Rain ruins Navigant’s day
Post 85 will play Braintree in its Northeast regional opener Thursday after it was postponed due to rain
NORTHBORO, Mass. – At least some of Navigant Post 85’s Boys of Summer managed to keep their senses of humor.
The Rhode Island champions had arrived at the College of the Holy Cross’ Hanover Insurance Park overlooking Worcester on Wednesday perhaps 90 minutes before a scheduled 4:30 p.m. start against Braintree (Mass.) Post 86 for their American Legion Senior Division Northeast Regional Tournament opener.
Buckets of rain, however, had drenched the diamond, turning both baselines and the right side of the infield into muddy swamps. The conditions temporarily postponed not only their game, but also the one pitting Rochester, N.H. opposite Stamford, Conn., which had been delayed in the back half of the fourth inning.
At approximately 4:25 p.m., tourney officials notified skippers Derek Carignan of Navigant and Cam Fox of Braintree that the tilt would be moved approximately 18 miles away to the New England Baseball Complex, as it contained three all-turf fields, all of which presumably would soak up more water.
Navigant’s coaches and players then piled into their vehicles for the trek (Braintree took a mammoth van) down country roads and highways to the site before waiting for further instruction.
With the new game time slated for 6, Carignan’s troops warmed up by their third-base dugout; there, righty starter Ben Aleixo was seen using a bat to putt a baseball from the all-turf mound toward a teammate.
“I was just working on my stroke,” he stated with a grin. “It’s better than just sitting around.”
It gets better. Because of the switch, the two foes were informed they couldn’t use regular grass/dirt cleats due to the surface, that they would need new shoes to comply with complex rules.
While awaiting those, at the expense of tournament officials, Woonsocket High junior-to-be Harrison Blais decided – with thunder and lightning in the distance and drizzle beginning to fall – to hustle around the bases for a warm-up.
That drew laughter from his teammates, though his dad shook his head under the snack bar’s overhang.
Both Carignan and a few players indicated the new artificial surface wouldn’t pose much of an issue, as Post 85 had faced South Kingstown on the University of Rhode Island’s turf during the regular season.
“I knew we weren’t going to play on the field at Holy Cross; it looked like a set of ponds, so we could’ve fished or played ‘Slip & Slide,’” joked pitcher/outfielder Justin Mojica, a recent WHS grad who will begin playing football at Nichols College in Dudley, Mass. in the next few weeks.
Because he was hungry, he placed an order of chicken fingers and fries at the snack bar as rain pelted the field, causing yet another delay.
“I was looking forward to playing; the field looks good here (in Northboro),” he stated. “It’s a little different, playing on turf, depending on how the ball is spinning. If it’s top spin, it’s going to come to you a little faster, especially in the infield. With no dirt, you don’t have to worry about bad hops. You have to concentrate more on getting a better read on the ball.
“This is sad,” he added. “We took, like, a 45-minute ride to watch the rain fall. That’s not why we came here.”
At about 6:45 p.m., after a meeting between coaches and event officials, Carignan learned his squad would face Braintree at the conclusion of the Rochester, N.H.Stamford, Conn. tilt, which – pending more inclement weather – will begin precisely at 8:30 a.m. at Clark University in Worcester.
That also happened to be an all-turf diamond.
“I’m pretty bummed,” stated pitcher/first baseman Joey Barter, who just graduated from Mount St. Charles. “This experience at the regionals isn’t what I had in mind; the rain killed it. It’s taken your mind off what you came here to do. It gets you more worn down, the waiting and waiting.
“All we can do now is wait until the morning, see what it’s like then, but I know we’ll be ready to play.”