Rain thwarts Quakertown again

By Gary R. Blockus
Of The Morning Call


Bob Graber did the unthinkable last night.

He stared a gift horse in the mouth and it darn near bit his head off!

Graber and the Upper Perkiomen Chiefs decided to hold off accepting a Tri-County League forfeit from an undermanned Quakertown squad and the decision almost cost the Chiefs a loss.

Mother Nature decided to play her all-too familiar tricks on Quakertown, though, and despite holding a lead after three complete innings, a steady downpour forced the game to be called. It will be replayed in its entirety at a later date.

Things just haven't been going well for Quakertown baseball lately. The team has held steady at 5-3. Meanwhile, South Division leader Gilbertsville is 11-2 while Limeport, a team in the North Division, has played 16 games.

The rain delay now forces Quakertown to make up nine games, the most in the league. Worse yet, the Tri-County League upped its league season from 27 games last year to 32.

Quakertown has lost eight games to the weather and another on Tuesday night to a tie.

"We missed like seven straight to the rain," offered Quakertown co- manager Scott Davis, a former Liberty High School player.

With such luck, it's little wonder then that about half of the team's rostered players failed to show up for the game last night. It seems that the on and off thunder showers dissuaded the rest of the team from driving to Upper Perkiomen High School for the game.

At game time, 6 p.m., Quakertown had just eight players ready to take the field. Meanwhile, the sun was bright, the field was dry and the sky was purple in the Northeast.

Both Graber, the Chiefs' manager, and Davis agreed to a 15-minute waiting period. As 6:15 drew near, Quakertown players were asking bystanders if they'd mind stepping onto the field for at least one pitch.

League rules state that nine men must be on the field to start a game, but a team can finish the game with less than that amount.

Forfeit time came, and indeed, for Quakertown, it was eight men out. Graber came over to chat, and just as one Quakertown player revved up his car for the short drive home, a ninth player showed up.

The game got under way by 6:45 p.m., but an hour later, a hard, steady rain forced a postponement.

"You want to play these games as much as possible," Graber said of the decision to hold off on the forfeit. He regretted that decision in the first inning when Quakertown's makeshift lineup, including using pitcher Tom Hartman at catcher, batted around in the first.

While the stats count, the score doesn't, but let's just say that the Chiefs were quite relieved by the rain and denied all rumors that pitcher Matt Duka was doing a rain dance on the mound.



  

From The Morning Call -- June 22, 1989

Copyright © 1989, The Morning Call