Plains’ Braedon Hellingshead runs the bases after hitting a home run in the first inning against Mountain Top.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
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Plains players sit in the dugout during a rain delay Wednesday. The game was eventually suspended in the top of the second with Mountain Top ahead 2-1. It will resume at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Plains Little League.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Plains shortstop Donny Stark dives for the baseball during the first inning against Mountain Top.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Mountain Top’s Bryce Williams sits in the dugout during a rain delay.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Mountain Top left fielder Luke Stahlnecker just misses getting to a foul flyball off the bat of Plains’ Ashton Dutter in the first inning.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
PLAINS TWP. — Plains and Mountain Top tried to beat the weather Wednesday.
The weather won.
The District 16 Major Baseball Little League game between the two teams was suspended after trying to wait out the rain for nearly two hours.
The game started about 30 minutes early in an attempt to beat expected thunderstorms. The teams managed to complete one full inning with Mountain Top ahead 2-1. Mountain Top was sending its third batter to the plate in the top of the second when an umpire saw lightning in the distance and the teams were ordered off the field.
Little League games can’t resume until there is no lightning seen for 30 minutes.
The game will resume at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Plains Little League, with an 8-10 baseball game at the field starting 30 minutes earlier at 5:30 p.m.
Mountain Top scored two runs on an error on a grounder by Mike Woss. Avery Tetlak, who had singled, and Ryder Zurawski, who had reached on a fielder’s choice, scored.
Plains got a run back in the bottom of the inning on a blast over the center field fence by Braedon Hollingshead.
Although it didn’t rain immediately after the distant lightning strike, once the skies opened it was relentless. So was the wind, which swayed the flag pole and tall trees in the distance.
Volunteers put down tarps on everything but the baselines and the first base area. When the rain stopped, the tarps were removed and the infield looked rather good all things considered. But shortly after the water was dumped from the tarps, the rain resumed again. The tarps were put back down and the game was suspended a few minutes later.
OTHER WEATHER ISSUES
The following games were also affected by Wednesday’s storms.
• Hanover led Township 5-2 in the bottom of the third in a District 16 Major Baseball game. The teams will resume play at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Jenkins Township field.
• Greater Pittston Area led Nanticoke 1-0 in the bottom of the first in a District 16 Major Baseball game. It will be picked up at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Newport field.
• Kingston/Forty Fort was ahead of Greater Wyoming Area 3-0 in the fourth inning in a District 31 Major Baseball game. Play will resume at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Kingston Little League.
• The Pittston at Mountain Top game in the District 16 8-10 Softball tournament was postponed. It has been rescheduled for Thursday at Mountain Top, but no time was listed on the District 16/31 website as of late Wednesday.
Mountain Top also has a baseball doubleheader Thursday, but does have several fields.