4A softball has fun with weather

The Thunder and the Storm won on Monday. 

So, too, did the thunder and the storm.

The Class 4A Greater St. Helens League’s district softball tournament is off its schedule after a thunderstorm rolled past Heritage High School.

The first-round, loser-out games were completed — Mountain View beat Evergreen 13-4 and Skyview beat Battle Ground 10-5 — but the championship semifinals were suspended.

Lightning and thunder were noticed at around 6 p.m., when the Skyview vs. Kelso and Mountain View vs. Heritage games were in the second inning.

By state and national federation rules, whenever lightning is seen or thunder heard, there must be a 30-minute break from the action. 

Kelso had just taken a 2-0 lead over Skyview with a second-inning two-run homer by Mackenzie Southard. Heritage and Mountain View, meanwhile, were scoreless.

As the teams waited, the rain began. At first, it was a drizzle. Then the intensity increased. But for a while, just before the 30-minute delay was up, the rain seemed to be slowing.

It was just a tease.

One game resumed, but only for a matter of seconds.

There was one pitch in the Kelso-Skyview game, one pitch only, before the deluge came and umpires suspended both contests.

So, now we have a tournament that will be delayed at least a day.

These championship semifinals will be resumed Tuesday at 3 p.m., with the championship set for 5 p.m.

The second-place game will be played Wednesday.

Of course, all of this depends on the weather. 

I just looked at a forecast at 9:20 p.m. Monday. 

Confidence is low.