Local high schools have struggled to end regular season play for softball and baseball due to the weather.
Battle Ground and Prairie high schools lack artificial turf fields compared to other school’s in the region, and when it rains, their fields get water-logged. With the wet weather last week, local schools faced rescheduled days and locations, as well as game cancellations, which have made it hard to play ball heading into the postseason.
The Falcons softball team was slated to host Kelso High School, who made the 82 total miles bus trip, on Thursday, May 2, after the game was rescheduled from Friday, May 3 because of the forecast. The weather turned sour Thursday, with rain swamping the natural field at Prairie High School at game time. After holding out hope, the umpires and coaches opted to cancel the game, which has now been rescheduled for 4:30 p.m., Friday, May 10, at Prairie High School.
“We’ve been having a lot of weather issues lately, but we’ve been playing through it — just doing the best we can,” Falcons head coach Robyn Mask said. “A lot of schools do have turf, which has been nice. We unfortunately don’t. But we’re playing through it. We’re making it work. All these kids are used to playing in the rain, unfortunately, where we live.”
Along with Mother Nature maintaining a perfect record over the area’s sports schedules, the Falcons are rolling in 3A Greater St. Helens League play at 5-0 heading into this week.
“We started out a little rocky, but we’ve started to come into our own, and we’re playing really well right now, and we’re doing great,” Mask said.
The Falcons hosted Heritage High School on Monday, May 6, but results were unavailable at press time. They next play Evergreen High School at 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 8, on the road.
