Rowan Legion team disqualified (per Salisbury Post)

http://www.salisburypost.com/area/283652839712858.php

Rowan County has been disqualified from the American Legion playoffs.
Rowan, the top seed from the Southern Division of Area III, was notified Wednesday morning by commissioner Bob Beeson that its season is over.

Rowan (19-8) completed its first-round playoff series with an 8-2 victory over Wilkes County Tuesday night.

Fourth-seeded Mocksville and fifth-seeded Lexington haven't completed their first-round series yet. The winner of that series was next in line to face Rowan. Instead, either Mocksville or Lexington will own a bye into the Area III semifinals.

Rowan was ousted on a technicality, but officials and coaches aren't contesting the ruling and don't deny that they're in the wrong.

Rowan County outfielder Zeb Link apparently lives three miles closer to Davie County High, Mocksville's Legion base school, than to Salisbury High, the base school for the Rowan team.

Link, whose residence is in the Woodleaf area, is a student at West Rowan, and had no reason to suspect that he was doing anything beyond the rules.

Officially, Mocksville doesn't list West Rowan High as one of the schools it draws players from. Still, by rule, Rowan County was required to get a release from Mocksville before Link could play for Rowan.

Rowan coaches and officials were unaware that Link, who played on Rowan's Junior Legion team last season, lived closer to Davie County than to Salisbury and did not request that release.

Rowan was turned in by a mysterious source that Beeson would identify only as "Will Clark." Clark's area of residence is not known.

No one can recall any Rowan County resident ever playing for Mocksville or being claimed by Mocksville, but by the strict letter of the law, Rowan has been using an illegal player all season.

Rowan officials are convinced they have no legal recourse in the matter and no appeals are planned.

Rowan would have opened a second-round series at Newman Park on Saturday. Instead the gates will stay closed and the grandstand and bleachers will be silent.

 

Wow, that is a real shame for a lot of kids.

And the result seems very strange, too. To give the 4-5 winner a buy into the finals because they would have played the team that is now disqualified seems a little arbitrary. Shouldn't you re-seed after the first round is complete and give the highest remaining seed the buy into the finals? Or at least let the team who lost to Rowan in the first round advance?

I'm startin' to wonder about all this legion stuff.

It seems lots of teams have eligibility problems and only some teams get caught. Do other teams get out their tape measures to make sure there guys live closer to the home school than to another district's home school? I thought there were specific boundary lines, but I guess not some places?????!!!!!?????

Little League eventually had to go to maps with colored dots showing where the all star players live within the league boundary. It became a real pain in the butt, but I guess it is better than these surprise forfeits,which are not good for anybody on any side of anything.

 

Something stinks here........Zeb is a Rowan Co. boy, he attends W. Rowan HS and plays football as well as baseball for the Falcons. My son has palyed ball against Zeb and all of those other WR boys since they were in middle school. Whoever did this is a SORRY SOB ! (pardon my French mods) and has ruined the Area III SD playoffs for EVERYBODY. Rowan Co. has a fine ball team and these kids did not deserve this action. They've earned their first place standings on their own merit. I absolutely hate this for Zeb and his team. What a crock of ****! I hope that whoever did this gets their satisfaction out of it because its probably the high point of their life.............I could go on but I'll let somebody else pick up my slack.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !

 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

 

Tooooooooo many rules involved in legion baseball. And they are always changing. Maybe the new satellite imagery will help.

 

You have to wonder if somebody knew all along that this player was ineligible and waited to see the outcome of the season before making a protest.

I thought outside of Charlotte you went to Plan A where schools determined where one played!?!

I remember last year I attended a showcase event where a player was there participating while his legion team was in the playoffs. I found out later that this would have made him ineligible and his team would have had to forfeit their wins.........I wouldn't have dared to jeopardize his team or player. I just thought the rule was silly. I kept looking around for the Legion police.

 

This sounds totally unintentional to me. The legion officials should get together somehow, take a vote among all the officials from all other NC legion teams, and get this ruling reversed. This is terrible for all of those kids who have been playing all summer to have their chance at the playoffs ripped out from underneath them. I would think differently if it were an intentional ploy to defraud the system, but it sounds like that is not the case here. It sounds like neither the kid's family, or any official from either of the two programs knew he was not in Rowan's district. This is both a shame, and a travesty.

 

yep

 

so now.. that changes that stupid tie breaker and South Rowan should be awarded the playoff spot.

 

Sucks for Rowan County and there fans.