Rainstorm delays North’s softball bid
PLANT CITY – Mother Nature played no favorites Wednesday evening. The dark clouds that hovered over Plant City Stadium – site of the FHSAA Softball Finals – eventually produced a steady shower, which occurred at the same time North Fort Myers was scheduled to face Venice in a Class 5A state semifinal.
The tarp was placed on the field, but the continuing rain and messy conditions forced some important decisions to be made. Both of the 5A semifinal games were pushed back to Thursday morning. North plays Venice at 10 a.m., followed by Bartram Trail against Auburndale about noon.
The winning teams are expected to come back to play the championship game at 7 p.m. Thursday. That game could be pushed to Friday morning at 10 a.m. if rain interferes again Thursday.
“We were hoping to get the game in. The fans sacrificed and the girls have been ready,” said North athletic director Erik Timko, “but this is something the FHSAA or nobody can control. As long as it’s fair for all the teams, that’s the big thing.”
Rain already impacted the FHSAA finals Tuesday, which created a schedule overload Wednesday with six games instead of four. Championship games were concluded in both the Class A and 3A divisions and both of the 2A semifinals finished. The last of those ended right as the heavy rain hit.
North Fort Myers and Venice were scheduled next, about 6:30 p.m. There were a few options, including waiting to see if the rain would stop in time to get the field in playing condition. After about an hour delay officials and coaches met to discuss the best solution for all four teams. The consensus was to play both 5A semifinal games back-to-back on the same day.
Safety also was a concern. The tarp protected the infield surface, but puddles of water dotted the surrounding areas of the field.
“We weren’t about to let anyone get injured,” North coach Jeff Miner said. “The infield will be in good shape (Thursday), but the rest of the field could be kind of sloppy.”
The Knights (27-3) are playing in the FHSAA Finals for the first time in school history. They carry a nine-game winning streak, which includes capturing the LCAC, district and regional titles.
The excitement began early Wednesday with a pep rally at North High before the team departed for Plant City. They also stretched and warmed up on another field at the Plant City Stadium complex.
The Knights have experience in these types of situations. During this year’s Kissimmee Klassic, one of their games was pushed back and didn’t conclude until 1:30 a.m. They defeated Tallahassee High 5-0 in that game.
“It’s disappointing,” said North junior pitcher Jackie Owen. “We had all of our fans come up and we felt that would be a big advantage for us. Tomorrow is a new day, though, and we still have to come out with the same intensity.”