Rain delays Jupiter’s semifinal until today

FORT MYERS — Jupiter’s Class 9A state baseball semifinal against Miami Columbus, originally scheduled for Friday night, was postponed to this morning at Fort Myers’ CenturyLink Sports Complex due to inclement weather.

First pitch for the Warriors against the Explorers will be at 11:30 a.m. after two Orlando teams, Timber Creek and Dr. Phillips, settle the other side of the bracket starting at 9 a.m.

With four games on the schedule on Friday — the two semifinals in Class 8A and 9A — the second of the four was under delay for more than five and a half hours with St. Thomas Aquinas topping Lakeland George Jenkins, 6-3.

With the likelihood that both 9A semifinals wouldn’t go final on Friday night, the Florida High School Athletic Association decided to push back both games so the two winners would advance on the same day.

St. Thomas’ 8A state final, should the Raiders finish off Jenkins, will now be played at 5 p.m. today instead of its original 4 p.m. start time.

The Jupiter-Columbus winner this morning would play again in the championship game at 8 p.m.

The Warriors (19-11) reached states by first winning the District 9-9A title as the district tournament’s No. 3 seed. They then reeled off regional victories against Park Vista, Palm Beach Central and Douglas.