As you’ve already seen over at the Mother Ship, the Republic-Branson District 11 baseball championship game has been pushed back until tomorrow, high noon. It’s good news for everybody involved.
Why? Find out after the jump…
First of all, nobody wants something as important as a district title to be decided on a wet, soggy field. Neither team would be at their best and it would certainly hinder the quality of play.
Second of all, I think both coaching staffs are happy to have an extra day’s rest for their pitching staffs. Republic will be throwing sophomore lefty Tyler King, who threw a one-hit shutout of Aurora on Monday. RHS coach Howard Quigley doesn’t like to bring pitchers back on three days rest, but he felt like King was capapble. They tried it earlier this season, a test run for the young southpaw, and he passed with flying colors. Quigley called it his best outing of the season.
Branson, too, would probably like to see their likely starter, Mike Compton, get an extra day to heal.
So now that the game’s pushed back a day, I’ve got extra time to analyze this one and give you some story lines to look for. We’ll try to get that posted by 9 a.m. Friday so you’ll have some early-morning reading before you head out to Willard for the game.
In the meantime, head on over to the Joplin Globe’s Web site for a story on the likely playoff foe for the Republic-Branson winner. I probably don’t even have to tell you who the final two are in District 10. Need a hint? They rhyme with Cebb Wity and Jarl Cunction.
There is still baseball being played in the area, believe it or not. The Nixa-Kickapoo clash in the Class 4 District 12 title match between top seed Kickapoo and No. 3 Nixa, over at Kickapoo, is still on, just pushed back to 6 p.m.
–Jeff
