Hoshino Stalking Interrupted By Rain

My excitement over possibly finally encountering Senichi Hoshino at the Cal Ripken World Series was tempered by the fact that it had been raining all afternoon. Still, the website said that the games that were to be played at 2:30 would be played at 4:30 and the Japan/Australia game was still on for 4:30, so despite the downpour, I headed on over a little after 4.

The rain didn't let up after I reached the baseball complex and after waiting for an hour, I became more and more convinced that there was no way the game was going to get played. Here's a picture of Cal Sr's Yard, the nicest field at the complex and a mini-Camden Yards replica:


It's a nice field with lights and a tarp over the infield. Unfortunately, the Japan/Australia game was scheduled for the field that (generously) resembles the Nationals' Park, which has no lights and no tarp:


So I really don't expect them to get this game in today. I did see the Japanese team working out in one of the batting cages, but I didn't see Hoshino with them:


With that pesky work-thing interfering with my day time, I'm not sure I'll be able to make it to another game. I can probably catch the last half of their game against Mexico on Wednesday. Hopefully Hoshino will still be in town.

Oh, shoot - I just checked the tournament website. They're actually playing the game. After an inning and a half, Japan is already up 5-0. Australia is being no-hit so far. By the time I could run back over there, the game will probably already be over. I really didn't think they'd be able to get it in - they did postpone the games that were supposed to be played at 2:30.