A nationally-mandated pitch count restriction has been approved by the Ohio High School Athletic Association Board of Directors Thursday.
The National Federation of State High School Associations informed all states they would require pitch count limits instead of a regulation based on innings pitched over certain numbers of days.
Previously in Ohio, a pitcher could pitch up to 10 innings in a three-day span.
The new pitch count regulation calls for a maximum of 125 pitches permitted in a day. The regulation also contains other details such as the number of days required between pitching appearances based on the number of pitches thrown.
“Our initial goal was to meet the requirement of the NFHS rule that now requires individual states to create their own pitch count limitations,” said Assistant Commissioner Jerry Snodgrass, who is the baseball administrator for the OHSAA. “After assembling a group representing the necessary stakeholders, including a member of our Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, we have met that goal. We continue to look at further ways in which these limitations will affect teams as well as providing adequate education for our coaches and those in non-school baseball.”
You can view the complete details below.
2017 OHSAA Baseball Pitch Count Regulation
Daily Pitch Limit: 125 pitches
Number of Days Between Pitching Appearances After Pitching:
- 1-30 Pitches: 0 days
- 31-50 Pitches: 1 day
- 51-75 Pitches: 2 days
- 76 or More Pitches: 3 days
Doubleheader Note: If a pitcher throws at least 31 pitches in a game, he may not pitch in another game that day (or the next day, per the chart above).
At Bat Completion: If the daily pitch count is reached during an at bat, a pitcher may exceed the pitch count only to finish pitching to the current batter.
Data Collection System: At the end of each contest, coaches must submit pitcher data to a designated data collection system. Schools are required to keep pitch count data on all pitchers and make the data available to the OHSAA upon request.
Regulation Violation: A team shall forfeit any victorious contest in which a player violates the pitch count regulation.
Suspended/Interrupted Games: All pitches thrown during a game that becomes suspended or interrupted (due to weather or darkness, for example) shall count toward the pitch count regulation.
Scrimmages and Previews: All pitches thrown in a scrimmage or preview shall count toward the pitch count regulation.
