LYNN HAVEN — Brian Wilke worked around the elements as a young baseball player in Wisconsin, and nothing has changed in that regard now that he is the softball coach at Mosley.
The torrential downpour that has inundated every inch of the county over the past two days forced a postponement of his team’s Region 1-5A semifinal game against Wakulla on Tuesday. He said on Wednesday that game now has been pushed back to Saturday at 5 p.m. on the Dolphins’ home field.
The regional final originally was scheduled for Friday, and Wilke said if his team wins against Wakulla that the region championship game against Ponte Vedra likely would be pushed back to Monday. Rain is forecast for today and Friday, too, and Wilke acknowledged that he may have to consider moving the Wakulla game to another location if his field is not ready for play by Saturday.
“We take it one day at a time, and if the good Lord provides us with good weather we’ll play,” he said. “Part of being a softball and baseball coach is working around the weather and the elements. You just do what you can do.”
Wilke characterized his field’s ability to drain excess water from the surface as “probably below average.” Reached by phone Wednesday morning, he said he was going to examine the field after practicing with his team inside Mosley’s gym in the afternoon.
“I’m sure several spots are underwater,” he said.
Wilke did not rule out the possibility of moving the regional semifinal game if necessary, and he said he would weigh that option today.
“We want to keep it here in the county somewhere,” he said. “I would say (other schools) are in about the same situation as far as drainage. ... Rutherford would probably be able to do it. I don’t know if Bozeman would be able to do it or not. I have not called them, so I have no idea. I’ll have to look at it in the next day or so if (Mosley’s field) is not any better.”
High school teams generally do not play on Sundays, but Wilke said the FHSAA likely will allow it given that the state tournament’s Final Four is slated to begin May 9, a week from Friday.
“If you have an extreme situation like we’re experiencing now, it could be an option,” he said. “We played last year on a Sunday when we played Lake City (in the Region 1-6A final). We don’t want to do that, and we’d rather not. But if it comes down to it, we may do that. Usually the state will give you a day between the next game. Usually they’re pretty cognizant of that.”
Practicing inside a gymnasium isn’t the ideal way to prepare for a softball game, but Wilke is trying to make the best of a difficult situation.
“It’s hard to simulate what you get out there, but there is still a lot you can do,” he said. “I was born and raised in the north up in Wisconsin. We lived in that gym playing baseball and did that the first month of the season.
“There are a lot of things you can do, especially fundamental-wise. For me, it’s a lot easier to focus on certain things. (Practice) will be short and quick, and we’ll go over certain things and try to game plan a little bit.”