Hey gang:
As I sit here trying to figure out assignments for this weekend’s tournament games, something crossed my mind.
Just how does Section 9 go about deciding where to play it championship games?
I ask this because (and now my MHAL/Ulster/Northern Dutchess County bias comes in to play) it seems as though our area teams get the short end of the stick when it comes to scheduling.
Case in point, in Class AA softball, had Roosevelt advanced to the final, it would be playing that championship game at Minisink Valley. Same goes for Saugerties and New Paltz in Class A, where both teams were just a win a way from the final.
In baseball, all championship games are played at SUNY New Paltz. I kind of think New Paltz is about as centrally-located a place, so putting all the games there makes as much sense to, say, Kingston, as it does to, say, Newburgh.
SUNY New Paltz was a great host to the Section 9 basketball tournament, and I’m assuming it would be an equally receptive host for baseball.
Splitting the games between nearby Burke Field and Minisink just doesn’t make sense from where I sit. It equally did not make sense years ago when the sectional softball finals were held at the Cantine Complex in Saugerties.
If there was one great facility – say West Point where the boys and girls basketball finals were once held, or a Dietz Stadium for track and field – in play, I could understand holding finals there, but in having spent countless hours at Minisink as a former summer softball coach, I can tell you Minisink is not such a location.
Nor is Burke Field for that manner.
All things being equal, SUNY New Paltz probably makes sense for softball in terms of location.
So, to all the local teams and athletes still playing this postseason, I wish you all good luck.
For the rest, as always, take care and God bless.