Maybe the WPIAL playoff system is fractured. Hempfield softball coach Tina Madison thinks so.
She and her Spartans have had plenty of time to think about the issue. About half a month, to be exact.
“It’s just the hurry up and wait,” Madison said. “The WPIAL has you squeezing in three games a week, four weeks in a row to complete (the regular season) in time, to then turn around and wait 14 days before a playoff game.”
Defending champion Hempfield (19-1) has 13 days between its last regular-season game and its playoff opener, which is at 5 p.m. Tuesday against No. 4 Canon-McMillan (9-10) at West Mifflin.
“At some point, someone needs to understand the three games a week is not the ideal situation for athletes,” Madison said. “It’s a ginormous scheduling blunder that has excuses tied to it that need to be fixed for the athletes.”
A quarterfinal bye for No. 1 seed Hempfield is part of the reason for the time gap, as is only having a six-team bracket in Class 6A — which, while we’re at it, only awards one PIAA playoff berth.
But waiting is the toughest part for many teams.
Hempfield isn’t alone on the island. The Mt. Pleasant softball and Norwin, Hempfield and Greensburg Central Catholic baseball teams also are sitting tight as they await playoff games.
“I think the hardest thing is just seeing other playoff games happening, seeing the results, but not being part of the action,” Mt. Pleasant coach Paul Reho said. “Class 3A starts the first round (Thursday) so my staff and I tuned in.”
Mt. Pleasant (13-4) wrapped up its regular season May 8 and will finally take the field again Monday to face No. 6 Burrell or No. 11 Charleroi.
The Class 3A bracket has 12 teams, so four earned a first-round bye, including third-seeded Mt. Pleasant.
Hempfield and Mt. Pleasant put their like-mindedness to use and scrimmaged one another earlier this week. Teams can scrimmage as much as they want before they open tournament play, something the WPIAL can offer in its own defense.
There are also rain dates built in, and some games have been moved as to not overload umpires.
Mt. Pleasant also scrimmaged Charleroi. That means its last five matchups have been against Connellsville, Penn-Trafford and Thomas Jefferson in the regular season and the two scrimmages.
“That is a pretty tough gauntlet of teams,” Reho said. “Obviously, we are hopeful that we come out better for it on the other side.
“I know the team is ready to get going, but what we have done is changed up our practice routine, so we are doing different things to keep them engaged.”
Greensburg Central Catholic baseball coach John Boyle doesn’t mind the down time. The Centurions (15-0) have a 10-day layoff before they put their perfect record back on the line.
“I like having a week of practice,” Boyle said. “It gives us an opportunity to strengthen our weak spots.”
But, the anxiousness kicks in sooner or later.
“A week off can be tough on the boys because they are ready and want to play,” Boyle said. “So, we work on staying competitive.”
Madison said the waiting isn’t all bad. Besides, teams can’t change the system as it stands.
“On a positive note, it gives the athlete’s bodies time to recover from the regular season,” she said. “We are practicing and working hard to stay focused and approach it with a one-game-at-a-time mentality and not looking ahead.”
Hempfield also scrimmaged Penn-Trafford and Mohawk.
Norwin baseball coach Craig Spisak doesn’t mind waiting to play. There are only eight teams in 6A, so that tournament starts later.
The Knights (12-8), seeded No. 4, will take on No. 5 Central Catholic (9-11) at 7 p.m. Monday at Gateway in the quarterfinals.
“Not hard at all,” Spisak said. “It’s something you cannot control, like the weather. You can only control the controllables.”
Norwin finished the regular season May 7.
“We do our best to keep things from getting stale,” Spisak said.
Norwin scrimmaged Franklin Regional and Hempfield.
Hempfield (10-10), seeded sixth, plays No. 3 North Allegheny (12-8) at 7 p.m. Monday at Boyce-Mayview Park in Upper St. Clair in another 6A quarterfinal.
The Spartans also will face a 10-day layoff.
“This week isn’t as difficult as the previous week,” Hempfield coach Tim Buzzard said. “Because 6A actually wrapped up section play two weeks ago, the week before is actually a little more challenging. We had one game remaining with Plum on that Thursday. We didn’t play for a week from our previous series.”
Hempfield had three scrimmages to stay sharp, against Connellsville, Penn-Trafford and Norwin.
“I think the kids are very excited to play Monday,” Buzzard said. “We have had a good blend of scrimmages and practices and tried to use the week to get better and prepare as much as we can.”