Berwick baseball placed on probation by LHSAA

Berwick High School baseball team’s forfeit of its victory against E.D. White was announced formally by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Thursday when it released its penalty ruling and placed the baseball program on administrative probation for a year.

Berwick was forced to forfeit Tuesday’s 10-3 victory against E.D. White in which the Panthers scored eight runs in the top of the 10th, due to a violation of the LHSAA’s pitching rule because a pitcher was used for Berwick for more than nine innings.

Berwick self-reported the violation Wednesday and will be on probation for a year beginning April 20.

Both Berwick head coach Mike Thomas and the player were forced to sit out the Panthers next contest against North Vermilion. That contest, which began Wednesday, was halted in the second inning due to rain and continued Thursday at Patterson High. However, in the bottom of the eighth inning, the game again was halted and will resume today at 4:30 p.m., followed by the second contest.

Thomas, on Wednesday, said the violation resulted from an “oversight” on his part of a rule instituted last year.

“Coach Thomas is the only one to blame for this,” Thomas said. “It is not the player’s fault.”