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KANNAPOLIS — The fans who missed Thursday night’s game between the Piedmont Boll Weevils and the Cape Fear Crocs missed one heck of a rain delay.
Three rain delays to be exact.
The umpires and Boll Weevils combined to play their own version of midnight madness, waiting until the clock struck 12 before deciding to pack up and go home — along with the five fans, four scouts and two sportswriters who were left at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium.
But the few brave souls who stuck it out went home knowing Piedmont had played enough innings to win. The game was called after the top of the seventh with the Weevils leading 7-2.
“The rain was supposed to come back,” explained manager Greg Legg of the final decision. “They didn’t want to pull the tarp and it comes back again. Then, we couldn’t play tomorrow.”
The first delay occurred before the game even started, thanks to the black clouds and a radar that predicted plenty of raindrops on the way. The game started almost an hour late.
Weevils starter Frankie Brooks remained undaunted.
“I’ll pitch in the mud, rain, hurricane ... it doesn’t matter,” he announced beforehand.
It showed the confidence of a left-hander who has come into his own over the last two weeks. Brooks (6-2) won his fourth straight game, going five innings. Despite pitching behind in the count to many of the Crocs, his tantalizing curveball rolled off the table enough times to record eight strikeouts.
“I was ready to go out there and play,” said Brooks. “That’s what I get paid for. The weather didn’t matter to me.”
It did to the grounds crew, whose next delay came in the top of the sixth after Brooks had thrown just two pitches. But by that time, Piedmont already had a five-run lead.
The outcome was decided on two mighty blows off the bats of Nate Espy and Russ Jacobson. Espy hit his South Atlantic League-leading 17th round-tripper in the first, while Jacobson put the Crocs away with a grand slam in the fifth.
Espy’s two-run blast, scored Marlon Byrd, who had doubled.
Brooks made a mistake to Randy Lane in the fourth and the Croc cleanup hitter slugged a two-run homer of his own to tie things up.
Brooks wasn’t down long, however. With Jacobson on third and Jorge Padilla on second in the bottom of the fourth, Brian Hitchcox singled to right with two outs. Jacobson scored while Padilla rounded third. But Hitchcox was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double before Padilla crossed. The Weevils had to settle for a 3-2 lead.
Jacobson came up in the bottom of the fifth with the bases jammed and immediately sent a rocket over the left-field fence for a grand slam and his 11th homer.
“There were two outs and I thought, ‘Hey, I’ve got to get some runs for my pitcher,’” said Jacobson.
The burly catcher out of the University of Miami, will play in the all-star game Tuesday night in Charleston but was not selected to participate in the home run derby.
“I think they just took the top five but if I were the guy picking, Jake would be in there,” chuckled Legg. “His eyes light up when men are on base. Now, if we could get him to focus like that with nobody on, we might have a .300 hitter.”
Although Jacobson was the hitting star, he wanted to talk about Brooks instead.
“Over his last three starts, his curveball has been his best pitch,” Jacobson said. “He has really been throwing well.”
But the rain delay in the sixth ended Brooks’ night.
“We had a half-hour wait and Frankie had thrown 80 pitches,” said Legg. “We felt it would be better if he didn’t go back out there. And we wanted (Elio) Serrano to pitch for sure.”
Coming off the disabled list due to a bad elbow, Serrano got through the sixth once the tarp was pulled. He got through the seventh when the rains came again.
After another 30-minute wait, the game was mercifully called.
Piedmont is now 45-23 with a first-half, Northern Division pennant under its belt. Legg is anxious to see how his team responds, now that a postseason playoff berth has been decided.
“Most of these guys have not played a full season yet,” Legg said. “They are where they’ve never been before. It’s a grind, we’re preaching to them. Can they make the adjustments when other teams are making adjustments? They know what we’re doing.
“The second half should be interesting.”
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NOTES: Cape Fear (37-31) was one of the hottest teams coming in, having won 10 of its last 13. The Crocs are now in second place, supplanting Hickory. ... Brooks is eighth in the SAL in ERA (2.65) and has walked just 23 in 90 innings. He had 20 straight scoreless innings until Lane’s homer. ... Eric Schreimann has been called up to Clearwater. ... Espy and Jacobson love Thursdays. Both have hit five homers on that day. ... Matire Franco (4-2, 3.66) pitches tonight for Piedmont.
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