It was fitting that the elements wreaked havoc on the beginning of the 2007 high school baseball and softball playoffs, much like it did with the beginning of the regular season.
Late afternoon thunderstorms wiped out some, but not all, of the preliminary action slated for Wednesday. Some teams, especially those with early 3 p.m. starts or those who were north of the storm when it arrived at game time in central Maine, were able to get most or all of their game in before the deluge. Some just toughed-out the rain. Others started but never finished. The rest called their games moments before the first pitch.
With the quarterfinals set for Thursday, everyone who was postponed Tuesday must get their game in today. Lewiston, whose game with Cony at Franklin Pasture was postponed minutes before the first pitch, was concerned about whether the storm would affect them for a second day, even though today’s forecast calls for clear skies.
“There is a slim, slim, slim chance the game could be moved,” said Lewiston coach Todd Cifelli. “I think our field could be ready. It looked pretty good before the rain today. We covered it. It’s just pretty sloppy around the fence by the backstop.”
Cifelli said he expected to play at Franklin today, but athletic director Jason Fuller was making some contingency plans in case the field didn’t hold up in the storm.
“That would be our luck. We finally get a home playoff game and have to move it,” Cifelli said. “At least we didn’t start the game and lose our pitchers.”
Sacopee Valley and Dirigo played three innings in Dixfield before lightning arrived, then waited until around 5:30 p.m. to officially call the game. It will be made up today at 4 p.m. Both teams will have to start new pitchers due to Maine Principals’ Association pitching limitation rules that require pitchers to have at least one full day of rest if they’ve thrown at least one inning.
The local baseball games moved back to today are Yarmouth at Oak Hill, Georges Valley at Telstar, and Old Orchard Beach at Monmouth. In softball, Oak Hill will travel to Wells and Lisbon will host Falmouth. Starting times may have changed from yesterday, so check with your school.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.