Following Polo's 5-4 win over Worth County in the varsity game, the teams played a JV game that lasted five innings. The game left everyone wondering why it was taking so long. The answer is in the rules -- by GRC adoption, varsity softball games must be followed by junior varsity games that are five innings or an hour and 15 minutes in length.
The upside is that players have opportunities to earn playing time. Coaches can either play substitutes who did not play in the varsity game or varsity players playing out of position. In some cases, Coach Dave Gilland took it a step farther, having Adrian Fletchall bat left-handed instead of right-handed, and having Payton Adwell bat left-handed and work on her slapping ability. The rule clearly improves the quality of play -- there are no weak teams in the conference. "This is a perfect chance for players to earn playing time," said Coach Gilland.
On the other hand, there is a downside; since Polo is two hours away, their players did not get home until 12 midnight, meaning only six hours of sleep before they had to wake up and go to school. On the other hand, two alternative solutions have their downsides; starting games at, say, 4:30 instead of 5:30 will simply lead to loss of class time for athletes, who would have to make up more homework as a result. Another possible solution, scheduling JV games separately, would mean more transportation costs and logistics.
The JV game was a back and forth game similar to the varsity game, but with a different ending. Polo scored three in the top of the fifth to take an 8-6 lead. But then Worth County scored three in the bottom of the inning to come away with the win. Payton Adwell hit a chopper that the third baseman had no play on with a runner on third to drive in the winning run, giving the Tigers a 9-8 win.
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