SUSCO - The PIAA District II playoff bracket has been a hot topic since the brackets came out on Sunday. I will be honest when I took a look at the brackets I found it odd that teams in the same bracket wouldn't be scheduled to play the same day.

Not giving much thought after, as I have noticed District II does things differently than I am accustomed to in District IV.  

However I had two conversations at the playoff game I attended in Montrose on Tuesday evening. They had the same questions I did, why would teams in the same bracket play on opposite nights? 

As someone who coached several years at the varsity level in Wyalusing, with some success, I know the importance of rest and monitoring pitch counts, especially come playoff time.

The entire regular season is played for a chance to get into playoffs and try to bring home a district championship to your school.

That being said, scheduling one team to play on a Tuesday, while another team plays their quarterfinal game on a Wednesday is a huge advantage for the team that plays first.

That coach has another 25 pitches to make a decision on whether to stay with his starter or potentially "save" him for the next game. Not to mention bullpen decisions later in the game.

While I wouldn't be in favor of PIAA handing that advantage to any team, the fact the lower seeded team got the advantage is hard to wrap your head around.

I remember last year we were in the district semi finals against Montgomery. The game was played in Williamsport on turf, we had several rain delays but finished the game and punched our ticket to the finals.

Troy and South Williamsport were playing the same night at Mansfield University, which has a natural playing surface. 

Their game was subsequently suspended in the fifth inning, to be finished the next night. That was a big advantage for us as we were able to better line our pitching up for the finals.

As a coach you are always looking for a competitive advantage, in the above case it was just luck of the draw that we happened to be on turf that evening.

However the situation of PIAA handing one team an extra day of rest is not an honest mistake, it's a monumental mistake and begs the question why?

I reached out to Elk Lake head coach Tony Rezykowski to see what the sentiment was over there as Elk Lake received short end of the schedule.

Coach Rezykowski had this to say, "Our motto in our program has always been, we will play anyone on any day and we don't make any excuses."

"We are still going into playoffs with that mindset, but right now I can't wrap my head around how the PIAA District II committee can meet on Sunday and leave the meeting and have one team playing on Tuesday and the other on Wednesday."

"I understand the weather is going to change things, but that's the advantage they gave one team before playoffs even started. The PIAA has always said their goal was to have each athlete play on equal playing field and not give advantages to any team and this definitely doesn't feel right."

He went on to say, "It also jeopardizes the health and safety of my players at this point, as we will not have played a competitive game in two weeks and now could possibly have three games in four or five days"

All valid points from Coach Rezykowski and a question that I feel deserves an answer. Was it an oversight or was it another way to try and get rid of those pesky rural Susco teams?