The theory behind Missouri's first-year high school pitching limitations rule is simple: High pitch counts have been put on ice, so fewer young arms have to be.
The new regulation added a wrinkle to the high school baseball regular season, but this week it revealed how much those rules can affect the postseason.
For teams with fewer players -- and fewer options -- on the roster, an influx of pitching talent was seen as much more of a luxury. And for those without it, it was all the more painstaking in districts. In smaller classifications, that idea was magnified, forcing coaches to rely more on their bottom-of-the-rotation guys.
"Like everything else there's some good and bad to it," Twin Rivers coach Jared Stockton said. "It takes some logic out of a coach's hand a little bit and I think you saw it force some interesting moves."
Stockton and the Royals were one of the few smaller school teams to get by without pitching struggles thanks to a deeper rotation than most. With five reliable starters and a reliever out of the bullpen, Twin Rivers weathered the storm.
The Royals used four pitchers, each throwing under 40 pitches, to combine on a no-hitter against Puxico in the first round of the MSHSAA Class 3 District 2 Tournament, then got two quality efforts from Baylen Teague and David Deken.
Malden coach Tim Harmon wasn't so lucky. The Green Wave made it out of the first round using one pitcher, but after falling behind in a semifinal against East Carter, Malden had to use its top three pitchers while overcoming a six-run deficit.
Pete Brown started and threw 41 pitches before being yanked in the first inning. Tye Miller relieved him and also hit the 41-pitch mark, making both pitchers ineligible to throw in the final. Dee Triplett closed out the game with 71 pitches leaving the Green Wave with two inexperienced arms against Twin Rivers.
Harmon had to flip-flop his only two remaining pitchers throughout the championship, but neither could thwart the Royals, who rallied to win 12-6.
"It absolutely killed us," Harmon said of the pitch-count rule. "In previous years we could've had our top three guys come back and give us a couple innings here or there. We had to do everything we could yesterday in order to win and get here but it hurt us in the process and forced us to use guys out of necessity in the championship."
Coaches say their pitch counts are being arduously tracked by team managers, bench players and, often, parents during a game.
It was so arduous for South Pemiscot coach Jason House that he had to check and double check his numbers before deciding on a starter for the Class 2 District 1 championship.
"It was a big factor for me because Riley Cain, my No. 2, was two pitchers over from getting a start today," House said. "He threw 62 pitches in the semifinals and there was a little confusion on exactly how many he'd thrown. I had to call and check with the state just to make sure I didn't throw him in there and have it end up costing us a game."
It forced House to turn to Ryan Russell -- the Bulldogs No. 4 -- who gave up 15 runs (13 earned) in five innings. It turned out not to matter as he settled down with a 1-2-3 fifth inning and the Bulldogs rallied to line him up for the win against Campbell.
"We were very fortunate because we just wanted Russell to stay in there as long as it took for us to get the lead or get close," House said. "When we did go up, I brought in my closer who actually had some experience in a game like this."
Most high school coaches believe change is a good thing -- good for a pitcher's longevity in high school and perhaps further. Others, meanwhile, think it's not totally necessary. It limits what a coach can do and handcuffs a player from reaching their complete potential.
"Personally I'm not a fan of it because we're getting guys who could give us a chance in a game like this that are 2-10 pitches over and can't throw in a big game," said Campbell coach Kyle Matthews, who had to use two inexperienced pitchers in the final. "I think it's a little bit too strict, and it bit us today, but that's just me."
While opinions are mixed, one thing is certain. Pitchers are in higher demand than ever before and only time will tell how the new rules affect the outcomes of the state playoffs down the road.