LAKE COUNTY — Another round of spring rain led to another round of spring sports postponements around the Redwood Empire on Friday, back loading more games onto already back-loaded schedules for Lake County schools.
Among Friday’s casualties were baseball and softball games between Middletown and Cloverdale, Lower Lake and St. Helena, and a softball game matching Kelseyville and Clear Lake.
While another shot of rain is expected Monday, partly cloudy/sunny weather is projected for Tuesday through Saturday, bringing a ray of hope for the so-far waterlogged 2019 spring sports season.
Most baseball and softball teams in the NCL I have completed only a handful of the five games they should have played by now. Only Kelseyville’s varsity baseball team (4-1) has completed all of its scheduled league games to this point, and the Knights had to be a bit creative about it as they rescheduled a Friday game for Wednesday in order to take advantage of better weather. Among other varsity baseball teams, Clear Lake and Cloverdale have played four of their five scheduled league games, but other NCL I teams have played only two — Willits and Lower Lake — and Fort Bragg just one.
Among NCL I softball teams, only Cloverdale (4-0) has played more than three of its scheduled five league games.
It’s not quite panic time just yet as there are four full weeks and a makeup week remaining in the regular season, with Saturdays also open for most teams. If the weather cooperates, all of the softball and baseball teams should be able to complete their 14-game league schedules without much trouble. However, if the wet spring persists into late April and early, there are going to be some tired starting pitchers and bullpens around the North Coast as teams cram three or four games into a single week.
Baseball and softball aren’t the only sports hurting. County golf and track teams have already taken several direct weather-related hits to their schedules. The annual Lake County Meet in track and field was wiped out by rain and each of the last two weeks of conference meets have been casualties as well. In golf, two of four scheduled Coastal Mountain Conference South matches have been lost to rain/drenched courses so far.
Longtime Kelseyville High School golf coach John Berry, who has seen his share of wet springs dating back to the early 1980s, said 2019 is one of the worst he’s seen as far as losing practice time and matches to inclement weather.
