Making Danny Almonte proud ...

Sorry, but there isn't a competitive environment anywhere that people aren't going to bend the rules to their advantage. It would be nice to think there is. But I'm telling you, if this Central Iowa team has been playing competitive softball for this long, they are not naive to this. In fact I would go so far as to say they had also done the math and were prepared to celebrate like crazy as soon as North Carolina allowed a run.

This still isn't as bad as the LL baseball regional one a few years ago where one team was about to close out a win but a player hadn't batted yet -- which would mean a forfeit -- so the coach told the pitcher to get wild and let the other team tie it so they could play the bottom of the sixth and hope for the best. The other team picked up on it and started swinging at every pitch to finish off the loss.

Flawed finish Portsmouth advances with forfeit victory

Colchester fans were becoming extremely agitated, and Portsmouth fans, realizing the situation, had begun cheering when the Portsmouth batters swung at bad pitches and missed.

 

Sounds like this team wanted the best chance at getting that championship trophy. They don't want a participation trophy.

 

Central Iowa wins. So, I can't say I'm all that upset about the fate that befalls the Washington coach, whose team probably would have advanced by playing straight-up. It's bullshit that they had to play the game and it's bullshit that they have this format in the first place, but there is karma there about

 

Karma wins again!!!

 

Wasn't there a game in a girls basketball tournament where each team wanted to lose to move into the loser's bracket so as to not face the dominant team until the finals?

 

You betcha.

Tennessee Girls High School Basketball Teams Banned for Both Trying to Throw Same Game - NBC News

 

I don't know. I haven't heard about it, but it may have happened. For the most part, though, intentionally losing in a double-elimination tournament is a pretty bad idea. Depending where you are in the bracket, you're then forcing yourself to win two or three more games to get to the same point.

 

This is the problem you get whenever you set up tourney formats in which the final rounds are not single-elimination, win-or-go-home situations.

 

That basketball game in the link was about a game that determined seeding for the single-elimination tournament. It wasn't about what happened in the bracket of a double-elimination tournament. So actually it's a lot like this softball case here.

I'd be surprised if there were a case of a team tanking on purpose in a double-elimination bracket. I can't see how there would be any advantage in it.

 

Cheaters cheat