THE CZECH IS IN THE MAIL
The state softball tournament is complete. Meanwhile, the state baseball tournament began Thursday at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock and concludes Saturday with the Class A, 6A Division I and 6A Division II state championship games.
After five rounds in which teams have the option of playing a best-of-three series or a single game, the state championship games are decided in a single-game format.
That’s ridiculous.
If best-of-three series are available in earlier rounds, the University Interscholastic League should offer the same option for the state championship games— or adopt a uniform playoff format.
With 64 teams in each division in classes 6A through 2A, it would be apropos to hold double-elimination tournaments in the first two rounds.
The state semifinal and state championship rounds could be best-of-three series.
If you break it down into four-team area tournaments, you go from 64 to 16 teams after the first weekend. With four-team region tournaments, you then dwindle down from 16 to four.
During the third weekend, neutral-site best-of-three series could be played at Dell Diamond and Nelson Wolff Stadium in San Antonio. The best-ofthree state championship series would be held at Choctaw Stadium (formerly Globe Life Park) in Arlington.
Regional tournaments could also be played at neutral sites.
For Region I, Texas Tech University and Abilene Christian University could host tournaments, while Baylor University and Texas Christian University could host Region II. The University of Houston and Rice University could cover Region III, with Texas A&M University and the University of Texas handling Region IV. It may sound radical, but look at the mess we’re already in.
This year was a first for the UIL—the split-division format.
Under this system, the top four teams in each district in classes 6A through 2A qualify for the postseason, as they have for the past two or three decades.
Instead of placing all four teams into a single bracket—requiring the eventual state champion to win seven rounds—the UIL now splits each classification into two divisions. The two schools with larger enrollments in each district compete in the Division I bracket, while the smaller schools compete in Division II.
This format is similar to the one employed in Class 6A football. While I’m not a fan of having two state champions per classification in each team sport, there is one thing I like about the split-division format in baseball and softball: a best-of-three series option in the state semifinals.
The UIL is doing one thing right, but it needs to fix the rest. Under my double-elimination proposal, the state playoffs would last four weeks instead of six.
It would also be more uniform, which means a superior team wouldn’t suffer a fluke one-game loss to end their season.
The best teams win double- elimination tournaments and bestof- three series.
It’s definitely worth thinking about.
Jason Chlapek is the area editor of the Elgin Courier and Taylor Press. He can be reached at jason.chlapek@ granitemediapartners. com.
