MIAA Baseball Committee says Fenway, Polar Park likely out for state championships this year

The likelihood of playing championship baseball at Fenway Park or Polar Park appears remote this season. As for the future, the MIAA Baseball Committee made it clear that it will do whatever is needed to procure facilities.

MIAA Baseball Committee liaison Keith Brouillard said he’s been in discussion with the people at Fenway since last November. One of the problems for this year would be availability as the Red Sox are at home from June 14-22, which would coincide with the scheduled dates for the state semifinals and finals.

Another option mentioned was Polar Park, the home of the Worcester Red Sox. Much like Fenway, the WooSox are home for an extended homestand from June 14-26. Newly appointed statewide tournament director David Lezenski said that LeLacheur Park and Holy Cross are two facilities in play in terms of hosting state baseball finals.

Lezenski also announced a regional group of assistants who would help ensure a smooth transition into the new statewide formation — Tewksbury athletic director Ron Drouin (a member of the state baseball coaches Hall of Fame), Shrewsbury athletic director Jay Costa, Taunton athletic director Mark Ottavianelli and Mike Roy, athletic director for the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional school district.

Brouillard spent a portion of the 55-minute meeting going over the spring baseball tournament agenda. The cutoff date is May 30 and the committee will spend the next 24 hours sorting out all the records and watching for discrepancies, before unveiling the brackets on June 1. Preliminary round games are scheduled to begin on June 3 and go through to the state finals on June 18.

Just before the meeting adjourned, there was a brief discussion about the possibility of restoring the Super 8 in the future. The feeling among members is that they don’t want it to fall off the table and will address it further at the next meeting scheduled in May.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/D90QP2w