10/29/2026
Two things can be true at the same time: A team can have opportunities to win a game AND an officiating decision can significantly impact its outcome.
There has been a lot of discussion surrounding this state championship bracket game, and quite frankly, I think much of the conversation is overlooking what actually took place on that field.
Let’s establish something first. This was a great softball game between two teams that battled for seven innings. A game that was scoreless for much of the game, with both teams competing, making defensive plays, missing opportunities, committing mistakes, and struggling at times to produce offensively. That’s softball. That’s competition. And that’s exactly what makes these games so exciting.
But let’s talk about the play in this video. 😳😳
Bottom of the seventh inning. A 1–0 game. A force play at third base that, from what is visible, was not particularly close. The runner hadn’t even reached the bag when the play was made. She got up, headed toward her dugout, and removed her helmet.
And then the call was overturned.
Had the out stood, there would have been two outs with runners on first and second. Instead, the inning continued under an entirely different set of circumstances. The team went on to score following a single and another hit up the middle to win the game.
Did that one call single-handedly determine the outcome? We cannot know that. But did it dramatically change the circumstances of the game? Absolutely.
And this is where I think people are missing one of the most important aspects of competitive athletics.
MOMENTUM!!!!!
Anyone who has spent significant time around competitive sports understands that momentum is real. Energy is real. Confidence, pressure, emotion, and the mental response to adversity are all significant parts of athletic performance.
When a team is one out away from being in a much stronger defensive position, only to have that opportunity reversed on a call that appears obvious, it changes the entire atmosphere of the game.
It creates renewed life for one dugout and an entirely different emotional challenge for the other. That matters, especially in the bottom of the seventh inning of a state championship game.
I’ve spent more than 40 years around this game, including nearly two decades coaching athletes, and one thing I know is that the mental side of this sport is every bit as important as the physical side.
I’ve seen plenty of commentary suggesting that the losing team should have hit better, shouldn’t have made an earlier error, should have scored when they had opportunities, or that the coaching decisions were somehow responsible.
And here’s my response: All of those things can be discussed without dismissing the significance of a critical officiating error.
Every team that loses can look back and identify opportunities they failed to capitalize on. Every coach can reflect on decisions. Every athlete can find something to improve.
That is part of accountability.
But accountability does not mean pretending that an officiating decision had no impact simply because other mistakes occurred.
And quite frankly, reducing a hard-fought, competitive game to insults about the athletes’ performance or a coach’s intelligence does a disservice to the young women who battled on that field.
These athletes deserve recognition for the level of competition they brought to a state championship bracket game, regardless of which side they were on.
Which brings me to the bigger issue: OFFICIATING AND ACCOUNTABILITY.
At the state championship level, the expectation for officiating should reflect the significance of the competition. Officials are human. They will make mistakes. No one expects perfection.
But there is a substantial difference between missing a bang-bang play and reversing a force-out call that, based on the video, appears to have been clearly made.
When so much is at stake for these athletes, there needs to be a higher standard of accuracy, consistency, and accountability.
It is time for serious consideration of instant replay or a limited video-review system in high school postseason athletics, particularly during state championship competition.
We have the technology. We have video evidence. And we have athletes who have invested years of preparation for moments like these.
A limited challenge system for pivotal, reviewable calls could help protect the integrity of the game without taking away from the human element of officiating.
This isn’t about attacking an umpire. It isn’t about taking anything away from the team that advanced. Those athletes continued competing and capitalized on the opportunity in front of them, exactly as they should have.
It’s about recognizing that the responsibility for the outcome of a game doesn’t rest exclusively on the athletes and coaches when an officiating decision materially changes the situation in which they are competing.
We can congratulate the winning team, acknowledge the losing team’s missed opportunities, respect the officials, AND still demand a better standard for the game.
Those positions are not mutually exclusive.
Great games deserve great officiating. And more importantly, these athletes deserve a fair opportunity to determine the outcome on the field.
That’s not making excuses. That’s advocating for the integrity of the sport.
Georgia High School Association
