The National Federation of State High School Associations in July mandated that participating state associations enact pitch-count limits, and 44 state high school associations have since done so. Four states — Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota and Idaho — do not sanction baseball, so no limits were passed. Massachusetts and Connecticut do not follow NFHS rules.
The NFHS did not dictate what those limits should be, and they vary widely. Enforcement of the rules also vary, with some states requiring coaches to keep track of pitches thrown and others using an independent official to keep track.
Therein lies situation like what happened this week in Hawaii.
After a 1-0 loss to Kamehameha, Saint Louis filed a protest with the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, alleging that pitcher Hunter Breault had exceeded the pitch count. According to Hawaii Prep World, he threw 101 pitches against Saint Louis on Thursday after throwing 20 pitches on Tuesday.
The protest was denied because the rule calls for a maximum of 110 pitches on two consecutive days. Kamehameha did not play Wednesday.
While in this case, the Saint Louis coach might misinterpreted the rules, there are bound to be more protests and questions as schools around the nation get used to the pitch count.