Beginning with 2010, the Northern Sun Conference has announced that all conference series will start with a nine inning game, immediately followed by a seven inning set. The series will consist of four games over a period of two days. Northern Sun Baseball brings up some interesting points about this change:
- With an additional four innings per series (16 a day for two days, compared to three days of nine innings), what impact will it have on the pitching staff and coaching decisions.
- This change could be in response to the NCAA rule change forcing Division II teams to move from a 56-game maximum schedule in 2010 to a 50-game schedule in 2011.
While the change is only effecting a small number of teams this season, CBB wonders if this philosophy could find its way into the schedules of Division I conferences located in the northern states. What are the odds of conferences like the MAC, Horizon or Even the Big East following suit to avoid weather issues in the early season?
I think you might see this start happening in the smaller conferences. The Patriot League currently play two doubleheaders on Saturday and Sundays to cut down on cost and missed class time.