RAIN PUSHES BACK STATE PLAYOFF BASEBALL GAMES

Three area high school baseball teams saw their state title hopes put on hold Saturday as heavy rain forced the postponement of scheduled quarterfinal games.

Rained out were Lafayette at Cape Girardeau Central in Class 4A, Notre Dame at Clearwater in Class 2A and St. Vincent at Winona in Class 1A.

The Central and Notre Dame games have both been rescheduled for Monday, at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively. St. Vincent and Winona will attempt to play today at 2 p.m., if Winona's field is in good enough shape. If not, those squads would also square off Monday.

"It's a little disappointing, because we were looking forward to playing, but it's not really an advantage for either team," said Central coach Steve Williams. "Naturally we wanted to play (Saturday) because we were ready, but I'm sure we'll be ready Monday. Both teams will be."

Said Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett, "At this point in the season, days off aren't good. Everybody is ready to go. But there's nothing you can do about it. We'll just get ready to play Monday."

Contrary to what some people believe, standard Missouri State High School Activities Association pitching rules for the playoffs apply even in the case of rainouts, meaning a team with one star hurler does not gain an unfair advantage if games are pushed back.

Under MSHSAA guidelines, no player is allowed to pitch more than 10 innings within a three-day period. So the innings a player hurled during Thursday's sectional round still will count against his 10-inning limit, even though the three-day period technically ended after Saturday.

"It's as if the game is still being played Saturday, as far as the pitching rule goes," said Williams, who added with a laugh, "Otherwise, a team with just one good pitcher could rain its field out on purpose so that kid could pitch again."

The forecast for Monday calls for clear skies.

Central will put its 21-7 record on the line against a 21-2 Lafayette team that is the state's top-ranked 4A squad.

Notre Dame is ranked first in 2A. The Bulldogs are 21-4 while Clearwater is 19-4.

St. Vincent has just a 13-13 record, but the Indians have won seven straight games as they shoot for their first-ever state semifinal berth. Winona is 16-2.