Pace Patriots searching for answers after FHSAA allows suspended player to play title game
The Florida High School Athletic Association will be taking a careful look into some matters regarding Pace High School's 5-4 Class 6A state championship loss to Doral Academy on Saturday afternoon.
The Firebirds had a player, Michael Torres, ejected in the seventh inning of their Friday night semifinal game for slamming his helmet. The game went nine innings deep with Doral advancing to Saturday's final.
By FHSAA rule, an ejected player is ineligible for the remainder of the contest and a minimum of the next two games.
This happened to Pace in the regular season when senior Jackson McKenzie was ejected for a collision at the plate. He sat the next two games.
In accordance with that, Torres should have been unable to play during the championship contest. Instead, Torres was the Firebirds' starting center fielder and two-hole hitter, collecting one hit, scoring one run and coming on to pitch for the game's final out.
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Pace athletic director Charlie Warner and assistant principal Amie Filbert brought it to the attention of FHSAA baseball staff liaison Robbie Lindeman, who said a committee met after the Firebirds' semifinal game and voted that Torres sitting the final two innings was considered "time served," making him eligible for the championship.
When asked to give details on who made up the committee, the time of the meeting, its location and what kind of paperwork was filled to appeal the suspension, Lindeman refused to comment. He walked away from Warner and Filbert on multiple occasions.
In 2018, Pace had a state semifinal game that ran past midnight due to delays. Lindeman was the representative on site for that contest, where he told head coach Jason McBride that their pitcher could continue pitching without his pitch count effecting his eligibility for the next day.
When they arrived for the championship, Lindeman told McBride that the pitcher was only allowed to reach a certain numbers of pitches because he "pitched past midnight," despite telling him otherwise the day before.
FHSAA president Douglas Dodd said that they will will more closely into the situation.
Pace says they are not disputing the result, but would rather prefer an explanation.
Lucas Semb can be reached at Lsemb@pensacol.gannett.com or 850-281-7414. Follow him on Twitter at @Lucas_Semb for stories and various Pensacola area score updates.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pace Patriots reach out to FHSAA regarding broken rule in championship
