Start To PBL Semi Finals Delayed
Posted July 20, 2019
Steady rain in the area has washed out both game ones in the Powerline Baseball League Playoffs. Stormy weather and rainfall warnings have swept over Alberta the last week or so wiping out scheduled games at all levels, with Vegreville and Rosalind not escaping the wet weather.
The Holden Blue Jays and Edmonton Expos will now have their best of three series start on Monday July 22 in Edmonton. A move that will see the lower seeded Expos host game one due to concerns about field availability throughout the week due to minor baseball provincials fast approaching almost all tiers and age groups. Game two would then shift to Vegreville on Tuesday July 23 with game three remaining in Vegreville on Tuesday July 30. Having the lower seed get game one of a best of three series has happened in years past with the Leduc Milleteers. At one point in time the Milleteers were unable to secure a field outside of Wednesday nights in Leduc meaning that the a first game would need to be played elsewhere.
With the Homer Dome saturated with water, the Rosalind Athletics and Armena Royals will also see their series get pushed back. On Tuesday July 23 the two teams will open their series in Rosalind with game two on Thursday July 25 in Armena and game three move back to Rosalind on Tuesday July 30 if needed.
Days Off Between Games
Armena Royals – last played on Thursday July 11 (twelve days) losing 15-2 to the Tofield Braves in their last regular season game.
Edmonton Expos – last played on Monday July 15 (seven days) defeating the Tofield Braves 6-3 in the PBL Wild Card Game
Holden Blue Jays – last played on Tuesday July 9 (fourteen days) defeating the Rosalind Athletics 4-3 in their last regular season game.
Rosalind Athletics – last played on Tuesday July 9 (fourteen days) losing 4-3 to the Holden Blue Jays in their last regular season game.
The delays to the start of the playoffs will now mean the start of the PBL Championship will get pushed back to Thursday August 1 at the earliest with the Championship potentially being handed out as late as Thursday August 8. Of course, more wet weather over the weekend and early part of next week will more than likely see these dates get pushed back even further.
