Tuesday afternoon Haywood County school officials met with the TSSAA in an effort to convince the athletic association to pare back its sanctions placed against the schools after an umpire threw two of our baseball coaches out of a state playoff game.

Superintendent of Schools Joey Hassel was among a local contingent meeting with the TSSAA in Murfreesboro.  He said it will take the association a few days to hand down its decision.

The schools were fined $4500 and the baseball team prohibited from any post season game play for two years.  An umpire said Coaches Dusty Rhodes and Alex Whitwell’s behavior in the sixth inning of the contest brought on their ejections and the penalties.  Hassel said he is most interested in not “penalizing” the players with the two-year suspension. The ruling also places all other Haywood High athletic programs on a one year probation.

It’s the first time in the school’s history that the baseball team advanced to the state tournament.