Mother Nature must have something against the Goodrich baseball team.
Heavy rain and lightning forced the umpires to call the first game of a scheduled doubleheader between the Martians and Mt. Morris May 10, wiping out a Goodrich sixth-inning comeback and giving the Panthers a 3-1 win in a game shortened to five innings.
The loss put Mt. Morris ahead of Goodrich in the Genesee Area Conference Red Division standings, and left Goodrich at 17-6 overall and 14-1 in division play.
The second game of the twin bill will be played May 24 at Mt. Morris.
In the top of the sixth, with Mt. Morris ahead 3-1, Kirk Elsworth doubled with one out when the game was delayed about 30 minutes due to lightning. After play resumed, Dusty Bourassa hit a home run over the left field fence off Mt. Morris pitcher Scott Roy to tie the game at three.
However, another lightning burst forced another delay, this time for 45 minutes, and then heavy rain ensued, forcing the umpires to call the game and award it to Mt. Morris.
‘The rules state if you don’t complete an inning, then it reverts back to the previous inning,? he said.
Although Foreback said he understood why the umpires called the game, he was disappointed the players couldn’t have a chance to settle the issue themselves.
‘I would have liked to see it decided on the field, instead of on a technicality,? he said. ‘It’s just frustrating for the guys.?
The Martians scored their only run in the top of the second, as Elsworth, who had led off with a triple, scored on a sacrifice fly by Bourassa.