Rain is pain, sets up busy Tuesday at World Series
Today’s schedule Game 11 – Edogawa, Japan vs. Youngstown, Ohio, 9 a.m., 5 innings Game 12 – Washington County vs. Monterrey, Mexico, 11 a.m., 5 innings Game 13 – Loser Game 11 vs. Covina, Calif., 1 p.m., 5 innings Game 14 – Loser Game 12 vs. Manchester, N.H., 3 p.m., 5 innings Game 15 – Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 13, 6 p.m. Game 16 – Winner Game 12 vs. Winner Game 14, 8:30 p.m.
Mother Nature is undefeated.
A steady rain began to fall on Lew Hays Pony Field around 2 p.m. Monday and continued well after the scheduled games for the afternoon and evening were postponed until Tuesday.
“We can worry about a lot of things, but the weather has a lot to do with how this series is going to play out,” said Nathan Voytek, tournament chairman and president of World Series Tournament Inc.
“We are hopeful that we don’t get a bunch more rain. Mark Murphy and the grounds crew will be here at 6 in the morning. Those guys are top notch and will work their magic. The weather forecast looks like we will get in the ballgames (Tuesday).”
Youngstown, Ohio, which opened its World Series Friday with an 8-6 victory over Covina, Calif., was scheduled to play Edogawa, Japan, at 4:30. Edogawa had already dealt with inclement weather in its opener Saturday night, as it finished the suspended game Sunday morning with a 6-4 triumph over Palmview, Texas.
Washington County, a 2-1 winner of Paderborn, Germany, on Saturday, was set to play Monterrey, Mexico, at 7.
“We are just going to play it one game at a time,” Washington County manager Anthony Wuenstel said. “The situation with the weather is the same for every team. We already have one game under our belt, and the kids are focused and motivated.”
Today’s action will be fast and furious, as Youngstown and Edogawa will begin at 9 a.m. Washington County and Monterrey will follow, tentatively at 11, but if the first game ends quickly the start time of the second game will be moved up.
The loser of the first game will play Covina in the third game and the loser of the second game plays Manchester, N.H. in the fourth game. The first four games will be five innings.
“It will be different to play a game that is scheduled for five innings, and it will probably change our game plan, but we will have a talk with the team about how we are going to approach the game,” Wuenstel said. “We are going to need to score early and often and realize that we can’t fall behind in a shortened game.”
Monterrey had arguably the best showing of all the teams that won their first game, a 16-1 rout of Manchester on Sunday. Roberto Saucedo Jr. hit two home runs and drove in six while starting pitcher Luis Guajardo struck out seven of the eight batters he faced.
“We watched them (Monterrey) play and they are a good team, but we are a good team, too,” Wuenstel said. “Right now, we just want to win that first game and get to tomorrow evening’s game.”
If there was a positive in the inclement weather on Monday for Washington County, it would be that Wuenstel has all his pitchers available for today’s games.
“We will have Brayden Radue, who was the starting pitcher in our first game, available,” Wuenstel said. “We can’t really do anything about the weather, so we will just need to focus on winning the first game, and then we will take it from there.”
The winner of the Youngstown-Edogawa contest faces the winner of this afternoon’s third game in the semifinals at 6, and the Washington County-Monterrey winner plays the survivor of the day’s fourth game in the other semifinal at 8:30. The games in the evening session will be seven innings, but all start times and length of games are tentative, based on the weather and the field’s playing conditions.
“We are hoping to get six games in,” Voytek said. “We are still hopeful to air those final two games on the CW, as scheduled, so that’s why we will pushed a little window between those two games.”
Game 11 — Edogawa, Japan vs. Youngstown, Ohio, 9 a.m., 5 innings
Game 12 — Washington County vs. Monterrey, Mexico, 11 a.m., 5 innings
Game 13 — Loser Game 11 vs. Covina, Calif., 1 p.m., 5 innings
Game 14 — Loser Game 12 vs. Manchester, N.H., 3 p.m., 5 innings
Game 15 — Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 13, 6 p.m.
Game 16 — Winner Game 12 vs. Winner Game 14, 8:30 p.m.