Rain pushes back final game of CWS
OMAHA, Neb. — The College World Series championship game between Coastal Carolina and Arizona was postponed until Thursday because of inclement weather in the Omaha area on Wednesday night.
NCAA officials waited 2 hours, 23 minutes after the scheduled start time to postpone the game. More rain and lightning were forecast for the area in the early morning hours, meaning a delay would have been likely.
The best-of-three series is tied at a game apiece.
“I think it was a great decision after the amount of delay we had and the length of time it would take to get the teams ready to go,” Coastal Carolina coach Gary Gilmore said. “You don’t want to play a national championship game and finish at 3 o’clock in the morning.”
Coastal Carolina (54-18) will be playing for its first national title in any team sport. Arizona (49-23) is going for its fifth championship, and first since 2012. First pitch is set for 12:08 p.m. CDT.
Gilmore and Arizona coach Jay Johnson said they didn’t know whether their pitching plans would change with the extra time off.
Coastal Carolina was to start Alex Cunningham (10-4) against Arizona’s Bobby Dalbec (11-5). Both pitched on Saturday.
The CWS will be going to a 17th game overall, the most in the event’s 70-year history, and a June 30 finish would be the latest ever.
Summitt vigil held on campus
About 100 people gathered on Tennessee’s campus Wednesday night and told their favorite personal anecdotes about former Lady Volunteers basketball coach Pat Summitt at a candlelight vigil.
The vigil took place at Pat Summitt Plaza, which includes a bronze statue of the coach and has served as a meeting place for mourners since Summitt died Tuesday morning at the age of 64.
Fans took turns describing their personal connections to Summitt that showed examples of her determination, her empathy and her sense of humor. They sang “Rocky Top” near the end of the vigil.
“I have a feeling that right now she’s making angels do laps,” said Nora Lou Wilson of Knoxville.
The dozens of floral arrangements that were at the foot of Summitt’s statue Tuesday night had doubled in size by the start of Wednesday’s vigil.
An orange scarf had been placed around her neck. A wood carving of the state of Tennessee stood behind the statue and included the message, “Now go lead your team in heaven.”
Alicia Manning, who played for Tennessee from 2008-12 and was part of Summitt’s last team, said she expected the floral arrangements to continue increasing up until the July 14 ceremony at Thompson-Boling Arena celebrating the coach’s life.
“From now until then it’s going to keep getting bigger,” Manning said. “Obviously by then it’s going to be insane, which it should be. She deserves that.”