LSU and South Carolina were unable to finish their series last weekend because of inclement weather, which plagued much of the East Coast.
Because the series started on Thursday and the third game was canceled Saturday, fans were left to question: Why not finish the series Sunday? According to the Southeastern Conference Commissioner’s Regulations, that scenario is not allowed.
“Once we shut it down, I didn’t look outside to see if the weather was fine or not fine,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “Once you’re done, you’re done. It was going to be cold, it was going to continue to rain. Just didn’t seem like the best environment to play.”
Section B under “Inclement Weather” states that: “No games will be continued to Sunday for the first nine weeks of the conference season, however, teams can stay over until Sunday to get the game completed on Saturday.”
The only exception would be the final weekend of the conference season if a game’s outcome affects seeding of the SEC tournament or the regular-season conference champion.
According to SEC director of communications Herb Vincent, once a series is scheduled, the three-day window to complete the games is established.
When the forecast called for a 100% chance of rain in Columbia, South Carolina, on Saturday, the Gamecocks were able to change the schedule to accommodate a doubleheader Friday. The home team, with the approval of the visiting team, requests this permission from the conference — and has to show there is a “high occurrence” of inclement weather on Saturday, the final day of the series. Unfortunately, the second game of Friday’s scheduled doubleheader was rained out.
LSU did play a doubleheader during SEC play this season against Arkansas on Saturday, March 25, at Alex Box Stadium. In that case, the forecast called for a high chance of rain on Sunday, the final day of the series, and since it was a Saturday doubleheader and not a Sunday doubleheader, the rules permitted two full nine-inning games. That series began on a Friday.
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