Monroe Field at Richwood Lake Park sits flooded in several inches of water after heavy rain Wednesday night. The softball fields at the park were also under water, causing problems for tournaments scheduled for this coming week.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Sam Dillon)
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With rain continuously falling, farmers are not the only ones having a hard time getting in what they need to accomplish.
Wednesday night’s rain was more than expected for the Richwood community.
Along with it came extensive flooding that made playing softball an impossible task as the fields were turned into small ponds for Thursday’s scheduled games.
NU Softball for Girls board member John Queen said he had the fields in playing condition Wednesday afternoon, but wasn’t expecting the amount of rain that night.
“I wasn’t really expecting the storm that came through to be that size,” he said. “The day before it was suppose to rain and it didn’t, so I was like ‘well I will believe it when I see it.’”
Although it has been a wet season for the North Union recreational league, Queen said he and fellow board members have been able to keep on top of the conditions to keep the season going.
“They (Coach Pitch and C League) had two games scheduled for (Friday) and those will be the only games that they have missed all year,” Queen said.
The problem now is the league is running out of time.
The North Union Softball for Girls is made up of four leagues…Coach Pitch, C league, B league and A league.
Coach Pitch and C league are supposed to start their tournaments of Monday with A and B leagues tournaments to start two weeks later.
Queen said getting the tournaments started on Monday will take some wishful thinking. However, he is still optimistic about getting them all done within their line.
“We will probably not have games (Friday); that’s pretty much a guarantee,” Queen said. “We probably won’t play on Monday, even if the weather holds like it is suppose too.
“I think we are going to need all day Monday to work the fields to get them manageable to start tournaments on Tuesday.”
Queen said the younger leagues are not really an issue.
However, with the water sitting on the fields, the older A and B will not be able to play games they share with Raymond and Marysville.
“Marysville and Raymond are having the same issues we are having,” Queen said. “Marysville has more fields.
“We have two and Raymond has three fields, so this is really going to impact the A and B leagues,” he said. “We are going to have a shortened season to seed teams into the tournament.”
Despite the rain-flooded fields, the board has been working on contingency plans to get the tournament season on track.
“We could go to Marysville, but we are suppose to be hosting it,” said queen. “They are also using the fields for their activities.
“I’m sure we will find a solution, but the best is we use our fields.”
The fields remain under water, but with better weather in the forecast over the weekend, board members hope to get down to business to get fields in playing condition.
“My optimistic self believes that with three or four hours of me and a couple of guys out there on Monday – with the weather holding up – the fields will be playable, especially for Coach Pitch and C league,” Queen said.