International disaster

OK, “disaster” might be a bit of a stretch, but the international tiebreaker rule for deciding softball games that go into extra innings needs to be rethought.

The rule was on display during the Division II high school playoffs Thursday night at Rhode Island College. Middletown and Barrington were cruising through an intense pitchers duel and, after seven innings, the score was tied 0-0.

Instead of playing on, as baseball does, this tiebreaker rule was enacted, placing a runner on second base to start each half of the eighth inning.

On one hand, I can see the purpose of such a rule. If two teams play seven innings without scoring, what’s to say an eighth, ninth or 10th inning will be any different? Give the offense a jumpstart in hopes of deciding a winner without a 25-inning epic.

But then, one must think: What if all sports had similar overtime rules, giving the offense a decided advantage?

This would be like lowering the rim to eight feet in a basketball game, or forcing a football team’s defense to play with eight players if the score is tied after four quarters. Maybe pull both goalies from a hockey, soccer or lacrosse game that goes into overtime.

I must admit, my opinion of the rule is slightly biased. Especially today, given that Middletown was unable to take advantage of its unearned base runner, while Barrington was and won 3-0 to advance to the D-II state final.

But it seems like a silly rule that detracted from what was an otherwise great game.