announced as the state champion."
An appeal to end the game apparently went to Little League officials in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, who ultimately awarded Hanover the victory, according to the paper.
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Bossow said he didn’t have any hope of Little League officials considering any kind of appeal. He said he was told they have "never made a change." He said the team was rallying when the game was paused. He said lightning was in the area around the third inning, but officials said the storm was far enough away to continue playing.
If the game had been stopped in the third inning, the teams would have had to resume at a different time because four complete innings makes a Little League game official.
Bossow said it was around 9:30 p.m. when he asked the tournament director about the status of the game. He said he was told officials were going to do everything to get the game in. About 15 minutes later, he said, he was told the game would be finished the next day, which he protested because regulations stated they had until 1 a.m. to finish.
Ultimately, the protests went nowhere. Hanover was awarded the victory.
"It’s just gut-wrenching for the girls. They were more upset over the fact that they were told one thing and then it didn’t happen," Bossow told the New York Post.
Hanover will represent New Jersey and play Maryland in the Little League Softball Mid-Atlantic Region Sunday.
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