VF, Spartans halted by lightning
Aces lead Game 5 of semifinal series 1-0; contest to resume Monday in bottom of 6th
UPPER MERION » For the second straight night, Game 5 of the Perkiomen Valley Twilight League semifinal series between No. 3 Valley Forge and No. 4 Pottstown was postponed due to weather at Heuser Park.
Thursday the game was halted with the score tied 0-0 in the bottom of the second inning for a lightning strike. During the delay, the skies opened up and rain washed the night out.
The continuation Friday night was halted in the middle of the sixth inning with Valley Forge ahead, 1-0. After consistent lightning for 40 minutes, it was decided the game would be finished Monday night at a site and time to be determined.
The four innings of baseball played over 90 minutes Friday night ended with plenty of drama.
Trailing 1-0 with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the sixth inning, Pottstown’s Tejpal Khela singled to left field and appeared to tie the game. Valley Forge asked the umpires to check Khela’s bat. After lengthy conversations, Khela was called out for using an illegal bat, the runners were sent back and the score was 1-0 Aces.
“I’ve been in the league seven years and I see it about once a year,” Valley Forge player-coach Dave Clay said. “I got called on it my first year when I was with Collegeville back in the day. It always feels weird doing it. You want to make sure you allow guys to play the game, but when you notice it, it’s a call that you have to make. Obviously it happens in a big spot, but it’s a thing we felt like we had to do in that spot and I know a lot of people don’t like it, but it’s a call that we made and I’ll stand by it.”
“It’s a tough situation that we’re apart of it at this point,” Pottstown player-coach Nick Koffel said. “It was a clutch hit that