Carl Brooks is no fan of long periods of inactivity prior to a postseason baseball tournament.

“It killed us,” said Brooks, coach of the Lawrence Raiders. “We weren’t the same team, and the only explanation I have is the layoff.”

The Raiders went to the American Legion Central Plains Regional Thursday in New Ulm, Minn., with 10 days of rest and, as it turned out, 10 days of rust.

At the regional, the Raiders, the first Lawrence team in 39 years to win the top Kansas Legion championship, struggled at the plate (.204 team batting average), in the field (11 errors) and, except for Aaron Madill, on the mound (5.28 team earned run average).

Madill was magnificent in the Raiders’ tourney-opening loss to DePere, Wis. The right-hander pitched all 12 innings of the heartbreaking 2-1 loss, fanning 11 batters. The other four pitchers Brooks used struggled with their control, walking 20 in 17 innings. Madill walked only two in his dozen innings.

Five of the Raiders’ errors — three by usually sure-handed second baseman Andrew Pyle — came in the second day’s 10-5 loss to Minot, N.D. In their third game, the Raiders bowed to Rochester, Minn., 9-2.

Outfielder David Arndt and shortstop Matt Berner were the only Raiders to compile a batting average of .300 or better. Arndt hit .333 (4-of-12) and Berner .300 (3-for-10). Two of Berner’s hits were doubles.

“I’m not a guy who normally makes excuses,” Brooks said, “but I do feel the 10-day layoff had an impact on how we played.”

The Raiders actually played one game during that span — an unscheduled contest Brooks was able to set up with Blue Springs, Mo. — but all seven of the other regional qualifiers had played in state tournaments the previous weekend. Kansas is the only state that stages its tournament two weeks before the regional playoffs.

“And that’s not likely to change,” said Lee Ice, a member of the Lawrence Legion post’s baseball committee. “They’ve always held it on that week.”

Brooks favors moving the state tournament back five days.

“That way Kansas wouldn’t be sending a team to the regional every year with a 10-day layoff,” he said.

If Brooks, who works as a counselor at Baldwin High, lobbies for a change in 2004, it won’t be as coach of the Raiders. He announced two years ago this would be his last summer as coach, and he hasn’t changed his mind.

“How could anyone go out on a better note?” he said. “We won the first state title in 39 years, and we’ll not let three days in Minnesota diminish what this team has accomplished.”

The Raiders’ memorable 2003 season included a 20-game winning streak that didn’t end until that 2-1 loss to the Wisconsin team in the regional.

“I know I’ll miss it next year,” Brooks said, “but next year would have been an anti-climax after this. So I’m not backing off.”

Ice said the Legion was taking applications — both written and oral — and would pick Brooks’ replacement sometime during the winter.

“He’s really leaving the program in good shape,” Ice said. “Whoever takes it, we shouldn’t miss a beat.”

Among the candidates are Lynn Harrod, who has coached the Lawrence Renegades — a Select team — the last two summers, and Matt Shubert, coach of the Outlaws, Lawrence’s other Legion team. The Outlaws came within one game of qualifying for the state tournament.