Fike Ties Northern For First

I have a hard time trying to decide where to start after the game I have just seen.  Yes there was a baseball game tonight at Fleming Stadium in Wilson and the final score was 9-1 Fike over Rocky Mount.

Rocky Mount headed to this game knowing they were playing for first place and they were going to have to pitch someone other than their ace David Harrison.  Fike had started their Ace Brandon Winstead Tuesday but he got shelled by Nash Central in the first inning so Buck Edmonson pulled Winstead to use again tonight.  You know Edmonson wants to play tonight and is willing to wait to midnight if possible just because he has a big advantage pitching wise.  If I had of been in his shoes I would have wanted To play too.

The game was changed from Fike's field to Fleming because it holds water better that the Fike field. In fact if Fleming had of been in use tonight where Fike could not have used, this game would have been rained out.  Another reason Fike needs to get this game in is if it is rained out until Monday you know David Harrison is going to be on the mound and no advantage there on the mound for the Golden Demons.

Since about 2pm Wilson had about three different times of heavy rains and another occurred about 5pm.  So the six o'clock start was in rain delay.  Near 7pm the rain lightened up and while it seemed. It was about to stop raining they removed the tarp still with a light drizzle.  Just about the time the field was ready to play it stopped raining for about 15 minutes and for some reason the umpires did not appear.

The umps went directly to home plate and never inspected the field to see what condition it was in.  Just as Fike  took the field a light drizzle started.  Rocky Mount sent four batters to the plate and headed out for the bottom of the First.  Forest Bell got the call to pitch and by the end of his warmup pitches it is now raining.  This would have been the time to clear the field.  One batter got a hit and another a walk and another flied out.  By this time the field is unplayable.

The rule is  that the home team has control of playing or not playing but once the umpire receives the lineups he takes control.  Five more batters went to bat before finally the ump stopped play.  By that time it is 4-0 and runners are on first and third with two out.  There was about a forty five minute
delay but the entire time as it was raining the ground crew is dumping what ever type of oil dry they use at Fleming on the field.

There was a period when it finally stopped. Again a delay getting the umpires out to resume play and it starts to drizzle again.   By the end of the first inning Will Hedgepeth is on the mound and it is 7-0. By the middle of the second inning it stops raining and we actually got to the Sixth inning before it started to drizzle again but by this time the drizzle is no factor.  Fike ties for first with Northern at 5-3.  Nash Central and Rocky Mount are 4-4.  I have seen no score from Hunt/ Southern so I assume they were rained out.

This game  should have never started once the drizzle started after the tarp was removed after the field was made ready to play.  If the game had of waited to about 8:30 once the rain stopped there was a window of no rain the game could have been on equal footing and a fair athletic test. This game tonight was not that.